Taal Volcano: a dark, little history of a dark, little Philippine volcano
Taal is a town in Batangas, home to the world's smallest volcano, the Taal volcano. Here, I will tell you a story about my experience with Taal.
Going back to Manila after a few days immersed in the cool, crisp air of Tagaytay, our group of college students and young professionals passed by a novelty fast food in town.
Tagaytay is a small city on the ridge of the bigger volcano surrounding the small Taal Volcano.
Aside from shirts with designs of Philippine volcanoes all over them and other trinkets and souvenirs, the place also sold different kinds of mushroom burgers, and featured dishes made from tawilis, a fish found in the nearby Taal Lake.
I've never tasted either products before, but being the fastfood-reared baby that I am, I opted for the burgers.
I thought those brown mushrooms in dark sauce were the best fastfood fare I ever tasted, until a friend let me try his tawilis rice. I hated myself for choosing the burgers.
We didn't take off immediately after our meal, so I looked once again at the souvenirs available. One of those in display that really tickled me was a little book entitled The Mysteries of Taal by Thomas R. Hargrove.
I've always been enchanted by that little Philippine volcano ever since I heard stories of the present-time Taal as only a remnant of a massive, primeval volcano that was blown to bits after a colossal eruption.
I bought the book. For how much, I can't remember, but I thought it was a good bargain. Yet its pages bore things that are worth much more.
Taal has been described as an island within a lake within an island within a lake within an island in the sea.
When I first saw this Philippine volcano's caldera when I was in sixth grade, I saw a little island ensconced in the calm crater lake. This crater lake is of course contained in Volcano Island, Volcano Island is in the middle of Taal Lake, and Taal Lake is found in Luzon Island, in the Pacific.
The place is about 60 kilometers south of the capital. It's a very popular tourist spot, though after a few pages of Hargrove's book it became very difficult to imagine back the innocuous, peaceful little volcano that some people say is the world's smallest.
I was taken aback to see the old maps of the towns around Taal, back in the days when present-day locales such as Lipa were located elsewhere.
Taal's eruptions deluged these places, and in fact, the deep waters of the lake (its depth reaches a staggering 200 meters) conceal underwater towns.
The book contained a list of eruptions since the 16th century. 42 in all. And it's still active during these recent years. This Philippine volcano set a world record for seismic activity in 1911.
But reading about Taal's storied temper and the ghost towns it violently hushed is only scratching the surface.
Its waters, though classified as fresh, is home to creatures normally only found in salty abode. I was most surprised to learn that until about 50 years ago, the lake even contained sharks.
And, imagine my surprise when I realized that the big-mouthed cone that is most frequently photographed, and the one that we usually see on postcards is not Volcano Island.
That cone, in fact, is called "Binintiang Malaki", and it appeared overnight, during an eruption in 1977. Just imagining how a humongous chunk of rock appeared overnight dizzied me.
I wonder how the people near Taal reacted when in the morning they saw a new island on the lake where there was only water the night before.
Hargrove's eerie narratives of their numerous diving expeditions to shed light on Taal's enigma kept me hooked, and I was just as struck with both terror and disappointment to read about how Taal's murky waters turned them away.
Diving in Taal is being done, but is very risky.
When we first hiked Taal when I was in elementary school, I saw people residing in the slopes of Volcano Island, selling beverages and snacks, and tending horses that are rented to tourists who are too lazy to trek up the gentle slope of the island.
But in the book I learned that occupying the island is illegal. Whether this is due to poverty or to men's short memories, I can only surmise. But reasons will not matter to Taal once it decides to erupt again.
And I cringe at the thought of the bustling businesses and residences along the Tagaytay-Batangas ridge.
In any case, the new things I learned about Taal will not prevent me from coming back. I personally believe that Taal is one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines.
From afar it's picture perfect. From up close it's inviting.
And I guess I'll go through life like many others, who have admired the beauty of this Philippine volcano, without actually getting to know her fully.
It was already dark when we finally decided to go on our way. Lights were coming up all over town, but the dark Taal Lake in the distance remained silent.
From our van it looked like a colossal carpet of shadow in the distance.
And I wonder when the monster slithering within that dark, little Philippine volcano will strike again.
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