Legazpi, Philippines

 

So we moved from Capul Island after fond farewell's with the friends we had met there, with promises of staying in touch. We really want Rhea to come to Edmonton. We are now in Legazpi, on the big Island for a few more days of "R, R and R"...rest, relaxation and rain! It seems!!

 

We are staying in the Bicol area that has an active volcanoe just a few miles from our hotel. It's last partial eruption was in May, 2013... but people feel it will never completely erupt again, so they continue to live here.

It's biggest eruption was in 1814 and it destroyed much of the Lagazpi area. This is a pictorial composite of the volcano's history and eruptions. So fascinating that people believe it is safe to live here, but they have great faith in God that he will protect them...

 

We are enjoying our stay here, it is a beautiful city. As we were relaxing and swimming yesterday at the pool, a worker came and asked if we would like a tour of the city. As it turns out his brother has a tricycle and could take us...wow, we were excited!

 

 

 

He first took us to the site of a 400 year old church that was destroyed by the volcano in 1814. Now all that is left is the rock bell tower, it is now a famous tourist site for the area.

The volcano is behind, covered by cloud. It is a beautiful area with a lot of lava rocks and the foundation rocks of the church still in place, but now uncovered by workers to preserve the area.

 

We then went to another old church built in 1779, this became the central place of worship after the volcano destroyed the older church. This one is on higher ground and was untouched by the volcano. Our driver and tricycle are in the foreground

 

 

This is inside the church, they have plants and candles as well images of Christ in their central alter area.

It was beautiful and seemed to be a very reverent place to worship, even though many tourists move through the chapel.

 

 

We next went to Lingnan Hill, another smaller inactive volcanic. We hiked up and took some great pictures of the city.

We then went to the coastal area and drove along the 'Embarcadero'. It is the area of the city that runs along the ocean and is a party area, known for it's many bars and it's nightlife. We were there in late afternoon, but we weren't planning to stay and party!

There was a long spit of land going out into the ocean made from lava rocks, it was interesting, the boulders were all from the volcanoe.

There were a lot of dive shops along the road, so we assume the scuba diving must be excellent here, too bad we didn't bring our certification cards!

This is Mike, our driver and guide for the day.

 

Lagazpi is a port city with a lot of shipping activity. It is a big city, over 2 million people from what our guide told us.

 

 

With such great weather, the warmth, humidity and rain they grow beautiful flowers...like these orchids. They sell them in the markets, I wish I could bring some home as souvenirs for the girls!

Doug bought a machete at the market and was cutting some mangos for us for lunch when the staff happened to see us cutting them up. They thought it was so funny to see Doug cutting up these little mangos with a machete, they were laughing, I just couldn't resist a picture. The staff here are so polite and so grateful for any tip or even a conversation in English, never mind a Canadian with a machete!!

So we will be flying to Manilla and leaving the Philippines tomorrow. We are sad to leave, there are so many fun things to see here, like these recent floats from 'Festival' . We found them abandoned in the municipal building's yard.

However, we are so looking forward to getting home and seeing our family and friends again...we have been gone 3 weeks and we are homesick!!

See you soon!

 

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