The Assault on Mayon Volcano

The raison d'etre of my trip to The Philippines would not be complete without camping on a big dangerous Volcano. And as luck would have it, one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes- Mount Mayon- happened to be resting on the outskirts of Legaspi.

I hired a porter and a guide from Bicol Adven- tures and our designated departure time was 2:00 PM. That gave me enough time to head over to the Cagsawa Ruins for some scenic shots of the Volcano. In 1814, the Mayon Volcano erupted, spewing scolding lava and 30 feet of ash over the ancient town of Cagsawa- 30 minutes from the city of Legaspi. Frightened, over a thousand townsfolk took refuge in the local church and were ultimately buried alive. Today, nothing but the bell tower and some old ruins remain scattered about the grounds. Aside from the area's tragic history, it offers a spectacular view, and a constant reminder, of the beauty and danger of the Mount Mayon Volcano.

At 2,420 meters in height, Mt. Mayon is interna- tionally know to be one of the few volcanoes in the world with a perfectly symmetrical cone. She is said to be the twin sister of Mt. Fuji in Japan. It has erupted almost 50 times in the last 400 years, making it the most active volcano in The Philippines.

In July, 2006, Mt. Mayon came alive again with a silent eruption. Almost 40,000 people were evacuated from the region, until August when the eruption seemed less imminent (although the swollen mountain did cause some alarm.) The disaster actually came in November of that year when Typhoon Durian hit the area sending mudslides of lahar, or volcanic rocks, and water zooming down to the Casagwa area of Daraga again, covering the homes up to their rooftops in mud and ash. Students were buried alive in their dorm- itories. Because whole villages were wiped clear off the map, the death toll may never be known, but it is believed to be at least over 1,000 people.

At 2:00, I met my guide, Joel, and we drove with our porter to the base camp of an old golf course along the edge of the volcano. One of the nice things about renting a porter is that they will carry everything for you, and you only have to worry about your own knapsack. A great deal, if you ask me! The itinerary was as follows- a 1.5 hour hike to Camp One where we would set up camp for the night. Then, at 5:30 AM, we would climb another 2 hours to Camp Two, take lunch, and then finally make an assault on the Knife's Edge, the highest possible point one can climb before one is drowned in poisonous gases.

The ride up was a fairly easy jungle trek. The weather was mild, the ground was dry, and my sunburnt back was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Along the way, we were greeted by roaming cattle, farmers with their tiny farms, excellent views of the volcano and commanding vistas of hills, city life, and ocean. There really are no ways for me to describe the beauty of Mt. Mayon, so I will instead let these photographs make a feeble, yet equally insufficient attempt to portray to you what it was I saw while marching up to the heavens.

We arrived at camp one. My guide and porter set up the tents and cooked dinner, offering me time to explore the surrounding area and take in the fact that I was camping on a dangerous volcano in The Philippines. I took some photographs, joined my guide and porter for dinner, then hit the sack early so I would be rested for an early, and arduous hike in the morning. Just how arduous, I was about to find out.

Morning came quickly, but when you are sleeping on the ground, it seems as though it can't come quickly enough. We ate breakfast, packed for lunch, and took off on the trail. This part of the journey proved to be much more difficult than the first third of our trek up to Camp One. For starters, we were now trekking up a part of the volcano called the gully, or a deep trench along the side of the volcano glossed over smoothly by dried lava. To make matters more difficult, the clear blue skies of yesterday were now replaced by dark clouds and heavy rain. Smooth lava and heavy rain make for slippery conditions, and climbing this mountain in my Nike running shoes was no help at all- there was plenty of slipping, sliding, and cursing along the route.

But the biggest danger was not the slippery trails, or the possibility of eruption. Oh no. The heavy rains on this mountain meant for something far more treacherous. My guide informed me that after only five minutes of rain, encountering a flash flood was an almost certainty. He said that if we start to hear rumbling, run like hell to the side of the mountain or you will be washed away, never to be heard from again. Because on dried, smooth lava, it's as if you are climbing up a deadly water slide, and if the rapids come at you, there is nothing to grab.

Just as we reached Camp Two, we examined the weather, the trail conditions, and my shoes, and made the disheart- ening decision to turn back and descend the volcano. Although it was disappointing, I was ok with the decision to head back because I got what I wanted- a camping trip on the volcano. It reminded me of my seventh grade vacation with my Dad to California, where all I wanted to do was sleep on the San Andreas Fault. There's something about me that finds sleeping on dangerous things exciting.

Well, we turned home and when we got back to the hotel, I had discovered that all my clean clothes we wet and dirty. I had no intention of bringing these clothes home with me like this, so I inquired if there was a laundromat within the vicinity of the hotel. Claiming there was one not too far off, my guide drove me in the jeep to the laundromat only to discover it was a dry-cleaning service. My bus back to Legaspi was at six o'clock and the company said they would have it ready by five o'clock.


Now there are some really good tour companies out there. They will pick you up from the airport, give you food, and take you out with them. But here in Legaspi, I found the king of adventure tours- Bicol Adventure Tours. Let's review the list of how they have helped me, besides for which I was paying them. They picked me up and dropped me off at the bus depot, organized my hotel accommodations, waited with me at ten different banks and Western Union for over two hours, took me to the hospital, loaned me 1,000 pesos for medicine, and now, were offering to pick up my dry cleaning so I could go and explore the city a little bit more before I had to leave. I have only this to say to you- if you are planning to go to Legaspi to swim with the Whale Sharks or climb Mt. Mayon, or do whatever else, then you must book with Bicol Adventures because they are truly a five star organization. You can e-mail them at bicoladventure@digitelone.com.


My final vignette comes from the money changer in the Mall. I was low on cash and had $20 US and NT$1,500. I found a money changer and exchanged what I had for pesos. While I was standing in line, a woman turned to me asked me where I was from. I told her I was from Boston, and she said she LOVED Boston. Her son went there last February for a mock UN session. I asked her if that was put on by the United Nation Association of Greater Boston, and she said that it was indeed. I told her that I used to work for the United Nations Association and like that, I had met an instant friend. We talked about the program, her son, and my travels. And after ten minutes of chatting I said my farewells to her and hit the town. I went around the city trying different foods, staying away from dairy, and searching for some postcards/souvenirs.


At 5:30 I met Joel with my clean clothes and the two of us returned back to the Bus Depot where I caught an overnight bus back to Manila. I backtracked my way from Cubao to the Airport and had an airport experience unlike any other. First, in order to enter the airport, you need your electronic ticket and a passport. It was fortunate I printed it at home or else I was in The Philippines indefinitely. Then you have to go through a security checkpoint before you can even check in to get your ticket. Once you have your boarding pass, you go through another security checkpoint, only to be greeted with a delightful surprise. What surprise is this? Well, it's an airport duty collection. Here, you must pay in cash 750 pesos, or almost US$18 just to use the Manila International Airport. A sure fire indication of a corrupt government because I can bet you that money will never leave the pockets of corrupt bureaucrats. Finally, you pass through customs, the final security check, and then you play the waiting game before it's time to board your plane home.

From your dairy-eating, dairy-regretting, black sand beach babysitter, whale shark diver, Mayon volcano navigator of the fearless islands of The Philippines, Michael.