Albay Road Trip

A young local photographer at the Cagsawa Ruins, who reaps 100PHP per 3 shots, approached me that sunny morning and gave  a couple of helpful tips as to the perfect angle and distance when shooting Mayon Volcano together with the bell tower. Half irked, I made it clear to him that I am not IN for those postcard shots which I have been viewing countless times since grade school. Mayon on the background, Cagsawa on the foreground. Same old same old! “Okay” said the oragon folk. “I’ll give you something different.” So he asked for my cam and ordered me to extend my elbow upwards and..clicked. Crazy creative.

It’s been an engaging  pre-Halloween tour around Albay covering three major routes and 3 citites, the Maharlika Highway or AH26 from CamSur to Legazpi City, the National Highway from Legazpi to Tabaco City, and back to Ligao City via the  Sabluyon Road. Connect the dots and that would be a one helluva counter-clockwise spin around Mayon. The pit stop: Albay Park and Wildlife. Perfect place for a perfect lunch of pork adobo, pusit, and of course, the timeless laing. Food for the gods. Digested it all atop the Ligñon Hill view deck, right next to the park, and fed our eyes with the breathtaking view of the whole Albay province.

En route to Tabaco City we passed by what was once Barangay Padang, another grim reminder of Mayon’s fury. Speaking of volcanic fury, a forced evacuation around Mayon’s  6-kilometer danger zone is in effect during this time so our unplanned visit to the Mayon Skyline View Deck did not went through. The last time I’ve been to the place was when I have with me a Canon Prima and a roll of 36-shots. This time, I have a Canon P’shot that could fire a barrage but sadly..the road is CLOSED. Anyway, a no man’s land is a no man’s land.

The last leg: Ligao City. Nothing much here but  a bit of worry nagged us as we thought we were off the right direction (Ligao = lost). Whoever said that “half the fun of the travel is the esthetic of lostness”? We stopped for an early afternoon merienda by the roadside just before the city proper with Mount Masaraga for a scenic view. With the setting sun, we hit Maharlika Highway once more back to CamSur. Travel completed, no destination.