Last week, me and a couple of friends took a quick trip to Legaspi City in Bicol, home of the famous Mayon Volcano. It was a Sunday so traffic was not so heavy and a good day to drive long distance. The 535km ride from Manila to Bicol is usually taken in 12 hours with a couple of stop overs. We left Manila at 7am and went to Tagaytay first for a quick sight seeing and we had our lunch at Lita’s Carinderia exactly at 12 noon in Gumaca, Quezon, some 200kms from Manila.
From Quezon province, the roads are open and traffic is light aside from a few kms stretch of road repairs in Quirino Highway. We gas up at Naga City, around 400kms from Manila because fuel needle is approaching empty. It was close to sun down when we reached Camalig, Albay but it has the best view of Mayon Volcano and we are just an hour away (50 kms) away to Legaspi City. Finally we arrived at 7pm and we spent the night at Sampaguita Inn, nothing fancy but it’s cheap @ 675 pesos ($15) a night with three beds.
The next day we went to Ligñon Hill, the best place to view Mayon Volcano and Legaspi City. It offers a breathtaking 360 degree view of the City of Legazpi, the deep blue Albay Gulf, nearby towns and islands, and of course the amazing Mayon Volcano. Ligñon Hill is 156 meters high above see level, dwarfed compared to Mayon’s huge presence in the area. Entrance to the hill is free by the way.
We didn’t have much time so we decided to call it a day and started our trip back to Manila around 1pm. It’s election day so the roads were wide open and what normally takes 11 hours by car, we took it only by 9 hours and usually not exceeding 80 kph. We are planning to go back by October and join the Mayon 21 km endurance run. Enjoy the pics and till then…ciao!
Sounds and looks really nice, good job the volcano didn’t erupt like the one in Iceland
Love the picture at the top of the post, it looks very theatrical 
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Thanks Karen. Mayon Volcano is very active as you can see there’s smoke at the mouth. Last major eruption was only last year. The pic was taken by my friend while we are passing at the side at 50kph using a 5 year old Canon digicam.
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wow, that is a really cool picture of the volcano. Looks like something out of land of the lost.
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Mayon Volcano had just erupted last December 2009.
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Nice pics! This is where a Flickr account and a slideshow is in order! When we blog about location, we try to insert a slideshow. I’m just saying!
“…Mayon 21 km endurance run…”
Yikes! Up the volcano?
.-= Colleen´s last blog ..Homes For Sale by Liberty Christian School in Richland Washington =-.
I had a light box plug in but its not compatible with the plug in that shows featured articles in a slide show at the home page so I took it off. I’ll check Flickr and see what I can do about it.
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That’s a really cool picture of the smoking volcano, they are truly majestic when you see them in real life!
.-= Jorgen @ Personal Branding´s last blog ..Social Bookmarking Made Easy by Caroline Middlebrook and the IMAutomator =-.
I love the first photo of the smoking volcano…ever skiied down a volcano? Apparently it is an incredible experience…I would love to do the ski volcano trek around Villarrica.
J
Do you have a follow up trip planned to this area?
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we are planning to go to Legaspi City on 1st of april…any good rerstaurant on the way there?or where to stop for a good food?
Tourists the world over are familiar with the white beaches in the various island provinces in the Philippines, but not everyone is aware of the hidden wonders of the beaches in Legazpi in Albay, among the most spectacular being its black sand beaches.