The Vacation

And where to go next, but of course the Philippines. And there is a lot I found out about this country that was quite interesting to me.

First, let's talk about the language. The official languages of the Philippines are Filipino and English. Filipino is the standardized version of, or another word for, Tagalog. Now, Tagalog is its own language, however, of all its 30, 000 root words, it has borrowed thousands each from Spanish, English, Malay, Chinese, Sanskrit, Arabic and a couple hundred more words from other languages. On top of that they also do something called code switching, meaning they use English phrases or terms in the middle of speaking Tagalog. This is called Taglish. So we've gone from Filipino, to Tagalog to Taglish.

Courtesy of Wikipedia, here's what I'm talking about with code switching -

English:

"I am going to school now. The driver will arrive soon and I will not be late for my Biology class."

Code-switched Tagalog:

"Papások na akó sa school. Malápit na ang driver kayâ hindi ako male-late sa Biology class ko."

Every once in a while I'd catch an English word and almost have an idea what they were talking about.

I also figured out what these people like to call themselves. Obvious? Not so. A person from the Republic of the Philippines is called a Filipino, not a Philippino. And most of them like to call themselves Pilipino, and the country, Pilipinas.

Never insult a Filipino by calling them a Philippino.

There are around 7600 islands in the Philippines. If you spent one day at each of them, it would take about 20 years to see them all. Christianity is the dominant faith, and this was extremely important because this meant no more call to prayer waking me up at 4 every morning. Freedom. Prone to earthquakes and typhoons because it's close to the equator and part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, our story begins 50 kilometers south of the capital, Manila, inside the Taal Volcano.

What a beautiful lake eh?

This is the Taal volcano. The Taal Volcano is the lowest volcano in the Philippines, and one of the lowest in the world. That's why I thought it would be an easy 45 minute climb and it was, except the temperature was 43 degrees that day and humidity was at 90 percent. Worth it. I even got to practice my terrible golf swing at the top.

Taal has an island within a lake, that is on an island within a lake, that is on an island. Got it? There's a big rock called Vulcan Point behind me, on the surface of the lake behind me which is called Main Crater Lake, which is inside the Volcano I climbed which is on Volcano Island, which is on a bigger lake called Taal Lake, and the the whole island is called Luzon, which is the island in the Philippines I visited. To sum it all up, that lake behind me is the biggest lake on an island inside a lake on an island in the world. Cool eh!?

Although it has been quiet since 1977, this thing is the second most active volcano in the Philippines and has erupted 33 times, bringing the total death toll to between 5 and 6000 people.

What really struck me, was that this place is a permanent danger zone, yet there are still so many families living, fishing and farming on the island. The crops are rich and the lake surrounding is so full of fish, I guess it's just not as thrilling without the imminent threat of death every morning.

There is also another small island called Boracay, which is where most tourists flock to. The whole island is about 10 square kilometers and its beaches have received a number of awards from numerous travel agencies and travel publications around the world. The island makes up the barangays, meaning districts, of Manoc-Manoc, Balabag, and Yapak which is in the province of Aklan and the municipality of Malay. Or something like that. And no, I am not making this up.

Boracay is also one of the world's top destinations for relaxation, tranquility and nightlife, apart from its white sand beaches. But, there were also a few activities which I took part in during my stay there, all of which were thoroughly enjoyable and none of which were illegal thank you for asking.

I had a chance to gaze at this lovely view while waiting in line for a guy to push me off a steep hill as I was wearing a helmet and carrying a go-pro.

I also had the chance to live out my childhood fantasy of becoming a mermaid. This was not just a photo shoot. After taking pictures on the sand, we had an hour and half introductory course to becoming a mermaid and practiced swimming and doing tricks out in the ocean. I finally became Arial, and even had nice workout in the process.

Parasailing. I don't think I need to say much more.

I stood on a rock which was painful for the feet and full of crabs just so I could have a nice effortless looking shot on a rock on the beach. I hope you enjoy this photo.

And as I walked down the beach, looking out at the water in the month of April, I took off my sarong and jumped in the water. I swam around and thought of all the family at Panorama, skiing and coming inside to make burgers just the way he did. And I picked up some seashells and put them in my bag, all the while wondering just what he would have said about my trip to the Philippines.

Bailey Sue