Philippines – Tagaytay

2017  May  3  —–

Wednesday, 3 May

Allan and Bella had us meet them on the main road once more, where they picked us up with Anthony acting as chauffeur again. We were headed to Tagaytay where Caleruega’s Retreat Centre was located.

Calaruega is a beautiful church sanctuary where one can get close to God and to Nature (which are the same, in my opinion). Upon entering and paying a small fee we walked down a long wide path with jungly plants, flowers, and koi fish filled fountains on either side of the trail. Interspersed were wooden carved Way of the Cross stations. Peeking past the jungly edge was a picturesque valley.

Leaving the wide path had us stepping into the jungle edge. We passed a mysterious stone path shaded by a vine cover arbour. Following the stone path down a slope, we came to a rope and wooden suspension bridge over a small creek. The opposite side of the creek and to the left was a stone trail that led up a hill to an outdoor church surrounded by jungle. Stone and cement braces held the tarp roof. Simple wooden benches faced a simple alter. The centre of the wooden floor held a geometric design. There were three “windows” in this outdoor shrine; one behind the altar and one on either side of the altar. They looked like stained glass but were made of resin.

Back down the hill from the shrine and to the right of the suspension bridge was an Eco-Theatre. Stone steps or seats framed a huge man-made fountain that looked like a waterfall. Immediately in front of the waterfall was a massive raised fire pit. Rebar was fashioned to resemble flames and doubled to keep the burning wood contained. We took a break on the shady steps, taking in the beauty before heading back to the car.

We headed to a restaurant overlooking Taal Lake which has the second most active volcano in the Philippines, Taal Volcano. It has been inactive since 1977 but has been showing unrest since 1991. In 1911 it erupted and killed 1335. There are a lot more people living in close proximity today. After a lunch of adobo chicken, we headed to the People’s Park in the Sky.

Simply known as the People’s Park, it was built around The Palace in the Sky, which was to be Ferdinand Marco’s summer mansion. It is situated on a very high hill that overlooks a vast green countryside. Today it is a rusted out and unfinished shell of a former dictator’s dream home.

We wandered around a bit, but there is not much to see in a rusted out shell. There is a Doppler radar station and Shrine of Our Lady Mother of Fair Love nearby. In the back of the radar station is a strange structure that is shaped like a massive pineapple. I’m not sure what purpose it could have had. It made for an interesting selfie opportunity, though. We wandered through the ever-present souvenir gauntlet before walking back down the hill to our awaiting car.