A trip to the heritage town of Taal is a trip to Philippine's colonial past. There, one is treated to the grand vista of an old Spanish era church and a quiet stroll down streets lined with colonial houses.

One of the notable colonial houses there is the ancestral home of the Villavicencios called the "Gift House". It was built by Eulalio Villavicencio as a wedding gift to his bride Gliceria Marella in 1871. The house was built next to the Villavicencio's original home, now called Casa Villavicencio.


We were lucky to be invited inside the "gift house" to take photos. The house was closed as they were entertaining guests at the time we passed by there so we just took photos of the facade. As we were about to leave, one of the guests spotted our group and mentioned that we should be taking photos of the interior. It was a suggestion that we were most happy to follow.


The unassuming facade of the house belies the richly decorated and well preserved interior. From the wooden double door, one passes through a vestibule that leads to the main staircase. The floor of the hallway is decorate with tiles bearing intricate patterns.


The wooden staircase then opens to a antesala bounded by brightly painted walls. There are two balconies there that gives one a view of the courtyard below. The walls are decorated with art nouveau designs by Emilio Alvero, one of the prominent architects and interior designer at that time.


The antesala leads to the dining area, a bedroom, and to the main sala. A double door, with a portrait of Eulalio on one side and Gliceria's on the other (the original portraits were done by Juan Luna), opens to the large main sala furnished with lounging chairs and mariposa sofa with rattan weavings.


The interiors probably looked pretty much like how it used to, except for the addition of modern necessities like electric lamps and air conditioning units installed in the dining area and one of the rooms.


My favorite part of the house was the dining room which looked different from the rest of the house with its green walls and relatively "modern" look.. I couldn't help but imagine the lavish dinners once hosted in this room.

As I went around the house, appreciating each nook, I couldn't help but be thankful that such a colorful heritage is well preserved and so unselfishly shared. The Villavicencio house is truly a gift house - a heritage gift to the current generation.

- Eulalio and Gliceria Marella were staunch supporters of the Filipino revolution against the Spanish rule. Gliceria, more affectionately known as "Aling Eriang", is considered one of the heroes of the 1898 revolution
- The Villavicencio house served as the revolutionaries' headquarters in Taal.

If you are used to Philippine's coastal scenery of fine white sand beaches with swaying palm trees, then the Kapurpurawan rock formation found in Burgos, Ilocos Norte is surely a unique treat. This astonishing geological formation could easily pass for an English coastal vista (the chalk cliffs comes to mind in this one).

When someone mentions the name "Taal" the images I associate it with were those of the volcano and the scenic lake. That changed when I visited the heritage town of Taal in Batangas last weekend. For me, "Taal" is now a sleepy town of colonial houses and the facade of St. Martin de Tours Basilica, glowing in the golden light of the sunset.

I did not realize there was a town called Taal before last weekend. I don't know why I haven't heard of it before and I was glad to tag along with a group of friends on a day trip there.

What will catch your eye, and its hard not to since its the biggest of its kind in the Philippines and in South East Asia, is the basilica on a hill in the center town.


The original St. Martin de Tours Basilica was built in 1575 in the present day San Nicolas town (the original location of Taal town) near the shores of Taal Lake. The town (and church) was abandoned when Taal volcano wreaked havoc in 1754. The town was relocated near Balayan Bay (that explains why the town of Taal is miles away from Taal lake and Taal volcano) and the church was rebuilt in 1755, only to be reduced to rubble by an earthquake in 1849.

The church's present form, save for the bell tower that was destroyed by the Japanese during WWII, is how it looked like when Architect Luciano Olivero finished building it in 1878.


The basilica's facade, made to resemble that of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, features Doric and Corinthian columns. The original windows, made of capiz shells, were now replaced with glass ones.

The interior of the church was designed to form a cross, with aisle on decorated with paintings and stained glass windows.


The interior may not be as grand as it used to be but the intricate altars, retablos, and painted ceilings still inspire awe.


Some of the original paintings on the ceilings and murals  were lost due to renovations, but one could still easily spend a couple of hours marveling various artworks inside the church.


The real treat was coming back to the basilica on sunset, when the facade was lighted golden.


More photos of this church here.

Like the migratory birds, a lot of things are seasonal in Candaba wetlands. The road, for one,  "disappears" during the rainy season. You'll see the fields transform from  rice fields to fish ponds (and vice versa) depending on which month you go there.

I found myself wandering there again one lazy Sunday afternoon, on a hunt for a good sunset scenery. Most of the fields are underwater due to the recent successive typhoons.

The scorching heat that afternoon belied the fact that there was a typhoon the previous day. The trails going to the popular birding spots were under mud so I opted the cool shade of a road side tree rather than hike farther into the heart of the swamp. It later proved to be a great birding spot.


Several folks en route to their favorite fishing spots passed by, some carrying more than one bamboo fishing pole.  Most are on bikes since public transportation is not available.


"Large scale fishing" in Candaba is done by setting nets and then beating the water with sticks to drive the fish to the nets.  I watched two men did just that that afternoon. Their efforts yielded several buckets of tilapia and mud fish after a few hours.


Sunset that day was worth the wait and the heat.  As the sun went down, the sky glowed with warm shades of red and orange.


The best part the few seconds after the sun finally dipped below the horizon. The fusion of vibrant colors and reflections made it one of the most beautiful sunsets I have seen.  I was in a frenzy, shooting wide and zooming in, trying to get the best of the scenery in front of me.


When the color display ended, I packed my bag and prepared to head home.  I noticed that I was alone in the middle of nowhere, the fisher folks have long went home. At that moment I realized that I'll be walking several kilometers back to town, alone, in the dark. But with a sunset like that, such an issue seem like a minor inconvenience.

Typhoon Santi derailed my plans to go to Polilio island on the long weekend of Nov 1 (All Saints Day). Flights were grounded and boat trips were canceled. Everyone braced for the incoming storm.

When it came it blew strong winds for a couple of hours and poured several millimeters of rain. And then as suddenly as it came, the rain stopped and the sky cleared. So there I was with nothing to do on a cloudless Sunday morning, too late to go to where I planned to spend the weekend.

Without thinking too much on where I was going, I grabbed my pack and headed to the bus station. By the time I arrived at the station, I had decided to catch the sunset in the bird sanctuary in Candaba wetlands. Its bird season and I thought I might get lucky with some bird shots, with a beautiful sunset as bonus.


Weather was perfect when I got there but the trails going to the usual birding areas were gone, buried under mud and lotus plants. So much for birding. I trekked back to the main road, found a tree with a nice shade and decided to just wait for the sunset. Luckily, the spot I picked turned out to be in front of a feeding area. The birds came soon enough.



I snapped away with my cheap Nikkor 70-300mm lens (considered grossly inadequate if you are a serious birder). I caught a pair doing something like a choreographed dance while another showed perfect form.


Another one seemed like its tracking a target and planning a precise and surgical strike. The rest simply hustled about, constantly jockeying for key spots.


This went on for a good hour. I almost forgot that the sun's getting really low and I still have to verify if the location I scouted earlier was good enough.


As I watched the sky get painted with sunset colors I can't help but think that the day terned out pretty well.

Manila Bay undergoes a transformation when the sun dips below the horizon. Its just like a Jekyll and Hyde thing, but this time it goes from ugly to beautiful.

Normally you would see a garbage strewn, oil slick covered bay. The water is far beyond murky, in some parts its almost black. But stay a while and wait for the sunset and your patience may be rewarded with nature's awesome display of colors.


As the sun goes down golden hues start to cover the bay. Suddenly the dirty (to put it mildly) water that made you cringed a moment ago is now a sea of gold. Sometimes I wonder whether the oil slick and the murky waters helps in reflecting the colors.


The hazy smog covered horizon becomes a backdrop deep red orange. Just when you think things could not get more interesting, the sun dips below the low lying clouds, treating you to a classic Manila bay fireball.


But do not leave just yet. The real sunset colors appear a few seconds after the sun finally said good bye. You'll see the colors starting to deepen and get really saturated.


All photos except the 3rd one (fireball) were taken on the same afternoon.