Since successfully touring the first four sites in the 26-day-around-the-Philippines itinerary in late February to early March 2006, I immediately set my sights to its Bicol leg as I've long been wanting to experience the majesty of Mayon Volcano, which is touted as the world's perfect cone. Initially, I had scheduled it for May of that year but I had to move it to a later date as I had gone back to Sagada in April upon the prodding of my friend Ellen (her husband Don and another friend, Rosema, completed our group). My Mayon trip had to be postponed once again as Bahrain had suddenly beckoned and I decided to give it a go in September.
Though I had put my Mayon date on the back burner, I'd often think about it and I'd always end up planning to extend the trip from Bicol, which is found in the southeastern end of Luzon, to the Visayas and even to Mindanao, just as designed in the book. (Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao are the major island groups in the Philippines, an archipelago consisting of 7,107 islands.) The question was when.
I got my answer last April, when I decided to come home immediately so I could still travel before the rainy season kicks in. But as fate would have it, I had to let two typhoons pass before I could finally hit the road on May 12, 2009.
As suggested in the book, I took the night trip so that I would arrive in Legazpi, Albay at the crack of dawn. But instead of the 7 p.m. trip cited in the book, I had to take the 8:45 p.m. schedule of Isarog Line Express (fare: PhP800). Before 9 p.m., the bus left the Araneta Center station and my new journey began. Nevermind if my own itinerary had not been finalized yet and I still didn't know how many days I'd be away. What I was certain of was my purpose for each place that I could only visualize going to with the aid of this map:
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