Your Majesty In Albay (1st of the series)

The province of Albay has been synonymous to the perfectly shaped Mt. Mayon. This famous volcano, despite having erupted more than 40 times over the last two centuries, has never lost its majestic charm to tourists as it never deforms in shape. Join me as I explore Albay’s attractions---the known ones and those you most probably haven’t heard about yet. Want to discover the best-untouched destination I found? Hold on and let’s travel!

The Trip

With your choice of transport, you can get to Albay by plane, bus or train. The train is the old-fashioned way and definitely the slowest mode of transport, but this unimposing feature nevertheless gives you the opportunity to take the best pictures while onboard. The nipa huts, the rice fields, carabaos in the mud, lush mountains---all these will satisfy your desire to catch sight of the most rural environment. However, if you chose to get there earlier but still be able to get pictures while onboard, take a bus. There are many bus companies that offer daily trip to Albay with terminals in Manila, located in strategic places like Cubao, Malate, Pasay and Sampaloc. To tickle your imagination, here’s the picture I took while the bus ran in the national highway. It’s the view of the rice field with Mt. Mayon on the background, notice the electricity wires hanging over? Should airplane be your choice, major airlines fly daily to and from Legaspi airport. While onboard the plane you’ll also get the best view of Mt. Mayon when you’re on the window seat.

We travelled by bus for almost 11 hours. It dropped us off at the Legaspi Central Station, where we took a tricycle going to the Department of Tourism Office. DOT was just supposed to provide us an itinerary for the next 2 days, but DOT Assistant Director Ping Arcilla showed us the Bicolano hospitality for offering a guided tour for every destination we set to visit.

Start It Out

Our first stop was the renowned Cagsawa Church ruins in the town of Daraga, Albay. The Cagsawa Church, built after 1724 by the Spanish friar Francisco Blanco, was buried in rocks and lava when Mt. Mayon erupted in February 1, 1814. Only the belfry (the church tower that carries the bell) remained above ground, while the rest of the church was buried completely. On this picture you will see some of the huge black rocks that came from the volcano (which now serves as photo benches for tourists!) Cagsawa ruins are now considered the number one tourist spot in Albay in terms of number of visitors. With only five pesos as entrance fee and for being accessible (only a 20-minute drive from Legaspi City, the capital of Albay), nobody has the reason to forgo the place.

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