Boarding Gate 101

Since I was a kid the first thing that comes to my mind when talking about places to visit in the Philippines was the Mayon Volcano . Its perfect conical shape, along with the ruins of Cagsawa Church - which was buried in lava flows during the 1814 eruption - are among the quintessential magandang tanawin sa Pilipinas (beautiful views of the Philippines) that are discussed in our books in elementary school.  It is usually described as "majestic," and when I first saw it (while we were on a boat from Caramoan), I felt that the adjective was apt - standing alone on a verdant plain, wisping  smoke from the apex of its iconic cone. Mount Mayon, as it is also known, is located in Legazpi City in Albay province, about 40 minutes away from Manila by plane (or 12 hours by train and bus; more on that later).  It is considered to be the most active volcano in the Philippines, having erupted about 48 times in the last 400 years, the most recent one was i...

The belfry of the 18th-century Franciscan church in Daraga, Albay, which was buried by the eruption of Mayon volcano in 1814. The Baroque church was built in 1724.

The Legazpi Airport (IATA code: LGP) as seen from Ligñon Hill, where an observatory for the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology ( Philvolcs ) is located. The observatory monitors Mayon Volcano (on my back from this picture). There is also a park, with an observation deck on top of the hill that gives a 360-degree view of Legazpi City.

A Zest Air Airbus 319 sits on the tarmac of Legazpi Airport, under the shadows of the mighty Mayon volcano. April 30, 2012

The majestic Mayon Volcano - with its perfect cone - on a cloudy day in Legazpi City, Philippines.  The  2,463-meter high volcano is the most active in the Philippines, having erupted most recently in 2010.  April 30, 2012