Eruption photos selling like hotcakes

LEGAZPI CITY -- Even in fury, the majestic Mayon volcano exudes beauty.

Photographs of Mayon's latest eruptions are now selling like hot cakes in this city as foreign and local tourists continue to arrive to witness the spectacle that for residents here has become a nightmare.

The photographs sell at P20 to P50 apiece.

Fernando Quitalla, a vendor, says he sells an average of 50 photographs each day since the volcano started to emit cauliflower-like ash columns during the day and red-hot lava and fountains of pyroclastic materials at night.

And he says many local residents also buy the photos. "Souvenir daa (For souvenirs, they say)," he bared.

Maricel Toca, another vendor, says the most sought after photographs are those taken at night, which show luminous lava rolling down the slopes of Mayon's perfect cone.

"Lalo na an mga puti, dacul na kopya an pigbabakal maski saro sanang klase nin shot. Sabi ninda dadarahon daa ninda ini sa saindang nasyon (Foreigners, especially, buy several copies of the same shot. They say they will be bringing them home to their countries)," she said.

Toca added that the foreigners described the photographs as "fantastic," "amazing," and "beautiful."

Ping Arcilla, director of Bicol's tourism department, said an average of 20 foreign tourists have arrived daily since last week when Mayon started to erupt.

The tourists, he said, were American, Australian, Japanese, Spanish, German, Dutch and French.

"The number of arrivals is double or triple since every tourist usually has a Filipino escort," he said.

Dan Intong, owner of Mystery Tours and Travels, said more tourists are arriving to see Mayon erupt. Last Feb. 25, he said, 30 local tourists from Cebu hired his agency for a tour to this city.

He said many tourists are coming as far as Mindanao and Northern Luzon. Although concerned about their safety, these tourists, he said, enjoy the thrill of danger.

"Their eagerness to come and witness Mayon's eruption sometimes depends on how a travel agency convinces them," he said.