Mayon's beauty & fury

There are times when we simply revere what we fear. No matter how we are advised to take extreme precautions, we gravitate towards the ultimate challenge, conquering it and transforming our lives like never before.

Such is the experience of witnessing at night the beauty amid fury of the petulantly active Mayon Volcano in the Bicol region. The scene is cataclysmic and providential at once. To the uninitiated visitor, the spectacle is both humbling and unnerving. I must admit, two weeks ago, I reveled at the spellbinding spectacle. Silently, I also offered a prayer for those living within the eight-kilometer perimeter danger zone who were all successfully relocated to safer evacuation sites.

My experience of volcano tourism was the result of a sudden and unplanned journey that turned out to be a life-altering experience. This time, I was literally an accidental tourist. My dear brother Mark requested me to attend a meeting for him with gracious DepEd Region 5 Director Celedonio Layon in Albay, Bicol. Without batting an eyelash, I had myself booked on my favorite local airline Cebu Pacific. With the island paradise literally seething, I had been attuned to all the Phivolcs reports about the hideous volcanic activity of late but surmised if the flights weren’t cancelled, it was still safe to fly.

 After the meeting, my dear friend Cesar Fernandez, GM of the posh Hotel Venezia, just a stone’s throw from the Legazpi airport, prepared a hearty lunch of Black Angus sinigang, pinakbet and their heavenly chocolate cake. He encouraged me to spend the night to witness the marvel of the active volcano, which can be viewed best from his property. He added that one can actually consider the volcanic activity as either boon or bane — depending on how one chooses. A volcanic eruption is truly frightening if you are living within the eight-kilometer danger zone or its vicinity. It is impossible to admire its beauty when one is besieged by loss of life and property. However, when viewed from a safe distance — away from danger — it’s like looking through rose-tinted glass and can be truly spectacular and dramatic.

 Bicol Tourism Director Nini Ravanilla described Mayon as a timeless tourist attraction and shared that many were awed by the sheer unadulterated beauty and drama of the smoldering volcano. I learned that the 8,070-foot (2,460-meter) volcano known for its perfect cone has erupted nearly 40 times over the past 400 years. At first, I was terrified but later, the invitation appealed to the extreme challenger in me. My dear friends Rita Trinidad and Loida Rapal eventually joined me for moral support. Rita’s loving mother, Carmen Saguin, who went to school in Legazpi, encouraged the sojourn and attested one must witness the nocturnal volcano adventure at least once in a lifetime. On this brief stay, we experienced the most awesome activities in deluxe swashbuckling style.

From Hotel Venezia, we rode a deluxe van to the jetty at the Embarkadero commercial complex just 15 minutes away. The Embarkadero is a modern shopping mall where an array of restaurants fronts the boardwalk with all its festive lights and progressive architecture. From here, we boarded a 24-seater air-conditioned fast-craft en route to our home for the night, the stunning Misibis Bay Raintree resort, proudly a distinguished member of the prestigious Small Luxury Hotels of the World. In 20 minutes, we were in five-star paradise. Misibis Bay Raintree, located in Albay Gulf, is situated in an island surrounded by hills and farmlands, bordered by the Pacific Ocean and Sula Channel. Gracious GM Ian Varona said the property is 36 kilometers away from the volcano.

When night dropped its cloak, we took another fast-craft ride to go around Cagraray Bay to witness the majesty of Mayon that was unleashing its molten fury. The minute we boarded the fast-craft from Misibis to view the petulant Mayon, our hearts were filled with excitement and trepidation. The power unleashed by the volcano is like nothing else on earth. You suddenly realize some things are better experienced than explained.

 Ominous gray and powdery ash drifted down like hail and light snow. A cloud of smoke hovered around the mountaintop crater. Suddenly, liquid lava flowed like glowing embers shooting into the air from a cracked pipe accompanied by what appeared as blood-red fireworks and booming sounds. A synergy of both beauty and fury compounded as the seething Mayon spewed globs of huge molten rock like pterodactyls under the star-strewn sky.

Volcanoes have always terrified and fascinated mankind. They play a significant part in many legends. In some, volcanoes are gateways to the underworld. In others, they are the smoking chimneys of the underground shop of Vulcan, the blacksmith god. Visiting active volcanic and geothermal environments is not new. This form of tourism was included in the “Grand Tour” undertaken by many affluent Europeans several centuries ago in order to broaden their horizons. The geothermal regions of Italy, Greece and Iceland are well documented as prime destinations of this era. Today Mount Fuji in Japan attracts millions of visitors per year and has immense cultural and spiritual significance, while a number of volcanic areas in national parks, for example Teide in Spain, Yellowstone in the US, Vesuvius in Italy and Tongariro in New Zealand, attract a multitude of tourists each year.

From the fast-craft cruising along the Cagraray Bay, where we were sipping champagne and savoring hors d’oeuvres, we marveled at Mother Nature’s fury, like a woman scorned, a tempest in a teapot. Soon, all this phenomena will settle down and the air will be cleared to expose an even more dramatic terrain punctuated by the natural forces that shape our landscape. Such is life in this ethereal region, where Mayon has become a way of life. While others may be instructed to evacuate and flee from the danger area of the spurious volcano during this time, there is also great reason to return when all is calm and bright.

We went island hopping aboard jet skis through the most marvelous watery channels, tried spelunking in the dramatic Pototan Caves where intriguing forms of stalactites and stalagmites abound and had a delicious lunch of fresh seafood, fruits and deserts in an isolated sandy cove under towering palm fronds. After lunch, we were fetched by a helicopter for the breathtaking island tour. Jovially, our adventurous trio combed the ocean below us in search of the not-so-elusive whale sharks. We were advised there were recent sightings of six to eight of these giant denizens of the deep swimming together like sublime submarines. The New Year heralds the start of the season for exhilarating whale shark encounters.

On our way back to Manila, many eager tourists from Asia, America, Europe and Africa had just landed to get a glimpse of the beauty and fury of Mayon Volcano.                Marcel Proust once said, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” I agree. It’s all about seeing things from a different perspective, and experiencing God’s mighty hand in all of it. As we come up close and personal with what once terrified us, we alter our consciousness. Gratefully, this time we will no longer fear what we revere.

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For more information on Hotel Venezia please call (63 52) 481-0888 and Misibis Bay Raintree at (63 52) 821-8300/487-1540. DOT Region V office tel (63 52) 481-5593/435-0085. Cebu Pacific flies to Legazpi daily. Please call (632) 702-0888.)

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E-mail the author at miladay.star@gmail.com.