A weekend out of town

On Saturday morning I set out with a merry band of volunteers ready and raring for an out of town adventure. Over a couple of beers the night before we had decided we would venture to Tagaytay, a small town about 2 hours south of Manila. We found a van and a driver willing to drive us and the adventure began....First stop was a great restaurant overlooking Lake Taal and the volcano- it would have been beautiful if not for the weather. The rainy season has started in earnest and it was bucketing down so heavily that we could hardly see the view.


Still the lunch was great, particularly the desserts!



Over lunch we decided that our plans for hiking and sailing in Tagaytay were a little optimistic in such conditions and decided instead to go to Los Banos, an area renowned for its hot springs. Some more haggling for vans and a one-hour drive later we arrived at the Los Banos in time for a gorgeous sunset over Laguna de Bay.


We stayed at City of Springs, a weird and wacky hotel with water slides and a thermal pool- inside the room! A very funny night followed- we enjoyed the pool and drank a lot of red wine.

As well as hot springs, Los Banos is famous for its buko pie (coconut pie). Before jumping on the bus on Sunday morning we stopped and bought a few pies from Colette's, apparently the best pie shop in town. The pies were still warm and smelt delicious so cracked one open immediately. Here’s Nicola and Jacinta enjoying a slice on the bus...