Hitching Back to Tagaytay City

Nearby Mountains of Batangas

Nearby Mountains of Batangas

I am now at the junction back to Tagaytay City, I remember seeing this place on the way to Talisay, since there was some sort of terminal where jeepneys heading back to Tagaytay City wait for passengers. Unfortunately, the last one just left so it would have to wait for that next one which will take a while judging from the time it took me to get to Talisay from Tagaytay City. There was a man who asked whether I wanted to go to Tagaytay, he told me that I might have a difficult time to go back to Tagaytay City since there were very few passengers and it would take time for the jeepney to fill up.

Down the Volcano We Go

Down the Volcano We Go

He told me that I could pay him and he woul be able to arrange for my transport to Tagaytay City. Why not? I told him, whichever vehicle leaves first. As with most Filipinos, he was the talkative type and he was talking about how a son of his got killed at that very junction when a vehicle going down the hill lost its brakes and hit his son. Soon afterwards a utility vehicle passed by and the man signaled to it. It seems that he knows the man behind the wheel and was apparently negotiated my trip back to Tagaytay.

See the People Walking Back to the Pier

See the People Walking Back to the Pier

I handed the man my fare and got on board, I was a little uneasy to ride on a private vehicle of someone I don’t know, I guess he would feel the same way too, taking a passenger he doesn’t know. I was surprised to see that the man behind the wheel was a foreigner. He introduced himself as Leo Merkx, he emphasized the pronunciation several times, “leh-oh meh-rix”. I had a good time talking to him, he is a Dutch national with a Filipino wife, he settled down in Talisay because it was nice and warm here. He owns a resort along the shores of Taal Lake called San Roque Beach Resort. I’m not sure about the beach since this is a volcanic lake.

Horses at the Top of Taal Volcano

Horses at the Top of Taal Volcano

Anyway, he is fetching a group of tourists in Tagaytay City to go to his resort. It seems he knows the place a lot. He even told me about the time where he needed to send a group of tourists back to Manila at the height of Typhoon Ketsana which brought widespread flooding and devastation to the capital city unseen in decades. At least this was not going to be a boring ride.

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