An island on a lake on an island on a lake on an island

Lake Taal
Two lakes, three islands
Lake Taal near Tagaytay in the Philippines
Lake Taal
Looking down from the crater
Lake Taal
Playing golf
Lake Taal
Lake Taal in the Philippines
Lake Taal
Lake Taal
Lake Taal
In the mirror
Lake Taal
You're telling me that...
Lake Taal
Lake Taal
Fingers up!
Into my arms
Holding the boob of Jesus
Lake Taal in the Philippines
Lake Taal
In the rain
The view of the lake Taal
The sky is on fire
The island on the lake on the island on the lake on the island
Inside lake Taal
Lake Taal
A cupcake the size of a pie

The draw in Tagaytay is an island on a lake on an island on a lake on an island. And while the vast majority of tourists in the nearby town of Tagaytay are Philippinos, tourists taking the trip up the crater to see the innermost matryoshka are south East Asian, mostly Japanese and Korean. In fact, I not even saw a handful of foreigners during my two day stay.
The views of the lake, on the island, are nice, but a bit too distant from Tagaytay to be overwhelming. And getting to the island with the island on the lake, is surprisingly cumbersome, though the whole venture can be had on an organized, and fairly reasonably priced tour. Well, reasonable if you're not traveling alone, when the six-person boat stays quite empty. But, with no backpackers around, sharing the journey isn't easily an option.

In between the many rainy days at the start of the rainy season, my day spent getting to the innermost island was a scorcher. All south East Asian tourists took horses up to the edge of the ridge, but I walked. An achievement is only an achievement if you suffer for it. And I did. The overpriced sodas and beers on the ridge were a welcome welcome.

On the crater's ridge, you can practice your golf skills, driving balls into the innermost lake.

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