Mayon Volcano: What It's Like to Live Near the Famous Perfect Coned Mountain

The Tourism Office of Region V says that a noticeably huge increase in tourist traffic in the province. It seems that everyone is eager to see the Mount Mayon up close and personal. But how does one live with this beauty, as well as the danger it poses when it erupts? Well, I should know because I live kilometers away from the danger zone. I tell you, it’s not that fun. People losing their belongings and worst lives, students making up for disrupted school schedules, failing economy as agricultural lands are washed out—I’ve seen them all and fortunately, or rather unfortunately, I’ve captured some of the dramas that simultaneously occur with every eruption of the picturesque Mount Mayon.   

The picture above is probably one of my very first captured photos during my teens. The others have been damaged by other storms that hit our historic town, Daraga. Though locals usually think of the danger when they see these photos, tourists spend on them as souvenir. They do come by too just to witness the raging lava spill out of the volcano’s crater. I must admit though that watching this occurrence is really spectacular, especially at night when one could see the fiery liquid rolling down the mountain.  

To adventurous travelers then, stay safe if you choose to travel, visit, shoot, or tour around the province. Make sure to check with the authorities on the status of the destinations here ie Mayon Volcano before going on a trek or climbing activities. J

Why I Juander

As a kid, I have always wonder how it feels to be in someone else’s shoe—being in another place with a different culture, belief, life. Eventually, I realized that it’s an impossible dream. I can never teleport or live a double life, but I sure can go and wander around any place I want given time and resources. And so, I started planning for simple travels like around the city or next town or even the neighborhood. There might be something new or interesting I could find just around the bend, you know. God might have heard my quest to go places that He let me be with the right crowd and school and became one of those that travel to compete for just about anything the school wants to compete on. Modesty aside, I might be one of the very few lucky students of my age who have roamed around the region at that time—at the expense of my school and teachers. If there’s one thing I spend money on, its camera. My very first camera was a KB 10 by Kodak. This camera lasted my 4 years in high school and then 5 years in college. I still even had it when I started working.

Traveling and photography are my only passions in life. Even after school, I choose to pursue a career that involves traveling and of course, photography. From a lomo, point and shoot camera, I switched to a smallish digital camera. It’s one of the very first from Sony, the DSC Cybershot. This one lasted my exploring hands and eyes for about 8 years before I made up my mind that a more professional and creative tool to document my memories would be a wise investment. So I went for a digital single mirror lens reflex camera. Among many brands, I chose Nikon. My first DSLR was a D3100, an entry level of the brand to enthusiast photographers. Fortunately, I chose a very well rounded camera but taking it to the beach and low temperature areas proved to be a bad idea when its steel parts started to buildup rust. Also, I’m not the most careful photographer. I dropped it along with some rocks I took as souvenir from the famous Misibis Island in Albay. That incident rendered my camera useless but armed with the warranty, the service center was forced to restore it without cashing in a single penny from me.

My travels and passion to capture every single memory of my wandering around required a better camera and lens over time. I felt it was time to move on so I sold the camera and bought another one, the Nikon D3200. It has almost the same features as my old cam but higher pixel counts allowed it to capture more alluring images. Today, I have already and finally bought a better lens. I am also making little money out of my passion, both traveling and photography. So if you have the same passion as I have, just go ahead and live your dreams. There’s nothing sweeter than earning even how little from doing what you love doing the most. J