Headed North Back to Naga (in three parts)

December 20, 2008 (from Sorsogon to Legaspi): On Saturday morning we left Sorsogon and started back to Naga. Along the way we stopped to take photos of some interesting things that caught our eye.

Christmas Stars decorating the roadside in one of the small communities between Sorsogon and Legaspi. Stars are a big part of the Christmas decorations here in the Philippines…they are all over.

In fact...Here’s a giant Christmas Star we saw in on town made out of cigarette advertisements.

We saw this tree house along the road. I guess that’s one way to avoid the floods! Notice the palm frond shingles being sold. They use these shingles to thatch the roofs of the homes here.

And one of the little shops along the road was selling these cute rocking horses. Wish I could fit one in my suitcase to bring home.

Okay, so I was curious about cell phone coverage, since I hadn’t noticed a cell phone tower since arriving. I asked if the towers were disguised as palm trees. Apparently they’re just hard to see because of all the vegetation. So after I’d asked my folks had great fun pointing them out to me along the drive.

We saw this beautiful waterfall on our way to the Cagsaua Ruins. Terri practically had to risk life and limb dodging traffic to get the photo.

In February 1814, the Mayon Volcano erupted. The community of Cagsaua sought for refuge inside the church and then consequently lost their lives when the church was buried by rock and lava during the eruption. We visited the ruins. The tower and second floor of the church has been excavated and was being cleaned when we visited. The scaffolding is made out of bamboo.

In this next picture, Terri is framed by a window which was on the second floor. It gives you a perspective of how big the church was.

And I am standing on the roof of another portion of the church...which has now become a garden area. If you stand still too long in this place, you're bound to grow green.

For just a few minutes, the cloud coverage around the Mayon Volcano blew away and we were finally able to get a great photo of the top. You can also see the path of the last lava flow. The Mayon last erupted July-September 2006.