What Tagaytay is For

From Tagaytay City in Cavite, you usually get a good and picturesque glimpse of Taal Lake and the small Taal Volcano in the background. In fact, you often went up Tagaytay just for this quiet,still scenery.

I looks so calm and peaceful from a distance. In fact, it looks like a photograph or painting. You stare long at it and then breathe in the fresh cool air. You try to see the small houses and boats on the lower grounds below (Batangas) and wonder what may be going on there.

When I was younger, I wondered what would happen if I threw a stone (or launched one from a sling shot) from the highway down to the lands below? Hikers sometimes have crazt ideas like that.

Sometimes I imagine what Tagaytay is for---why God placed it where it is now. It was designed to be a viewing deck for Taal. There's no other place as perfect for the purpose as Tagaytay. Ages before, volcanic activity gave rise to towering cliffs that jutted up on this area and soon became popular as Tagaytay.

But Tagaytay is slowly becoming crowded---and where there's a crowd there's often spoliation and abuse and pollution. I hope this wouldn't happen to Tagaytay. Where else can you view Taal from a perfect vantage point?

It's sometimes unthinkable how a peaceful and innocent looking Taal scene can sometimes turn into a virulent catastrophe costing untold harm to lives and properties. They say (and as mentioned above) Tagaytay is a mountain peak formed out of the chaotic underground turbulence that a prehistoric Taal eruption created. And each certain number of years, Taal creates violent underground activities that send chills on the spines of residents and vacationers---but which some crazy tourists love.

Sometimes, violence creates good if it results to something as beautiful as Tagaytay. But generally, violence is scary and destructive. I can only imagine what it looks like from Tagaytay once Taal starts erupting again. They say Tagaytay is a considerably safe distance away to be affected by any Taal eruption, but I'd rather play safe and be as far away as possible when things turn for the worst.

Nonetheless, each summer or semestral vacation, I love going up Tagaytay with my family to view the volcano and its lake from above.