Daranak falls in Tanay Rizal

Rizal province has been known for spectacular attractions and leisure activities ready for their guests to ; an adventure they will never forget. And since it's just 20 kilometers away from Manila, local and foreign visitors alike would flock the array of nature spots in Rizal. They have an an art museum for art enthusiasts, enigmatic caves, historical dams, and amazing falls. One of them is this famous Daranak Falls.

Daranak Falls is positioned at the foot of Tanay mountains. It is surrounded by lush vegetation and cascading rivers and ponds. Entrance fee is P50.00 (as seen above) and they offer picnic sheds and picnic tables for family gatherings and barbecue get-together parties.

You can take a dip, swim and bond with your family and friends in their majestic waterfalls. For nature photo enthusiasts, there is a trail that leads to another waterfall. This is where the Filipino sitcom "Okay Ka Fairy Ko" had their shoots for their program. 

They have a small canteen inside where you can buy food but it's better (and cheaper I think, specially for groups) to just bring their own food.

When you need a quick getaway, have a cool dip to save you from the heat, or to simply have a chill time, I'd still say Daranak Falls is one of the nice places to go.

Taal Volcano, 1/19/2020

Visited Tagaytay again to catch glimpse of Taal volcano. Bellow is an image I got imaging at Picnic groove.

Double Rainbow while travelling at Theresa Rizal

I got this beautiful image while travelling going to Lucban Quezon, used Samsung S10 plus to capture its beauty

Going to Tagaytay to image Taal Volcano venting ash

A day after the initial venting of steam and ash from Taal volcano, me and my friend decided to go to Tagaytay which is a safe distance from Taal volcano. So the plan is to take some images of this volcanic activity. Having sub 400cc motorcycle , we took the Aguinaldo highway route. Travelling is bit difficult brought about by volcanic ash, making visibility hard.

A view of Taal volcano spewing ash and steam

Arriving in Tagaytay, we can't find any open restaurants. No electricity and no water supply in the whole city, almost as if it is a ghost town literally.

Angkas riders giving free surgical masks

Ash deposits

A video of the road condition in Tagaytay

more ash deposits along the road

We found a good vantage point to take pictures, arriving at around 4 pm and sunlight is at its low. We still able to get descent enough images to post. We are planning to try to take better pictures next week  and try to arrive much earlier, Taal Volcano is best to image early in the morning.

dusty and tired but worth the travel

Eating at Buddys in Lucban, buying lucban longganisa

Our second trip to Lucban Quezon! It was all because of our craving for their original longanisa. During our first trip, we were more focused on the sights that we'd see. This time, our goal is solely to have another bite of their local delicacy. Maybe it"s the garlic flavor in it, could've been the spices that go with it. Either way, it was an unplanned ride that we're glad we took.

So, our feet took us to Buddy's restaurant. It was the spacious one we found so far in the area and a lot of people lined up for their seats; a sign that they serve good food! Our first choice is of course the classic longanisa, a dozen of it (you can actually order uncooked longanisa as well, for pasalubong). Next was the habanera, a combination of menudo flavored ground pork with potatoes and egg. I can't quite distinguished the exact taste lolz but it"s delicious! We also treated ourselves with their Pancit Habab. It's like pancit canton with a twist as you pour some vinegar on the noodles when you eat it. It was a bit odd for me at first but it surely blended well with the habab taste! Lastly, we were so thirsty and chose the pandan cucumber juice as its refreshing green color caught our eye. Verdict? Everything they served tasted heavenly! 

After a well deserved lunch, we found this other restaurant that sells Longanisa  as pasalubong. They have this really nice mini bayongs to put your orders in to. The longanisas were sold by the dozens, choose for the standard size priced at 80 pesos or the jumbo size at 180 pesos. We chose the latter and we're glad we did. That ended up our Quezon adventure, at the moment at least. For I know that we will be regulars of this place.