Manny’s eyes betrayed he was more irritated than worried that our boat had abandoned us on Taal Volcano Island.  A few hundred meters down the foreshore he spied a sturdy old woman baling out another boat.  Manny motioned for us to follow him along the rubbish strewn shoreline, which we did.

After a quick negotiation, the old woman agreed to supply us a boat and driver. She nimbly hopped out of the vessel into knee deep water, and with a twist of her arms demonstrating the strength of Hercules, she repositioned the boat alongside the beach. Manny dropped a wobbly gangplank which enabled us to board high and dry.  She hadn’t finished bailing out the boat, though, so onboard we plonked ourselves down ankle deep with a sploosh. Off we went. Continue reading 20. A Nod and a Smile →