Throwback: Legazpi, Philippines

It was the summer of 2009. I wanted to take a big trip before I went off to university (I was going to go to a school that was out of state), so my mom and I took a 6 week vacation to the Philippines to the region that 's she's from- Bicol.

Bicol is located on the southeast end of Luzon (the largest island of the Philippines- the same island that Manila is located).

The regional center of Bicol is Legazpi City. This is where my family lives and this is where we spent most of our time.


The biggest attraction of the region is the Mayon Volcano- a perfectly shaped (and active!) volcano that you can see from many areas in Bicol, and especially in Legazpi City, where it's located. We went on many family excursions to see it. When I was there, at night you can see the very tip of the volcano glowing red where lava was flowing. It was an amazing sight, but unfortunately I couldn't get any good pictures with my little cheap point-and-shoot camera. But I did get some great shots of it during the day:

We spent our time there checking out the Mayon Volcano, going to beaches, trying duck-pin bowling (like regular bowling, but with a much smaller, hole-less bowling ball), going to the disco, karaoke, checking out other attractions (like caves, old churches, etc.), eating food (lots and lots of food!), and most importantly, spending time with family. I really bonded with my cousins there, who I don't get to see often. I also spent time with my grandma, who I miss very much. It was an amazing vacation and it was so hard to leave (because I didn't want to!). Jason, who was living in the Philippines at the time, even came for a few days to visit as well.

Here's a short video I had made shortly after I got back from the trip  that pretty much summarizes everything:

We'll be going to the Philippines soon and we can't wait!!