The Lapu Lapu monument park, Mactan Island, Cebu.
Lapu Lapu is a city on Mactan Island, Cebu Province, in Central Visayas. It is part of Cebu, and it has a special place in the Philippines’ history: It’s where the chief of the local clan repelled the Spanish invaders in 1521 and, in the process, killed the explorer Magellan – the first recorded time… Read more
Mines View, Baguio City, Philippines.
Baguio City, in the mountains of Northern Luzon, has a climate that is quite different from most other parts of the Philippines. That’s because it sits at an altitude of around 5,000 feet. I’ve woken up on a December morning to find ice on the car’s windscreen – not a common experience in the Philippines… Read more
100 Islands, Pangasinan, Philippines
One recent Christmas I was staying with friends near San Manuel, in Pangasinan Province on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines (which comprises more than 7,000 islands in all) and the Northern-most one. It contains at least 3 active volcanos (Mayon, Pinatubo and Taal) and is… Read more
The Taal Volcano, Philippines.
The Taal Volcano, in Batangas, Philippines, is the smallest volcano in the world, and one of the most dangerous. It erupted in January 2020 after a rest of 43 years, one of the longest periods of its inactivity since records began. Actually, inactivity is not the right word, because earthquakes at the volcano are being… Read more
Boracay Island, Philippines
This is one of those times I’m writing about a popular tourist destination – the island of Boracay, in the Philippines. That’s it, in the picture above, taken from the aeroplane as we flew in to Caticlan airport on the next-door island of Panay. In April 2018, Boracay was closed because over-crowding, over-commercialisation, and a… Read more
Kawasan Falls, Badian, Cebu
I was in Cebu recently when a group of us visited the Kawasan Falls, near Badian. Badian turned out to be about a 3-hour drive from Cebu City, where I was staying. It’s only about 120 Kms, but the traffic on Cebu is heavy and the roads are narrow, with limited overtaking opportunities. Here’s where… Read more
Chocolate Hills, Bohol, Philippines
Two years ago this Christmas I was in Cebu, Philippines, with friends, and we took a day trip to Bohol. Bohol is an island in the Visayas region – here’s where it sits in the Philippines: And here is Bohol in relation to Cebu: I had always wanted to see Bohol because, in my many… Read more