MaYon Volcano

This is our pride! I grew up seeing it almost every single day of my 17 years. But since then, I see it only once in a while now. That is, only if I went to our province for a few days of vacation. I missed looking at it. I missed seeing it's magnificent view.

Even though I grew up almost always seeing this perfect view, I am always admiring it. Wondering what was on the other side of it, what was inside it. I even sometimes wonder what it is like to live nearer to it. How would it looked like if I am closer to it? Would it still be this beautiful? Would it still looked like a perfect cone? Would it still this magnificent?

But even though I sometime wonder those things, I wouldn't trade my place to anybody's place closer to it. I wouldn't trade the beauty of our view of this mountain/volcano to the danger of living nearer to it.

These pictures are taken in front of our house. And this is how it looks like from our place. It is a very nice view specially if the weather is good and clouds wouldn't obscure it's magnificent beauty.

This very beautiful volcano could be this magnificent if in good weather and condition. If there is no danger of erupting. I even watch it in my younger years erupting lava. I admit, watching its tip change color is still awesome, but thinking the damaged it caused some of the family's, thinking the loss of lives because of it makes me a little sad.

This is the Mayon Volcano. The pride of Bicol, especially the province of Albay. It rises 2462 m (8,077 ft) from the ground and it is the Philippines' most active volcano. It is considered to be the world's most perfectly formed volcano for its symmetrical cone. Its sides are layers of lava and other volcanic material. It has forty-nine eruptions in recorded history. The first recorded major eruption was in 1616 and the most destructive eruption of Mayon occurred on February 1, 1814. The latest damaged it has done that took a lot of lives I think was in 2006, although it is not because of eruption but because of erosion of lava and large stones and other volcanic material that are gathered around it.

That year, the storm helped in the catastrophe, too. And it that eventually was also the cause of our loss of our house, the entire house and nothing left us but what my parents are wearing that day before they left the house to transfer to a little farther place.

Besides all this, we already overcome it. And whatever has happened, I still admire this and love this mountain. I am still star struck by it's magnificent. It is still a miracle of God! *_*