Greetings from Legazpi City

I arrived in Legazpi City ten days ago. It is the capital of province of Albay, southern tip of Luzon, Philippines. I am here as my husband is here. He is posted as a part of emergency relief to build houses for people who lost theirs from the typhoon attack a couple of years ago. I will only be here for a month or so since he is leaving in April too.

It is a very small city with population only less than 200,000. The terrain is hilly and the weather is nice. The Mayon is the volcano overshadowing the city. It is practically surrounded by hills.

It is a pretty little city with low rise houses and a lot of greenery - I suspect the earth is very fertile because of the mineral traces from the volcanic ashes. From the first glance of the map, I was thrilled that because it is a coastal town, there must be beautiful beaches in the bay area. Yeah it's not. The whole coast is barricaded by sea wall. The resorts build small stairs for tourists who wants to take a dip or a swim. But it's not really beach vacation I had in mind.

There is only one flight to and from Manila to Legazpi City. Domestic airline is dominated by Cebu Pacific Airlines, a cheap flight provider, mainly online booking. Legazpi City is 55 minutes flight away from Manila, 12 hours by road.

The language is Bicol. I had sun tanned from the last beach trip, so I am easily thought as one of the local girls. People would come up to me and start speaking in Bicol. I have to reply in English, and they look a bit irritated and offended - maybe thinking that I am rude not to speak Bicol. After a couple of days, I stop saying anything and just smile.

The city has not stopped raining since I got here. It has been raining for 8 days straight. I have not seen sun and clear sky since the beach trip. Nobody has seen the tip of the volcano for weeks. I got the photo posted here from one of the staff in the office. It is difficult to catch the volcano in clear day, so I am quite pessimistic if I could get one.

the mayon

The article is originally published in February 15, 2008 in Indonesian Expatriates Forum.