The Last Post

The last post from the Philippines, just a few photos of some recent outings - then off to Indonesia for a few weeks. 

Rice Terraces of Banaue

I spent the easter weekend at Banaue, a small town up in the Cordillera of northern Luzon. The region is famous for its rice terraces, some of which were built around 4000 years ago. The farming methods being used haven't changed much since then either - most of the work is done by hand without the aid of tractors, artificial fertilizers or pesticides.

The town of Banaue, from the hotel terrace.

Banaue terraces, looking like a contour map of themselves.

The terraces in Batad are the most famous. The village, like many others in the area, is inaccesible by road, so everything is either grown locally or carried in by hand. This also means the farming methods being used haven't changed much since the terraces were built. But even in these remote places, electricity and radio masts are becoming common - stone age farming methods with mobile phones and Manchester United shirts.

Amphitheatre of terraces in Batad.

Mount Pinatubo

In 1991, Mount Pinatubo volcano erupted, spewing 10 billion tons of ash into the atmosphere, producing debris flows that devastated nearby villages, and lowering global temperatures by 0.5C. It also produced this rather nice crater lake, which is now a major tourist attraction.  

Lahar deposits eroded into fantastic shapes.

Trekking up through the debris deposits.

And into the jungle.

We did it in 18 minutes.

And arrival at the lake.

Return journey by 4x4.

Nothing to do with rice terraces or volcanoes, but here's a picture of my colleague's dog and her new puppies. Aw, bless.