Mayon Volcano hovers above the bustling city of Legaspi in the province of Albay in the bikol region. Catanduanes is one of the provinces that comprises the bikol region. It is separated from the region by the Pacific ocean. To get to Catanduanes, one has to travel by a ferry boat from Albay to Virac and lasts about 3 hours or one can go the easy way–by plane, which takes about 45 minutes from Manila to Virac. (just to kind of give you an idea of the distance between Catanduanes and Albay.)

Anyway, the view you are seeing is a rare site from Batalay beach. Usually, thick clouds loom over the horizon and hide this magnificent view. But, it was quite a bit noticeable on a clear day like when I took these pictures. It was such a beautiful site that I kept staring at it while it lasted. To take these pictures, I had to use the long lens.

Mayon is famous among locals and foreign tourists for its near perfect cone-shaped despite the many eruptions that have happened in the past. It has a base 80 miles in circumference and is about 8,000 feet tall.