The SMUGs Metro Manila had it’s first Photo Walk in Taal Town, Batangas. It’s been two years since I last went to Taal Town. While it is declared as a Heritage Town, two years ago I was disheartened on how it was neglected – the Taal Basilica was dilapidated, the stream along the Sta Lucia Well was flowing with trash and the streets were dirty. Returning with a group of fellow photographers through Smugs Metro Manila, I found renewed hope for this town. The Basilica is being renovated with freshly painted walls, the streets a lot cleaner and alas! The Sta Lucia Well is free of garbage. I also noticed there were a number of tourist coming and going wherein before I think we were the few who was there. Who ever the people in charge of restoring the grandeur of the town, I must commend them.
As for the walk itself, despite the heat and humidity it was a fun and enjoyable walk. We left Makati only 10 in numbers via our rented van then the Bajema family caught up with us at Shell Station SLEX and convoyed all the way to Taal Town. We visited a couple of churches, 2 ancestral houses, ate the local delicacy of panutsa and tawilis fish and visited a Panutsa factory. It was a full afternoon but we went home with some keepers. If you want to join us on the next SmugMug Photo Walk, join in on the conversations at our SMUGs Metro Manila FB Page and keep updated on events at our Meetup.com site. In the meantime enjoy some of my favorite shots here. For more images from the photowalk check out my SmugMug Gallery.
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