According to the band Meat Puppets, bad folks end up in a lake of fire. The good folks, though, end up in some scenic lake elsewhere. I have strong reasons to feel like we were a bunch of good folks heading directly to Bulusan Volcano Natural Park that specific day.
Accompanied by the humble Mayor Ronel Lim of Gubat, Sorsogon, and just a day removed from kick-starting our book sharing project, we enthusiastically set foot and gazed our tired eyes at this massive body of water completely covered by a lush, primeval forest.
Lake Bulusan: Where Bad Folks Don't Go
The calm, almost eerie presence of this dark lake perfectly presents a stunning visual contrast to the destructive force of nature situated directly beside it. Lake Bulusan is securely located at the very foot of Mount Bulusan, an active volcano which imposingly stands 5,135 feet high and last violently erupted in February 2011.
A Metaphysical Paddling Experience
The morning sky was heavily overcast, with tiny specks of warm sunlight desperately seeping through the tiny holes in the clouds, acting as if it were torn completely between pouring heavy rain or giving bright sunshine. We bravely proceeded anyway, boarding the kayak boats by pairs. The dark water was glassy, and quietly paddling around the highly scenic lake was literally a kayak in the park. I closely watched native birds flying rapidly over us and safely disappearing into the thick forest canopy.
The faint sounds of various unseen creatures violently echoed vicariously throughout the trees and reverberated just enough to safely give you a deeply metaphysical experience. The back of my head began to throb just a little, as if actively feeling out the silent stares of a thousand unseen pairs of eyes from earthly creatures hanging secretly from the dark tree branches while we paddled. It surely feels like the whole place is heavily beaming with ancient life, both seen and unseen. *Cue the Twilight Zone soundtrack*.
The Depths of the Volcanic Lake
Also proudly serving as home to highly endemic species of freshwater fish, the water starts out colored a bright emerald green near the shore but rapidly gets much darker when it gets deeper due to its thick mixture of muddy and rocky waterbeds.
Swimming provides an additional layer of psychological thrill, as you literally won't see anything swimming below your waist. You could only randomly feel slimy things gently touching your legs from the murky depths. It's truly not hard to imagine some ravenous, prehistoric underwater monster silently prowling underneath you.
I'm naturally a water person, even though I ironically couldn't swim to properly save my own life. I've been to many remote lakes around the Philippines, and Bulusan Lake is certainly one of the very few I wouldn't mind going back to over and over again.
Which we actually did, returning right after the successful opening of the Rizal Elementary School Library in Gubat, Sorsogon. This second time, we were composed of a much larger group tightly thrown inside a loud convoy of two rented jeepneys. On my second trip to Bulusan Lake, I happily did the kayaking once again with my friends Lauren and Christine aboard a small two-person raft, which essentially had us aggressively mastering the difficult art of weight balancing so as not to embarrassingly flip over into the deep green abyss.
