After the madhouse of Picnic Grove, we didn’t know where to turn next… But were saved by the Internet. Gracey got on a group chat with a bunch of her friends who recommended the Cliff House resort/inn. We had a donut and coffee there, which were wonderful, and then were led into the care of another boat ride guy, who took us down to Sonata Lake resort on the shore: perfect!

It was serenely beautiful, and completely empty. Even though it only cost a little bit more than the first place, the difference was enough to keep the hoi polloi at bay. We got in the motorized outrigger boat for a 30 minute ride out to the volcano island, had a beer there, but decided it was a little too hot to take the pony ride up to the top. We turned around and had a nice swim at Sonata Lke, and then had plenty of time to relive our happy day while we sat in incredibly terrible traffic on the way back to Manila. Luckily, we had a bottle of Tanduay rum waiting for us, and we ordered burgers from the Jollibee chain (a national treasure that is now available in several US states), to cap off the evening.