First light on Taal — what it actually looks like at six

The first time we watched the lake at six, it was thirty minutes before either of us spoke.

The mist sits on the water until the sun is high enough to lift it. The cone is silhouetted first — a dark wedge against a peach sky — then it gains colour as the haze burns off. By seven you can see the houses in the village across the rim. By eight the fishermen are out.

We've watched it a thousand mornings. It is never the same morning twice.