"a caterpillar doesn't just grow into a butterfly. a caterpillar must undergo metamorphosis, and a cocoon is where a caterpillar risks it all: enters total chaos, undergoes total rebuilding, and is born to a new way of living. only in taking the risk of entering that inert cocoon can the caterpillar go from dormancy to potency, from ugliness to beauty."

Thursday, October 19, 2006

huling hirit!

two good friends slash travel buddies. one destination. thirty-six hours of adventure. two digital cameras. three camera phones. output? 600+ photos (only!!!) and fun, fun, fun!!! the story? uhmm... maybe later. for now, 24 pics should load.


corregidor: island of valor, peace, and international understanding

my travel buddy, yoni, and i hied off to corregidor island last sunday. this trip was supposed to be last september, two weeks after our white water rafting adventure in cagayan de oro city. however, circumstances beyond our control got in the way and we just had to cancel our plans.

last week, yoni brought up the idea of going to corregidor again. i jumped right in!!!


from laguna to baguio to cagayan de oro to corregidor to wherever

to be honest, we didn't know how to get to corregidor. we did know, however, that we really wanted to see that historic island fondly referred to as "the rock". as they say, if there's a will, there's a way. we surely had the will... and we found the way!


on board m/v suncruiser ii



open-sided bus for the corregidor tour



where's our next destination?



guns, guns, and more guns... big guns



fort mills headquarters, flagpole from a spanish warship,
gen. douglas macarthur park, lorcha dock, "gone with the wind" cine corregidor,
and filipino heroes memorial



pacific war memorial



exploring an old spanish lighthouse



in 1945, there was a japanese military cemetery in this area...
then, people conveniently forgot. it was rediscovered 40 years after
and was developed into a memorial park



the aftermath of a great war



"if we follow the sunset, will it ever end?"



malinta tunnel at night: a ghost-hunting adventure?

the malinta tunnel of corregidor served as the underground headquarters of the united states armed forces - far east (USAFFE) during the second world war. dug through solid rock and reinforced with bethlehem steel and japanese cement (japanese cement, mind you!), it took 10 years to build. many men (and women) of war stayed in this bombproof shelter, storage and hospital area.

the malinta tunnel light and sound show is a 30-minute walk back in time written and directed by lamberto avellana, a national artist, and narrated by frankie evangelista. it makes use of special lighting and sound effects (hence the name) to tell the the story of malinta tunnel and corregidor. life-like sculptures by another national artist, napoleon abueva, are installed in the tunnel's laterals alongside war relics. salvaged war footages are part of the show, too.

this day-tour experience will allow visitors to tread on the main tunnel only. to go into the laterals and explore the sub-laterals, one has to do the night tour.


many world war 2 soldiers and workers died in this tunnel...

our guide, kuya edward, told us that psychics who've visited the place have seen "their" presence in the tunnel. although kuya edward has not seen any of "them" yet, he had experienced being spooked after a tourist took his picture in front of the tunnel's still intact air vent. in the picture, a "nurse" of the world war appeared directly in front of kuya edward.


can you see the human bone?

had yoni and i not opted for the overnight package, we would have missed seeing the relics inside the tunnel so up close. we would have missed going through the tunnel's laterals and sub-laterals, too. this tunnel alone has got so much history and it's quite a work of good engineering.


so early in the morning...



the japanese tunnel
a smaller tunnel than the american-commissioned malinta tunnel



the mile-long barracks of corregidor once housed world war 2 american soldiers



there are many bomb shells all over the island...
these are just some of those that we've seen



where we were housed overnight | look, there's an eagle! it's real!



no, we didn't come prepared



postcard perfect: hug a tree... take pictures... be happy!!!



a collage of our favorite photos



need i say more?

want this adventure to be yours, too? hie off to corregidor and take the (sunday-monday) overnight package. it's gonna be worth your money! this adventure exceeded my expectations. i could say that i got more than what i really paid for.

huling hirit? the title of this post is the special request of my travel buddy. since i'm gonna be moving on, we might not be travel buddies anymore. hmmm... who knows?

ako, laagan? taka lang.

13 comments:

  1. prepared by you. approved by me.

    a job well done! happiness! :)

    now i know how your adviser felt after your thesis defense :p

    ang kapal ng mukha ko. hahaha!

    ReplyDelete
  2. "prepared by you. approved by me."

    hahaha, very, very funny comment, gEEEmail! you're undeniably my adviser for this article. wehehe... thanks for coming up with "corregidor" for a destination!

    trick, what else could we be? ;P

    a sick boy, sulit.

    the overnight tour package costs P2040 per person (P1690 for the guided day tour with buffet lunch at corregidor inn + P350 for the special activity: sunrise/sunset + guided night visit to the laterals of the malinta tunnel + an early morning visit to the japanese tunnel). the overnight tour package already includes twin/double hotel accommodation. single hotel accommodation costs more. the optional light and sound malinta tunnel show costs P150.

    i shelled out around P2.5K for the trip (including corregidor shirt souvenir, food-baon, jeepney, mrt/lrt fares).

    go here for more details: corregidor-suncruises

    i'm doing this plug because i found the staff of suncruises very accommodating. para kay kuya edward, kay william, at sa iba pa nilang mga kasama... :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. aight, shawty, make corregidor a destination! :D ...and see you in davao! :D

    ReplyDelete
  4. HUWAAAAAAAH!!! SUYA KO! Dugay najud ko gusto maka visit sa Malinta tunnel and the whole island. Sige lang, i'm planning to swim around buttnaked in Lake Sebu sa South Cotabato. Bleeeeh. See you in Davao.

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow thanks for posting this. We can add this for our places to visit pag nasa Manila na kami.

    God bless val!

    ReplyDelete
  6. ...since i'm gonna be moving on...

    where do you intend to go jr3? or does this topic deserve another entry? :D

    you can buy yourself a big RP map. then put push pins in places where you have already visited. well, sa imong kalaagan, you'll have the every inch of the map pinned in no time.

    rock on.

    ReplyDelete
  7. And it is just 1 kilometer away from our towm's seashore... I wish I was there last sunday...

    ReplyDelete
  8. I know ... dapat food trip napod sunod! Hehe c",)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Grabe. Mukhang enjoy kayo sa Corregidor. It's so near Manila, but I still haven't manage to visit the place.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Is it true that there are ghosts there? Did they make their presence felt when you stayed overnight? Ngutana lang kay plano sad ko muadto. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. miggs, santaiya lang jud tag laag gud... the best so far jud ang corregidor na laag. (",)

    balikbayan box, it was my pleasure. glad you appreciate it! :D

    brennan, i've been thinking about that RP map with push pins for quite a while already. why don't you give me a map for my birthday this coming december? :P

    richmond, punta ka na rin ng corregidor. ano pa ba hinihintay mo? :-)

    trick, pwede pud.

    ferdz, corregidor is worth the visit! punta ka na!

    fencesitter, according to stories, yup, "they" are there... we're fortunate, we did not feel nor see "them" during our stay. ain't that comforting :D ...okay ra man tingali na kung magparamdam "sila" oi.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow! So cool! That's why I love Cagayan because of the natural resources that are being developed well. Come and visit Cagayan for you to find it out.

    Cagayan de Oro Rafting

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...