Osong Ligaw goes to Corregidor
Just a boat away from Manila is the infamous Corregidor Island. A place where your history book comes to life. That is why I decided to check it out.
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| The hotel |
Check-in at the Harbor, Hoverferry Terminal is 7 – 7:30 am for your 8 am sail err…trip. I suggest that you be early so you can ask the friendly Ate Ticket to give you a window seat. A sticker with your seat number will be given. If you’re staying overnight, you may wish to have your bags checked-in. Sun Cruises will simply bring your bag (or bags) to the hotel so you don’t have to bring them with you all the time. Just have your money and camera with you.
A shuttle will bring you to the harbour where your cruise awaits. Don’t worry if you miss the shuttle as there are several more to bring you there. Also, you may opt to walk to the harbour yourself since it’s not that very far anyway. The ferry is strategically docked near the (now defunct??) Jumbo Palace Restaurant. That will actually serve as your landmark.
~If you plan to stay overnight, bring food. Hotel food has well, uhm…hotel price. I will tell you more about it later.
µ Manila to Corregidor. The trip from Manila to Corregidor normally takes 1 hour & 15 minutes. Your sticker will actually tell you where you’re supposed to sit. You may ask the friendly cabin crew for assistance.
~ If you don’t like your seat, however, you need not to loathe. You’ll only stay there until the prayer and the sailing SOP’s are done anyway. Afterwards, you may roam around, take a more comfy (and colder) seat at the upper deck, or have perfect photo ops at the viewing deck.
If you plan to stay on your seat, you may listen to Kuya Tour Guide’s short lecture about Philippine History. Yes, the one taught during your Social Studies class (if you were awake of course).
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| Guess how old this structure is |
The tour includes the following:
* The Mile-Long Barracks *Old Spanish Lighthouse (where a lot of souvenir shops are available) *Pacific War Memorial * Gen. Mac Arthur Park *Filipino-American Friendship Park *Filipino Heroes Memorial *Middle side Barracks *Parade Ground *Malinta Tunnel (pay Php150 for a 30 minute lightshow) *Battery Way, and several more!
~ Say “hi” to Ate Rowena for us. She’s totally cool and absolutely funny! We had an awesome time in our tour because of her.
Though Ate tour guide really knew a lot of about the places, our tour group was very lucky because Glenn williford was with us. He was there as a tourist, but he knew a hell lot about the place. Apparently, he is a world-famous American historian, speaker, and author of several history books. In fact, his name is engraved on one of the plaques in a Battery (an army place) in Corregidor. He was also very friendly and gave cool trivia about the place.
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| A tribute to our Filipino heroes - farmers by day and soldiers by night. Can also be a metaphor that if you work hard for your country, you are a hero! |
µ Buffet Lunch! After 4 hours of tour, you will be delighted in the buffet lunch prepared for you. This is served either in the Corregidor Inn or at a place closer to the beach. Luckily, we had ours near the beach. Good food is an understatement. It was totally great! Good choices. Great tastes. Awesome experience.
After having your lunch, the second part of your tour continues. Usually, it ends at around 2 pm. Overnight guests will be brought to Corregidor Inn for check-in while day-tour guests will be brought to the harbour for their trip back to Manila.
µ Corregidor Inn is the only hotel in Corregidor. Our room is fully air-conditioned and had one big bed. It did not have a TV though, but a cabled TV set is available downstairs for everyone’s convenience. You may ask Ate reception for two extra pillows with no extra charge if you want. I think Corregidor Hostel¸, a dormitory type accommodation, is available for bigger groups since it has 13 double deck beds.
The hotel pool is open until 11 pm. A dip in the pool is actually a cool way to end your day and to relax and (literally) chill from the day’s walking under the sun.
µ La Playa restaurant serves food and drinks downstairs. It offers a wide variety of choices for breakfast, lunch, merienda, and dinner. Food is a little expensive, however. Lunch and dinner meals start at Php200.
~If you did not bring your own food, despite my suggestion earlier, don’t worry if you don’t wanna spend much for your food. Several island stores can be found near the hotel. They also offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a hundred peso cheaper. But if you’re after convenience, forget I’ve mentioned this. |
| oooooh...orbs |
~ If you visit Corregidor with just a friend, you may ask Kuya night tour guide to take pictures for you. He’ll be really happy, and he does have some creative side especially for the “fantasy” sunset shots. So be prepared to be bossed around by him – big time! :)
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| I eat danger for lunch. I'm a bear you know. |
µ Sunrise Viewing activities will be offered the following day. Check Ate receptionist if this is part of the Php 150 you have paid the previous night. As the name suggests, you will be witnessing the rising sun REALLY early in the morning. A short hike will also be done. There are some bonus points as you will visit several tunnels not visited on your previous tours.
~ This is another fun activity, but if you have trouble waking up early (say, 4:45 am) this activity is not for you. I intended to sign up for this, but because of the comfy sleep, I woke up at around 10:30 in the morning. Rawr.
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| In memory of Filipino, American, and Japanese soldiers who died during WW2 |
µ Check-out time is at 12 noon, but the shuttle will arrive at around 2:30pm. Since you have roughly 2 and 1/2 hrs of free time, you have actually a lot of choices of activities.
*Island Roundabout *Bird Watching *Rock Balancing *Bike or Motorcycle Rental or you may swim in the pool and just ask Ate receptionist for a free room where you can properly bathe and change.
* Have your bag/s checked-in for safety and convenience.
µ Corregidor to Manila (1 hr & 15 mins) At 2:30 pm, your tramvia will pick you up. On-board entertainment (read as Videoke) will be provided. If you complete a survey, you will also have a chance to win a free ticket at their Manila Bay Cruise with dinner. Since I had already availed of the ticket, I decided to simply doze off back to Manila.
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| No trip to Corregidor is complete without a picture of this beauty |
µ Manila Bay Cruise. For Php 550, enjoy a sumptuous dinner aboard M/V Spirit of Manila. Have your camera ready for the amazing sunset view at the Manila Bay, Manila skyline, and the lights of Mall of Asia at night. Make sure you have reserved at least a day earlier so you can enjoy your dinner at the upper deck. If you’re with a group of friends, though, you can opt to stay at the lower deck for privacy.
A live acoustic entertainment at the upper deck is also available. The singers were okay, but their choice of songs is a little, say rusty. We basically had no idea what she was trying to sing. They were really old, unpopular, and totally not romantic - a mood she was trying to set. A couple beside our table was even bummed, and most were totally bored with her. In fact, we preferred that she just turned her mp3’s back on. Maybe this is something Sun Cruises can look into. The guy singer-guitarist, on the other hand, played and sang a more appropriate song. It’s too bad he only sang once.
You may choose from the cruise’s 4pm, 6pm, or 8pm schedules - whichever is more convenient for you. However, I suggest that you take the 6 pm schedule to catch the sunset manila bay is world-famous for.
* If you are with your special someone, this dinner is one great way to end the weekend as you reminisce the great time you’ve had at Corregidor. I am all paws up for the amazing time I’ve had at Corregidor. Cheers to Sun Cruises!
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| Sunset at Manila Bay |
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