Trip to Corregidor
My last hurrah for this summer happened to be in a very interesting island. Not in Boracay island as I would have wanted it to be, but in Corregidor, which is not too bad anyway. The British company I work for sponsored this trip to celebrate our second year of operation here in the Philippines.
My workmates and I met at around 6:30am at the port at CCP complex because we were told that the boat leaves at 7am. We started boarding at around 7:30am. I was relieved to find out that we were boarding a ferry boat, not the usual outrigger boat that we ride from Batangas port going to Puerto Galera. It has air-conditioning, nice cushioned seats and a decent restroom. I just despised the fact that we had to wait for another half an hour or so after boarding. One of the crew members announced that they were finalizing some accounts (which I think is rubbish). I should have gone to Starbucks during that wait and grabbed my dose of caffeine before leaving civilization. I was so hungry that I just took advantage of the one hour boat ride to catch up with some sleep.
We arrived at around 9:30am. We were welcomed by a pretty cranky tourist guide who insists that our group is not supposed to be on his bus. I realized later during the trip that he didn't mean to be mean. We still ended up riding with him and he turned out to be a nice old man who probably has seen history for himself. He actually narrates the war stories as if he's been there the whole time, as if he watched history unfold before his eyes.
We explored the island for the rest of the morning up to around 2pm. I had an extremely bad lunch, I was so hungry that I ate really fast and ended up having my usual acidic stomach ache. I wasn't able to enjoy much of the afternoon tour because I was in excruciating pain (okay, that's a bit exaggerated). I am posting some really nice photos here, but if you want to see the rest of them I have posted them here.
This building used to be a cinema. They were at war, Corregidor is quite a popular base at that time and they have still managed to build a cinema! Soldiers know how to have fun after all...
At the light house. It was a breathtaking view from up there. One thing you shouldn't miss when you visit the place.
Inside Malinta Tunnel. It was my favorite part of the tour.
According to our tour guide, this was the longest barracks in history. I haven't decided yet if I should believe him, and I am too lazy now to look it up. Hehe.
As soon as the tour was over we were asked to stay at the recreation hall where there is a bar, a billiards table, a videoke machine, and a COUCH. I friggin sat on that couch the moment I laid eyes on it! And I slept. I slept on a couch in front of a billiard table inside a public, open air room, where all sorts of strangers can so freely see me. I was in so much pain that I wasn't really thinking of anything else but sleeping it off--it only hit me when I woke up and found three more of my colleagues sleeping on the same couch. It was so embarrassing. I really hated the fact that we had to wait for two hours before we can check in to our hotel rooms.
It was a great relief it when we have finally checked in. We decided not to join the scheduled "ghost hunting" trip to the hospital ruins (it is not a very good idea for a wimp like me) so we chose the funNERER activity, which is to go for a swim. We found out later that night that frogs like visiting the pool during sundown. Eeww!
Marielle and I spent the rest of the night and the following morning snuggled on our beds watching the 2nd season of Grey's Anatomy (yes, I brought a DVD player with me!). We figured that this is our type of vacation: lying down and thinking of nothing. Just bumming.
We had a fancy dinner at Barbara's in Intramuros to conclude our trip. Of course, Marielle and I dropped by Starbucks first before going to home to satisfy our cravings that started just before we left for Corregidor.
Silly as it may sound but it was an educating trip. Corregidor is quite a popular historical place and it's a shame that I was only able to visit now (thanks to my British boss who I'm starting think is more Filipino than me). Hopefully, I will write about Boracay or Palawan islands next year.