Corregidor
I wrote this post on the last weekend just after our trip, but the upload process for the photos crapped out and I've just got back to finishing it.
I don't think I can do this place justice; imposable to capture the echoes of distant events ringing there. So I'm not really going to try. Just know that I was affected by this place: connected to a part of history that until my visit had seemed so remote and obscure.
Corregidor's known history starts in the 13th century when Chinese pirates used it as a base of operations. When the Spanish showed up in the Philippines they used it to protect Manila bay and impose taxes on trade in and out of Manila. To the south of the island a sea battle occurred between the Spanish and Americans... the American's one ship destroyed the Spanish’s fleet. To be fair, the one ship was made of steel and had guns that could fire several miles, while the Spanish were in wooden boats with cannons that could only fire a mile.
In WWII it was the last hold-out of the US before the Japanese took Luzon (the big island that Manila is on), and the site of MacArthur’s speech "I will return." (MacArthur had called the Philippines home for many years at that point.) It was also the last battleground when the Americans retook the Philippines.
It's hard to communicate the violence that took place there... at one point the Japanese, unwilling to surrender, detonated their own munitions killing two thousand of their own men and hundreds of Americans and Filipinos. In the end, they say, not a single tree was left standing on the whole island.
Despite our sappy tour guide and his stories of seeing ghosts, I did get a sense of the spirit of the place. It's hard to believe that we do that kind of stuff to each other.
If you'd like to learn more about Corregidor a good place to start is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corregidor
Leaving dirty smoggy Manila behind… Corregidor is about 50 Km from Manila.
Arriving.
The bombed out ruins of the Officer’s Club.
The jungle is only as old as the ruins are.
So many bullet holes.
Looking west towards Manila 50 Km away. The sky eats the sea here... a contest to see who can hold more water.
Kellie arranged our outing. From left to right: Paul, Camilla, Kellie, David, Matt, Janet and I.
I don't think I can do this place justice; imposable to capture the echoes of distant events ringing there. So I'm not really going to try. Just know that I was affected by this place: connected to a part of history that until my visit had seemed so remote and obscure.
Corregidor's known history starts in the 13th century when Chinese pirates used it as a base of operations. When the Spanish showed up in the Philippines they used it to protect Manila bay and impose taxes on trade in and out of Manila. To the south of the island a sea battle occurred between the Spanish and Americans... the American's one ship destroyed the Spanish’s fleet. To be fair, the one ship was made of steel and had guns that could fire several miles, while the Spanish were in wooden boats with cannons that could only fire a mile.
In WWII it was the last hold-out of the US before the Japanese took Luzon (the big island that Manila is on), and the site of MacArthur’s speech "I will return." (MacArthur had called the Philippines home for many years at that point.) It was also the last battleground when the Americans retook the Philippines.
It's hard to communicate the violence that took place there... at one point the Japanese, unwilling to surrender, detonated their own munitions killing two thousand of their own men and hundreds of Americans and Filipinos. In the end, they say, not a single tree was left standing on the whole island.
Despite our sappy tour guide and his stories of seeing ghosts, I did get a sense of the spirit of the place. It's hard to believe that we do that kind of stuff to each other.
If you'd like to learn more about Corregidor a good place to start is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corregidor
Leaving dirty smoggy Manila behind… Corregidor is about 50 Km from Manila.
Arriving.
The bombed out ruins of the Officer’s Club.
The jungle is only as old as the ruins are.
So many bullet holes.
Looking west towards Manila 50 Km away. The sky eats the sea here... a contest to see who can hold more water.
Kellie arranged our outing. From left to right: Paul, Camilla, Kellie, David, Matt, Janet and I.
posted by Toby Johnson at 11:33 PM
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