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December 2022

Philippines

A 21-day adventure by skip's retirement travel Read more
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  • Trip start
    December 7, 2022
    skip's retirement travelskip's retirement travelPhilippines

    Makati, Manila

    December 8, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Makati is 1 of the 16 municipalities that mek up Manila. It is one of the most developed commercial area of the city. This is the neighborhood where I stayed.
    The pictures are all taken around the Ayala and Greenbelt sections of Makati. These give a sense of what this part of Manila is like.Read more

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    Chinatown

    December 9, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Manila claims the oldest Chinatown in the world, dating to 1594. The area is also known as Binondo, and was established by the Spanish right across the Pasig River from Fort Santiago in Intramuros (see another post). Binondo has historically been a center of commerce in Manila, and that continues to this day.
    These 5 pictures are in Chinatown. They give a flavor of the area.
    The 4th picture is of a community cross where local people stop by regularly to pray. Most of the people of Chinatown are Roman Catholic, and a cornerstone of the neighborhood is the Binondo Church, more formally known as the Minor Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz.    Read more

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    Intramuros, Manila's old town

    December 10, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 30 °C

    Intramuros, meaning "within the walls," is the Spanish old town Manila that dates to the 16th century. It was the seat of the Spanish government in the Philippines for more than 300 years.
    The 1st 2 pictures are St. Augustin church, the oldest standing church in the Philippines and a UNESCO world heritage site. This is the only building in Intramuros that was not destroyed during world war 2. The 3rd picture is in the cloister of the Augustinian convent next to the church. The building is now a museum.
    The 4th picture is the reconstructed palace of the Governor General, the highest Spanish official of the time. The ancient building was 2 stories.
    The next 4 pictures are in Fort Santiago, the inner sanctum of the Spanish occupation military. The 5th picture looks across the most to the main gate. The fort backs up to the Pasig River where a postern gate provided an escape route if the fort was breached. The 6th picture is of another of the gates. The 7th picture is former cells in the fort that has been repurposed to a theater. The 8th picture is in the dungeon used by the Japanese during world war 2. This was a notoriously brutal prison.
    The 9th picture is atop the original city walls.
    The 10th picture is the memorial commemorating the lives lost during the Battle of Manila to retake the city from the Japanese during world war 2.    Read more

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    Puerto Princesa

    December 11, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Puerto Princesa is both the capital of Palawan province and the westernmost city in the Philippines. It is becoming known as an ecotourism center, and near here is the well known underground river. Unfortunately, I didn't get to visit it as it was closed due to weather and dangerous seas.
    The 1st picture is at the main waterfront park, called Baywalk. That is the town harbor in the background. It is a good, deep natural harbor that has been a navy headquarters and can handle cruise ships.
    The 2nd picture is in the Plaza Cuartel. The monument is about the Palawan Massacre in world war 2 and a shrine to the 150 American POWs were burned alive. Their names are on the pedestal.
    The next 2 pictures are Immaculate Conception cathedral, outside and in. The church dates to the Spanish period, but was was expanded to a cathedral in the 1960s. While it is relatively new building, it's gothic design, especially the arches, are reminiscent of medieval churches.
    The 5th picture is at Bakers Hill, a bit of a food destination and playground. It's a good family destination.
    The 6th picture is at a wildlife conservation and rescue center. There is a strong emphasis here on both saltwater and freshwater crocodiles, both of which are endangered. This skeleton is one of the largest Crocs found here.
    The last picture is a main intersection in downtown with it's Christmas decorations lit.    Read more

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    El Nido Island Hopping

    December 13, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    3 days in El Nido, island hopping each day. I would describe El Nido as a typical tropical beach town. The 1st picture is a look at one of the main streets. Lots of bars, restaurants, dive shops, etc. A bit of a laid back surfer vibe, though I didn't see any indication of surfing. It's just a convenient way to describe the feel of the town.
    Unlike most beach towns, the beach here is mostly commercial as this is where the island hopping tours start, and there are scores of boats going out every day on several different itineraries. There are beautiful beaches away from town and on the hundreds of islands in Bacuit Bay. All the rest of the pictures are from the island hopping boats. These are built narrow with outriggers. I note that the last picture is a sea cave on one of the islands.
    Also, there are many places I visited that I couldn't photograph because I don't have a waterproof camera, and swimming was required to reach them. These, of course, are among the more stunning places I saw here. This is a great location for a beach vacation.    Read more

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    Banaue

    December 17, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Banuae is well known as a UNESCO world heritage site for the rice terraces built here in the mountains. Once in a while, these are called the 8th wonder of the world as the terraces begin at the base of the mountains and continue more than 1,000 meters up the slope. It is likely they were built by hand with minimum tools. They are irrigated by channeling mountain streams into irrigation channels running down through the terraces.
    Some believe that the terraces date back 2,000 years, but others think it's 1,000. I theorize it could be both if what we see are the "new and improved" terraces built over older ones.
    The 1st picture is the entry to the region and the 2nd picture gives an idea of what the locals were up against as a difficult topography to farm. The other 4 pictures are all views of the terraces showing how they overcame the topographic obstacles. They are amazing.    Read more

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    Sagada

    December 17, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Sagada is a small town deep in the cordillera mountains in the north of the Philippines. It is remote enough that the Spanish conquistadors rarely came here. So a lot of the local culture remains more intact than elsewhere.
    The 1st picture is a pre-Christian stone circle in the middle of town. I'm told this is where they worshipped, where judgment was given, where disputes were settled, etc. In other words, all things that made for community centered here.
    Nearby is St. Mary the Virgin Episcopal church. The 2nd picture is inside the current church as it has been rebuilt a number of times. The 1st missionaries here were not Catholic, like in most of the Philippines. The 3rd picture is all that remains of a mill built by the missionaries. Interestingly, they also installed an electric generator. So the town had power earlier than most.
    The 4th picture is the graveyard that was begun by the missionaries. Prior to that, the local tradition was to hang coffins from the cliffs as in the 5th picture. This is probably what is best known about Sagada.
    The 6th picture looks out of a local cave and shows a bit of what the area looks like. The 7th the picture is where their underground river returns to the surface. It drops underground a bit downstream from Bokong Falls with it's natural swimming hole in the 8th picture.
    The 9th picture is of fields, mostly rice, between Bokong Falls and the town. The last picture is what they call blue soil. I asked what made the soul blue, but the guide didn't know, though she did say there was a gold mine directly below the site. I'll leave it to the geologists and geochemists to provide an answer.    Read more

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    Bohol

    December 21, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

    Bohol is another of the islands of the Philippines, probably best known for its beaches and watersports. Across 2 causeways from Bohol is Panglao Island, considered one of the best diving locations in the world. I didn't do any diving, but a bit of snorkeling with sea turtles, along with tropical fish and the coral was good.
    Rather than take up space with pictures of tropical beaches, I decided to show some of the other sights on the island. The Yoda lookalike in the 1st picture is a sleeping tarsier, one of the worlds smallest primates. He's not much bigger than the size of my fist. They are indigenous here.
    Unfortunately I didn't get to swim with the dolphins in the 2nd picture like I did in the Maldives (see other posts). These guys were jumping out of the water but I didn't catch any pictures of them airborne.
    The 3rd picture is an important historical statue commemorating the "blood compact" between the local king and the Spanish in 1565.
    The 4th picture is probably the best known site on Bohol that isn't a beach. These are the Chocolate Hills, named for their chocolate brown color in the dry season, not because they might resemble certain iconic chocolates from a certain company in Pennsylvania.
    The 5th picture is in Hinagdanan Cave. It is a small cavern with an underground lake open for swimming. There are some formations, but the focus here is on getting wet.
    The 6th picture is the Loboc River where a luncheon cruise with an excellent buffet, tours the river. The 7th picture is the so called man made forest. Most of the trees you see are mahogany. It was started on the 1950s as a reforestation project. The trees were planted, hence the name.
    The last 2 pictures are historic churches on the island. The 8th picture is the church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis on Panglao Island, dating to 1617. It is an unusual mix of Byzantine and Romanesque architecture. The last picture is the church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, dating to 1595. This church built was by the Jesuits as you can tell from the decoration. It is one of the oldest coral stone church buildings anywhere and the 1st church in Bohol.    Read more

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    Cebu

    December 24, 2022 on the Philippines ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Cebu is a province of the Philippines south of Manila. It's main city, Cebu City, is the 2nd largest city in the country, the provincial center, and former national capital. It was here that Ferdinand Magellan landed during his voyage of circumnavigation. The 1st picture is the Magellan's Cross. While this is not the original, it is a replica, and it is erected on the site where he planted the original in 1521.
    Magellan was able to convert the local king and queen to Christianity and have them pledge allegiance to the King of Spain. The 2nd picture is Santo Niño, a small statue of the holy child brought from Spain and presented to the queen on her conversion. That is the original statue, in its own basilica.
    The 3rd picture is Fort San Pedro, an early headquarters of the Spanish during their colonial period. It is a small, triangular structure at the ocean side entrance to the city.
    The 4th looks over modern Cebu City from a nearby mountain. On the other side of that mountain is a community that for generations has been growing flowers for the Cebu market. One enterprising grower turned part of his gardens into a public park full of flowers and statues. The 5th picture is a look at that garden space. It became a popular place, so, of course, others followed suit, and now there are several of them on the mountain.
    On another arm of the mountain is the Temple of Leah in the 6th picture. This was built by a wealthy man as a tribute to his wife. There is a central hall plus 24 rooms filled with her collections.
    There is a significant Chinese presence among the population here. As such, there are quite a few Taoist temples in town.
    (See other posts). The 7th picture looks at the largest one.
    The 8th picture is of a monument that recounts important moments and people in Cebu's history. Rather than the more typical series of several monuments that each separately remember a person or event, this one blends them one after another as you walk around it.
    The 9th picture is the Yap-San Diego house that dates to the 17th century. It preserves the typical Spanish colonial house of the time and is filled with many, many artifacts. Many are from the period before the Spanish arrived. The collection also showi the mixed influence of Chinese and Spanish cultures here.    Read more

    Trip end
    December 27, 2022
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