My mom left Manila on February 4th and my in-laws arrived February 6th. It was really nice to have them come right after my mom left to soften the blow of her missing presence in our house.
The weekend they arrived we went with the Connallys to Corregidor. Here is a quick history of the island from Wikipedia:
Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of Manila Bay and the City of Manila from attacks by enemy warships in the event of war. Located 48 kilometres (30 mi) inland, Manila has been the largest city and the most important seaport in the Philippines for centuries, from the colonial rule of Spain, Japan and the United States, to the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines in 1946.
Corregidor (Fort Mills) is the largest of the islands that formed the harbor defenses of Manila Bay together with El Fraile Island (Fort Drum), Caballo Island (Fort Hughes) and Carabao Island (Fort Frank), which were all fortified during the American liberation of the country. The island was also the site of a small military airfield, as part of the defense.
During World War II, Corregidor played an important role during the invasion and liberation of the Philippines from Japanese forces. Heavily bombarded in the latter part of the war, the ruins left on the island serve as a military memorial to American, Filipino and Japanese soldiers who served or lost their lives on the island. Corregidor is one of the important historic and tourist sites in the country.
The only way to the island, unless maybe you own your own boat is through Sun Cruises. We left Drake at home with a sitter for the day but took Aydan with us. Here was our schedule for the day:
It was really nice to have the whole tour package. We paid a flat fee of about 2,400 Pesos (about $55) each. The tour was great, we rode an open bus around the island and had a great tour guide who told us all the stories from WWII. We ate a buffet lunch at the resort on the island. The food was good, everything you’d expect from a Philippines buffet lunch. All in all it was a wonderful day! One of the best parts was that Aydan met a new little friend, Carter, who we’ve hung out with a couple of times now. Another great thing was the island itself. It’s beautiful and clean and was a great retreat. The weather was perfect, a bit warm but there was a nice breeze. I could not imagine going it during the summer!
Here are some pictures:
You can kind of see a little hole in the side of the hill. This is where the Japanese would sit and shoot at boats who tried to enter Manila Bay.
Here are some of the barracks that were destroyed during World War II.
A Diplomat's Wife 