Lakbay Lokal: Bataan and Corregidor

I had a meaningful Holy Week retreat and travel with my high school buddies Khaye, Lei, and Derick last March 23-27.

We stayed at Lei's house in Bgy. Ombon, Abucay, Bataan, the municipality before Balanga (the capital). Bataan is a historical province in Central Luzon, having been home to the Filipino and American-Japanese War during World War II. (You can review the rest of the province's history on this link)

Here is a sample D-I-Y itinerary for those who want to backpack and revisit historical sites around the province.


March 23 (Day 0)

Evening:

• Three to four-hour travel from Manila to Bataan via Bataan Transit. The Manila terminal is located at Doroteo Jose. You can easily reach it via LRT Line 1. Fare is PHP200 only.

March 24 (Day 1)

Morning:

• From Abucay, we took a tricycle (jeepneys are also widely accessible for PHP10 only) to Balanga then rode a bus going to Mariveles (fare is about PHP40 only). 
• Before reaching Mariveles, we got off at Bgy. Cabcaben then hired a tricycle (PHP10 each) to bring us to Cabcaben Port--the departure area for boats heading to Corregidor.
• Tip: The boat can accommodate up to 8 pax for PHP3,500. The rate doesn't change whether your group is below 8 pax. It would be nice to join another group to save money. The boat will be on standby until 4PM in the island.
• Nice-to-know: The locals and the Coast Guard have a good working relationship and they look after the safety of tourists. CG officers inspected our boat and life vests before they allowed us to sail.

All aboard!

High Noon to Early Afternoon: "Corregidor Tour"

• Entrance to Corregidor is PHP200 per pax while the tour fee is PHP800 for one open jeepney.

"Welcome to Corregidor Island"

Our tour jeepney

• Tip: If you're lucky, your driver will serve as your tour guide and you can just give him a tip (in our case, a humble PHP100). If you're looking for a professional tour guide though, better be prepared to pay more, of course.
• We visited the following sites for two hours: Middleside Barracks; Battery Way; Mile Long Barracks; Battery Hearn; Pacific War Memorial; Pacific War Museum; Spanish Light House; Japanese Memorial Garden; Filipino War Heroes Memorial ("Dedicated to the Filipino who knows how to die for love of freedom and liberty"); Cine Corregidor; Bachelor Officers' Quarters; Eternal Flame of Freedom; San Jose Church; and Malinta Tunnel (fortunately, we were allowed to enter the tunnel). 

Middleside Barracks

Cannons in Battery Way

Mile-long Barracks

The Memorial.
Fun Fact: On May 6 (Fall of Corregidor) each year, the sun aligns with the hole on the circular ceiling, casting direct light on the marble marker beneath it. (see photo below)

The marble marker

Rear view of the Memorial

Another marker to commemorate the heroism of Filipino and American soldiers during the war

Posing before a tile mosaic in the War Museum

A lot "Oh..." and "So..." moments during our museum tour 

The Spanish light house

On the staircase going to the light house balcony

At the Filipino Heroes Memorial Park

The gorgeous Cine Corregidor

Eternal Flame of Freedom steel sculpture overlooking the sea

The plain San Jose Church

The obligatory tourist shot in front of Malinta Tunnel (I bet almost everyone who's been there has a similar shot)

Malinta Tunnel is like an administrative building during the war. This passageway was once an infirmary

• Visiting the island for the first time in ten years (and with more mature bearing) was worth my while!
• Fact: Corregidor Island now belongs to Cavite, not Bataan. "Baka wala sila (Cavite) masyadong tourist attractions kaya kinuha. Sana sa 'min na lang uli," said a local when I asked for her reaction.
• Tip: We had lunch at a carinderia within the island (one of only four, I think). If you have plenty of budget, you can get a nice meal for PHP150 but we preferred to be thrifty so we just shared two big cans of Century Tuna, two scrambled eggs, and one cup of rice, and halu-halo each. Good company with simple food for PHP115 each only! Sulit! Sarap! Tipid!
• Tip: If you want to have some siesta in the island, you can rent a tent for PHP500 only (no time limit).

Afternoon

• We headed back to Cabcaben Port and proceeded to Sisiman, a town in Mariveles, via tricycle (PHP60 each). If you're picky, you can ride the public bus (PHP70) or private bus (about PHP100).
• We searched for the lightless light house which has a breathtaking reputation (based on some bloggers who were there years prior) but is now a disappointing victim of careless local tourism operations and industrialization activities on the side of the bay.

Expectations:

Photos grabbed from The Filipina Explorer blog

Reality:

Apparently, the saying "looks can be deceiving" also applies to blog photos now

•  The treck approaching the light house is now filled with make shift huts rented by families who go there for swimming. A lot of trash are scattered in the area, too!

Evening

• Simple dinner back at Abucay courtesy of Lei's cousin, Ate Che, who cooked all our delicious seafood meals for the entire trip!

March 25 (Day 2)

Morning to High Noon

• We watched "Senakulo," (Passion Play) which depicts the passion of Christ. The Senakulo went around the various "kubol" (roughly translated as temporary shelter. In this case, shelter for the station of the cross and venue for Pabasa during Holy Week) around Bgy. Omboy.
• The heat was exhausting so we weren't able to finish the Senakulo. Unlike us, the devotees had such admirable faith for bearing the heat, and their thirst and hunger.

One of the many devotees who play Jesus Christ during Senakulo

The role playing continues but the actors playing Jesus Christ alternate. Notice the change in fabric, style of crown, and the appearance of the slippers?

Afternoon: "Mt. Samat trip" 

• 4 PM. We rushed to Mt. Samat in Pilar, Bataan, via tricycle (PHP75 each) because it closes by 5 PM. We arrived 30 minutes earlier than the crunch time.
• Nice-to-know: Some visitors walk from the foot of the mountain to the Shrine of Valor ("Dambana ng Kagitingan") but it eats up a lot of time and energy. The best way is to hire a tricycle to bring you to and from the base of the Shrine for PHP200 each per pax.   
• Entrance to the shrine is PHP20 only.

Just another obligatory tourist shot

• Tip: You have to climb about 500 steps to reach the foot of the Shrine (that popular 60-feet White Cross). I'm proud to say that we made it for 8 minutes only! Indeed, stretching is the best preparation for any hike.

Private road for vehicles going to the foot of the mountain where Shrine of Valor stands

• Nice-to-know: The base of the Shrine is adorned with stone sculptures of national heroes and different times in Philippine history. It is semi-challenging to identify who is who and what is what so better review your history lessons first!

Do you see Jose Rizal, Antonion Luna, and Andres Bonifacio?

Behind us is the Memorial Plaza where most political and historical functions are held annually

• Tip: The elevator going up the horizontal part of the cross overlooking Manila Bay and South China Sea is under construction this year so we didn't get the chance to revisit it (and for Derick, walk through it the first time). It's better to visit instead in 2017 when SMDC has already installed a new and improved lift service.

Evening

• Dinner at Ima's Pamangan Restaurant. I had Tilapia with Rice for PHP95 only. It's best to have it with Ima's bagoong! Their rice, however, was not good because it's not that hot and soft. Also, their customer service is underwhelming.

Late Evening

• We engaged in lengthy conversations about our love for travel and how it widens one's perspective about culture and life.

March 25 (Day 3)

Morning

• We spent the day playing with Lei's nephews Andrew (5 y.o.), Olsen (3 y.o.), and Matthew (3 y.o.). We also sang along to OPM hits with Lei's cousin Pungay.

Afternoon

• We went back to Balanga Terminal to send Derick off (back to Manila!) because he had church duties.
• We visited Balanga plaza and the Balanga Church adjacent to it.

Balanga Church on a Saturday afternoon

A Death March marker in Balanga town plaza

• We headed to Balanga Elementary School which houses the Balanga World War II Museum. Retired school teachers now serve as museum guides. Entrance fee is PHP50 only per head.

Museum facade

The official surrender site of the Americans to the Japanese

Long shot of the museum and the surrender site

• Disclaimer: It's not the typical war museum filled with artifacts and photos and accounts of war casualties. It's mostly filled with tarpaulins and dioramas chronicling the war. Clearly they need more funding and support.
• Nevertheless, it's a good supplement to the tours that we previously had in Corregidor and Mt. Samat (and the museum below it). Now I'm more aware of the roles Bataan, Corregidor, Pampanga, and Tarlac played during the war (the last two being significant during Death March). I guess it's time to see the War Museum in Tarlac where thousands of prisoners of war were tortured and executed. 

Evening

• We pampered in a Swedish massage and pedicure (yes, travel kasi e!) at a local spa back in Bgy. Omboy.
• We had dinner at Juan Kainan, an eatery near the municipal plaza. We had filling omelettes for PHP50 only and the three of us shared in one huge bowl of Lomi for PHP120 only!

The filling Lomi soup 

• After dinner, we headed to Parokya ng Santo Domingo de Guzman (Abucay Church) and waited for the Black Saturday procession to start.

Glowing exterior of Abucay Church

Church interior

Santa Maria Jacobe

San Jose de Arimatea

Midnight: Salubong sa Pasko ng Pagkabuhay (Easter Sunday)

• Still at Parokya ng Santo Domingo de Guzman. The Abucay way of celebrating Easter Sunday is different from what I know from Tondo Church. 
• About 50 cute female angels composed the choir and sang Filipino worship songs prior and during the reunion of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ.
• A female kerubin (angel) was lowered from the steel set-up to sing the main worship song and get Mary's black veil--signaling the rebirth of Jesus Christ. 

The structure where the angel was lowered from to get Mary's veil

Jesus is back on the altar after the Salubong

• What impressed me was that the celebration was well-organized. No one was irrationally cutting lines or squeezing themselves into other people's spaces. 

March 26 (Day 4)

Afternoon

• Before heading back home, we went to Bataan Tourism Center, the sole authorized seller of souvenirs and delicacies from the province.

• We had several tourist maps (which, honestly, should be made available in every tourist attraction!) and we also visited their small contemporary gallery with more Death March dioramas and paintings from young Bataan artists.

Death March dioramas at Bataan Tourism Center gallery. On the right side is a diorama depicting POWs carried by a box car (originally used for transporting sugar) to Tarlac. Hundreds of them were squeezed in like sardines, all standing. Unfortunately, some of them didn't make it and they died during the transport.

Still at Bataan Tourism Center gallery

Holy Week sightings

• "Nagpapadugo" - literally translated as "forces blood out." These are men who whip their back until it bleeds while walking through long distances with their face usually covered.

Just few of the many "nagpapadugo" men in Abucay

• "Kubol" in every corner, of different styles and themes, featuring different state of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary.
• "Ang Pagdakip kay Hesus" (The Capture of Jesus Christ) - a role play depicting the arrest of Jesus Christ when Judas betrayed him. It is a dramatic play where actors dressed as Judas and the Jews ask locals where Jesus is. Some would shout and look beyond the gates as a sign of suspicion that the townfolks are hiding Him.

Bataan is a good place to travel to weekend getaways. It's accessible, cheap, and has a lot of offerings--places, food, traditions, and history.

Aside from knowing it's rich war history, it was also nice to witness the way locals commemorate Holy Week so they can pass on their faith and traditions to the next generation. 

I've been to Bataan and Corregidor twice now and I'm sure I'll be back again!

Note: All photos grabbed from Khaye and Derick's albums. My phone was stolen when we were on the way to Bataan from Manila :(