Jim spent time in the Philippines as a young man in the Navy. He had actually wanted to go back there when he got out of the Navy, but it was impossible. He was a poor kid from rural California without a job, education or income. Back in 1957-58 long distance travel was mind-numblingly expensive so the travel had to be put off. Heck, I recall that long distance telephone calls were expensive even within the States and to be avoided at all costs. Back in those days they charged by the minute. Heck, it takes a minute or two to even say hello, and what if the person being called wasn't available...!
Anyway...I digress. Jim wanted to go back to this beautiful place, so I decided I wanted to go with him ('cuz I got that kind of time...) and Jessica also saw it as a possibly once-in-a-lifetime trip.
We arrived in Manila late in the evening after a grueling 20+ hour flight. (Actually longer for Jim and Jessica as they flew up to Portland to leave with me). Flying a long distance like that is like installing yourself into a small cardboard box complete with a few holes for breathing and only coming out 2-3 times to use a telephone booth size bathroom except it's less comfortable. We picked up our luggage and went through customs. Jessica's luggage was delayed in getting on the turn-table-thingie, so we had some anxiety filled time waiting for it. It finally arrived, much to everyone's relief. We were all blurry-eyed but managed to hail a cab to take us to our hotel. We stayed at the Armada Hotel in Manila near the waterfront. It was a lovely hotel inside, but the neighborhood outside was sketchy at best. The next day we took a bit of a walk along the waterfront and enjoyed it, but decided to take a cab most of the rest of the time we were there.
Its warm and humid in Manila, and not a big problem unless you want to expend some energy and get some exercise. Drinking water is a necessity, otherwise dehydration takes over quickly. Anyone who knows me knows I really enjoy my diet Coke. They only have Coke Light there, but I was able to adjust. Sometimes I just drank regular Coke. Crazy me.
I'm amazed at how little I really knew about the Philippines. Other than a few friends over the years and the great guys that owned the P.I. Market in Montalvo where we grew up, I had had limited interaction with Filipino people. What I discovered is this: they are kind, loving and helpful people. Generally speaking, they are a beautiful people. Almost everyone we came in contact with spoke some English. There is also Spanish and Tagalog (spelling?) spoken...oh and probably another hundred or more dialects! Most are Catholics or other Christian religions. Families are large and extended.
We spent the first few days adjusting to the time change and getting our bearings. We did a bit of site seeing and enjoyed that. We made a trek down to Lake Taal in the more south part of Luzon Island. In order to get the the point where I took the picture below, we had to take an outrigger boat across to the second Island/crater. It was about a half hour trip over VERY choppy water. We got soaked, but it was awesome. We arrived and then got onto horses to make the trek up the mountain. They were little horses, but seemed to be well suited to the terrain. It was very dusty and windy and at one point I had to take my hat off and use it to breathe through. We made our way to the top of the mountain, taking about a half hour to get there. The view was magnificent. You could see the second crater, and that even has a small island in it! The trip down was bumpy (to say the least) because our horses wanted to get home for a snack! When we got back, we took the same boat back to the starting point. When I rinsed off my hands and face I was shocked to see mud come off! The combination of the wet trip over and the dusty wind made for some very dirty travelers. We were then served a great lunch and started back to Manila by hired car.
We enjoyed our time in Manila, but it was the means to an end. We wanted to see the 'real' Philippines, so Baguio was our next stop.
To be continued...
Jim...the Adventure Begins
(Guy in center of photo next to Jim photo-bombed)
Lake Taal - a crater lake within a crater lake with an island.
