Saturday before last my alarm went off at 5:00 A.M. We got ready and took a taxi to Sun Cruises
Ferry Terminal on Manila Bay. When we
got there we found out that they were having this big marathon on Corregidor
Island, and the boat was not leaving until 11:00 (it was supposed to leave at
8:00 and return to Manila at 3:45) and would return at 6:45. That posed a problem as it was only 7:00 A.M.
and getting back so late might not give us enough time to get Kona (we had
boarded him at Pup Culture – it would have been a long day for him in the
apartment). Hmmm…. We should have called.
We are learning that is the rule of thumb here in Manila. We had not had breakfast, so we walked to
Starbuck’s in Harbor Square and had coffee and oatmeal on the bay, which would
have been nice except for the smell.
Manila Bay just plain stinks – it smells of sewage, and I have such a
strong sense of smell. It really is a
shame that the bay is so polluted. They
are working to clean it up and have made progress… still. In spite of the smell we had a nice time just
gazing out over the water and people watching.
We took a taxi back to our apartment – I had to hold my
breath a couple of times with the scooters and buses getting so close! We decided to go to the Manila American
Cemetery and Memorial. It is a nice walk
to get there and is absolutely beautiful!
It is so peaceful there. It was
sunny with a great breeze all day, so it was the perfect day to walk along the
gravestones looking at the names of the fallen soldiers. There is a really nice memorial with mosaic
maps of the invasions – very educational.
Now when I’ve had enough of the hustle and bustle of the city, I know of
a nice, relaxing place to just go and sit, meditate, or read.
As for the Corregidor Tour, we are going to give it a go
again this weekend. Saturday is already
booked, but Sunday is wide open – yep, we have already called J
