About 15 minutes out of port, the Heavens opened in the way it can only rain in Asia and it was not to let up all day. A Philippino later remarked to me that I was lucky as it had not rained for three months. I am not sure what his concept of luck is but I wouldn't be buying a lottery ticket on that kind of logic. I later spent several hours constructing a travelogue on my VT pages about the whole trip and I don't propose to duplicate that effort here, so I shall post some photos here to give you an idea and direct you towards my VT pages here.
Very briefly, Corregidor was very strategically important during the Spanish occupation of the country as it controlled sea access to Manila Bay. The name Corregidor actually means "Corrector" as it was here that the Spanish revenue men "corrected" the papers of inbound and outbound vessels and levied tax. It is, however, probably more famous for it's role in the Second World War. It was about the last place to capitulate to the invading Japanese, and it was here that General Douglas MacArthur took ship for Australia, later to make his famous, "I shall return" speech. Return he did, and after some extremely bloody fighting, the island was retaken by American and Philippino troops. It is officially now a national monument and has been left entirely as it was at the end of the war. The ruined buildings, abandoned weapons and remembrance areas are thought provoking and slightly eerie. Despite the appalling weather, it was a great day out and one of the things I really wanted to do on my trip. I am really glad I went.
The lady in the yellow Tshirt is the lovely Isa, and I have posted a photo of myself to prove I was actually there. I don't get many photos of myself. Also, take a good look at my lovely VT baseball cap. Like so many good men, it is now MIA on Corregidor. I have no idea how it happened but I am a trifle peeved at it's loss.
On a practical note, I am using a very sketchy internet connection on Negros here, so I will only upload a few images as they take an age. I shall continue when I get a better connection, so check back soon.
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