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| A warm welcome to Manila! |
Day 2 of our Philippine adventure was spent in, and around the capital city of Manila. As with the previous day, we were enthusiastically greeted at the port by dancers and drummers who seemed genuinely happy to see us. Manila is huge, so we decided that a guided tour would be our best option.
We selected a tour that would give us a glimpse of the city as well as some time outside the city. We first stopped at the monument dedicated to the Philippines National Hero, Dr. Jose Rizal.
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| In front of the Dr. Jose Rizal Memorial in Manila. I sent a picture of it to my good friend Dr. Fred Angeles who is Filipino. He knew immediately where I was and even used the words “Our National Hero”. He also told me that in a round about way, and through a marriage, that he is almost distantly related. Dr. Angeles is not only a great surgeon, he’s a celebrity! |
Dr. Rizal, who was an ophthalmologist, was the inspirational leader in the Philippines attempts to breakaway from Spanish rule in the 1890’s. While the movement was ultimately successful, Dr. Rizal did not live to see his dream come true. He was executed near the spot of the monument in 1896 at the age of 35. Our tour guide gave us a good analogy when he told us that Dr. Rizal is to the Filipino people what George Washington is to Americans.
The November 1 national holiday actually spills over to November 2, so as we made our way out of the city we once again dealt with traffic that we were told was “heavier than normal”. Our destination was the resort area of Tagaytay Ridge. The ridge is perched high up above an active volcano, that sits inside another volcano, which is surrounded by a very large lake. To the best of our recollection, this is the first time we’ve ever seen a volcano inside a volcano, surrounded by a lake. Although it was somewhat cloudy, we enjoyed the view and a nice lunch at one of the resort hotels. As we made our way back to the ship we felt somewhat like celebrities. We had a bus caravan with a police escort. The escort wasn’t for security purposes, but to assist the bus drivers as they navigated the holiday traffic.
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| On the way to Tagaytay Ridge we made a couple of stops. This is a historic pipe organ in a Catholic Church (80% of Filipinos identify as Catholic) What makes the organ unique is that the 900+ pipes are bamboo |
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| The church alter. There was an organist playing the organ. The acoustics in the church made it sound great. |
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| The fresh fruit at the fruit and flower stand was very colorful and inviting. |
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| Smoke rising from the volcano that’s inside a volcano and surrounded by a lake. |
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| We were framed on Tagaytay Ridge! |
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| There are thousands of these old converted military vehicles in Manila that are packed with folks trying to get from point A to Point B |
Manila was interesting to see. It’s a combination of everything, from extreme prosperity to extreme poverty living side by side. Approximately 40% of all Filipino citizens are living below the “poverty line”. We were reminded of how fortunate we are, and the opportunities we have to make the world a little better for those less fortunate.
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