corregidor

I must admit I wasn't expecting much from Corregidor because after last year's Boracay, what place could even compare? Well it's not an A-list beach resort/island but that is also its charm. Quiet, uncomplicated and relatively affordable, I found myself enjoying my overnight stay on this island. I'm not a morning person but I woke up at 5am with the restof my family to be at the port near CCP at 7am. The ferry is very comfortable and the ride was quite relaxing. Jon had a question that made me laugh (and

will probably make his geography teacher cry) "Nasa Visayas na ba tayo?" We were on the ferry for just 1 and a half hours. We were only in Cavite. A trip by boat to Boracay would have taken 12 hours!We got off at 9:30 am and were greeted by the a fleet of trambias, buses made to look like the trams that used to service this pre-WW2military base. We were quickly whisked off by our funny tour guide and shown all around the island.Since we were staying overnight, our bags were checked-in at the Corregidor Inn. I had forgotten that the chicken sandwiches we had made were still in the bags. By noon, I was starving! Fortunately, the tour was quite interesting and even if you didn't plan on learning anything, you will come out of the tour enlightened and less eager to engage in warfare. Seeing the ruins and walking through the Malinta tunnel light and sound show made me realize how futile war is. The buffet at lunch is nothing special but so welcome to my hungry tummy. After lunch, we continued the rest of the tour and were then given 2 hours of free time to cool off or play games at the recreation center.

Check out how high that bed was!

We were able to check in early in my parents' room and cooled off while the day trippers melted in the summer heat. I loved their room. It had a 4-post bed and a drawer with mirrors that made you feel like you had stepped back in time. By 4pm, as we waved bye-bye to the tourists on their way back to Manila, we headed off to the beach which was surprisingly clean. Sure the sand was black and there were huge rocks on shore, but the sea itself was clear and the sand underneath very fine and free of rocks and jellyfish. In fact, we had the beach all to ourselves and only had to leave because we had to go on a sunset trek at 5:30pm.

This was the last we saw of our new beach ball. Someone left it on the shore and the next we saw it, the ball was a tiny speck drifting off to Cavite

This was what our guide called 'fantasy shots'--posing in the sunset

Our new tour guide brought us to the 'topside' so we could take pictures of the sunset on the highest point of the island. Then, we were brought to the ruins of the hospital and morgue where ghosts were still said to earthbound and sometimes appeared in pictures. We were reluctant to go in at first and I fervently prayed for all the souls still trapped there but thankfully no ghosts popped up in my camera. I was afraid that I'd see a ghost in one of the ruins and the guide would say that every person who had seen that ghost died within a few days! I've obviously read too many horror stories!

Look ma, no ghosts! Just some suspicious looking orbs of light

If there's something you should bring, it's an ipod or some reading material. There are only 2 cable TVs at the inn. One at the lobby and one in the library and both in places without airconditioners.

The next day, ma went on the sunrise tour to the japanese tunnels while we snoozed.

Then we had the best meal on the island: the Filipino breakfast with bottomless brewed coffee which Pa and ma loved. Then while the next batch of tourists arrived, we went back to the beach, then leapt into the swimming pool and basically relaxed till it was time to go home.We enjoyed the trip so much we vowed to return with some aunts of ours who could definitely use some R&R!