Lunch, Tail End and A Beautiful Sunset

A lunch buffet awaits us at the Corregidor Hotel and after all the walking I did the whole morning I was really looking forward to a hearty meal. Maybe because it was Black Saturday so the selection was limited. You can choose between plain or seafood rice, some steamed vegetables, chicken adobo (chicken cooked in soy, vinegar, peppercorns and laurel leaf), grilled fish steaks with lemon butter sauce and spaghetti carbonara (honestly any type of pansit would have suited the other viads better). Fresh fruits, turon (deep fried banana wrapped in rice paper and sprinkled with sugar) and leche flan (egg custard) were offered for dessert. As we are waiting for our turn to get our food, one of the older ladies in our group bodly squeezed her body infront of me and proceeded to fill three plates with food. You got it right I was pissed! She didn't even have the courtesy to ask if she can go before me and I would have relented but she acted as if I was invisible and took her sweet time to choose the cuts of meat that she will put on her plates.

I was so irritated my friend and I opted to be seated at the open air balcony instead of the airconditioned dining hall and share the same space with her. So after getting ourselves comfortable we started eating but lost my appetite after a few bites. They need to change their chef if they want to attract more diners to their hotel because I can make a better tasting meal than I what they served that day.

After lunch we continued with the last leg of our tour by visiting the Filipino Heroes Memorial. It is one of the newest landmarks in Corregidor which honors Filipino heroes and martyrs in their struggle for freedom and independence. It was erected and inaugurated in 1987 and 1992, respectively, and has 14 murals depicting the different eras in struggle from the Battle of Mactan in 1521 to the more recent People Power Revolution in 1986. Other murals depicted include the Dagohoy Revolt in 1744, the 1782 Palaris Revolt in Pangasinan, the 1896 Philippine Revolution, and World War II. The memorial complex was designed by Francisco Manosa while the murals and a statue of a Filipino soldier-farmer were sculptured by Manuel Casal.


Our final stop was at the Japanese Garden of Peace This garden features a 10-foot high stone Buddha with a reflecting pool, a shinto Shrine, and other Japanese soldier memorial shrines and markers. It is also used as a praying area for Japanese war veterans and the families and relatives of Japanese soldiers who served or were killed in Corregidor during World War II. Also on display within the garden are anti-aircraft guns which are relics of the war. A small pavilion houses some Japanese memorabilia and World War II photographs. The construction of this garden was made possible through funds generated by a Japan-based private group.

We said our good-bye to our tour guide and after having some last minute picture taking, we boarded our boat for a trip back to Manila. We were reluctant to end our day just yet so we decided to stroll along the newly rehabilitated baywak along Roxas Blvd. and wait for the sunset while listening to the acoustic music being played by one of the open air restaurants in the area.