Filipino Australo-Melanesians

The Aetas are an indigenous people who live in the mountainous regions of Luzon, most notably in the province of Zambales. They are usually darker and smaller in frame and height than the average Filipino, and tend to have curly or kinky hair. Of course, they now live like any other Filipino, and these three young men donned their traditional bahag (loincloth) only to demonstrate several of their traditional dances during our Zoobic Safari tour. But truth be told, like many other indigenous peoples in the Philippines and all over the world, they have problems claiming and protecting their ancestral domain from people who want their land, and their access to basic services (eg, healthcare, education) and employment opportunities are not at par with with the rest of the population.

Camo

The little tiger bus that brought us around Zoobic Safari's many attractions. Except the part with the free-roaming lions and tigers, of course.

Cousins

Spotted near the waiting area of the Zoobic Safari. Cousins, indeed. Both were absolutely determined to ignore me.

Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!

My husband and I finally visited the Zoobic Safari inside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The 25-hectare park has many attractions, but the one it touts the most is the area where tigers and lions are allowed to roam freely, and visitors ride through in a customized jeep protected by steel grills. For an additional Php200 (less than US$5), you can buy raw chicken which a handler will feed to the big cats through the grills.
  This is the closest I ever want to get to those big, sharp claws and teeth.

Gateway

The Old West Gate in what used to be the Subic-Olongapo Base (now the Subic Bay Freeport Zone) was called the Spanish Gate by the Americans when they took over the base. The plaque on the gate reads:

This gate was the entrance to the original Spanish naval station established in Subic Bay in 1885. The principal Spanish construction lay to the east along what is now Rivera Point and consisted of an arsenal, several warehouses, and a number of shop buildings.

The base at Subic-Olongapo was used by the Spanish Navy to provide repair, supply, ammunition and medical support for ships. The post was commanded by the second commandancia of the base at Cavite and was considered a subsidiary of that command.

The Spanish garrison remained in possession of the Subic-Olongapo base until June of 1898 at which time they were driven out by Filipino forces. The area was formally occupied by the U.S. Navy in September of 1899.

On June 12, 1898, the Philippines declared its independence from Spain. Despite being occupied by the Americans soon after, it is the date that we now commemorate as our Independence Day. After all, what is 48 years compared to 333 years?

What to do at the beach

Stroll, play volleyball, build sand castles, take a bangka ride (you can choose what size bangka you want), or just stand still and enjoy the view. Of course, you are highly encouraged to take a dip in the warm, shallow waters.

17

My husband and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary at the start of June by treating ourselves to a short beach trip to Subic in Zambales. This was the view from our room. That white wake near the bottom was from a jet ski that had just passed by.

End of the visit

The two-week visit of my sister and three nieces has ended. They went back home yesterday and, as is always the case the day after any of my family leave, I'm feeling out of sorts again. So I decided to post another photo from our trip to Subic Bay, where we actually did nothing but hang out at the All Hands Beach (yes, there is an Officers Beach). All my nieces are water babies and on the first day, my sister told them they had to get out of the water by 6:00 p.m. Here they are squeezing water play out of the last few minutes while the sun set behind some of the mountains of Zambales. The youngest has just gotten the floaty, the middle one has decided she just wants to sit on the shore, and the eldest is that little dot beside the first string of buoys.

Urban or rural, natural or man-made, take a sightseeing tour of our world's diverse scenery!

Subic Bay

I wasn't able to post a photo last Thursday because I went with my sister and nieces to Subic Bay, a couple of provinces north of Metro Manila. Subic is an excellent, natural harbor surrounded by hills covered with thick woods, and is located between the provinces of Bataan and Zambales. It used to be the location of the largest American naval base in the Pacific before the Philippine government asked the U.S. government to close it in 1991. Now, it is the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. Aside from its obvious industrial and commercial use, Subic Bay is a popular weekend destination for Manila residents because of its eco-tourism theme parks, beaches and duty-free shopping. This is just a small portion of the bay. In the foreground is the old base's airport, now the Subic Bay International Airport, which was FedEx's Asia-Pacific hub before they closed it in February 2009 to transfer the operations to Guangzhou in Southern China.

Urban or rural, natural or man-made, take a sightseeing tour of our world's diverse scenery!