Hidden gem

Despite its neo-classical architecture, I always thought that the interior of the Manila Central Post Office building would just be a warren of offices, like any other government building here. Most visitors only reach the first floor, where the counters and windows for mailing letters and packages are. In the past couple of months, I've been to the third floor twice and for the most part it really is a warren of offices but with very high ceilings (which I love). During our second visit, we were led farther down the corridor than the first time. Imagine my surprise and delight when the corridor led to this wonderful open space in the middle of the building! (The white triangle up there is the sky—no blue skies for us for the next few months.)

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Attention all City Daily Photo bloggers! The June theme has been announced: Feet. I didn't realize just how many different definitions there are of "foot" until I looked it up in the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. The July theme day poll is up too. Don't forget to choose two before clicking on the "Submit vote" button!

Half a fountain

Despite what I wrote last September, I did manage to take a photo of the fountain of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), and at night too with the lights on. But just the fountain, no building, because we were actually inside the CCP watching a performance (I took this during the intermission). What you see in the background is the intersection of Roxas Boulevard and Pablo Ocampo Sr. Avenue. The tall jet in the middle wasn't working for some reason—the fountain is so much more dramatic with it. Ah well, until the next opportunity…

Natural or man-made, take a refreshing dip in Watery Wednesday.

A frozen dessert for me

For decades, the only frozen yogurt available in Manila was Better Than Ice Cream (BTIC), which is made of yogurt but has the flavor and consistency of ice cream. I've nothing against that, but I happen to like the tartness of yogurt. Nestlé came out with frozen yogurt about a decade ago, but I guess the market here wasn't ready for it yet because it didn't last long. So I've been waiting for years, and now suddenly, it's all over the place. I, for one, am not complaining. Yogurbud is just one of many frozen yogurt stalls that have sprouted in malls throughout Metro Manila this year. My husband orders it with fruit (this has strawberry and mango cubes) and I like it plain. I really, really hope that this isn't just a passing fad.

Postcards from Caleruega

The prayer retreat that I attended over the weekend was held in Caleruega, a prayer and renewal center owned by the Dominican Order in Batulao, Nasugbu in the province of Batangas, a three-hour drive from Manila. This small fountain sits in the middle of its circular driveway.



Caleruega is located in beautiful, lush hills and gardens which should have made it ideal as a retreat center, except that the Dominicans opened it to the public. The many visitors who walk around totally ignore the "Observe Silence" signs and the staff don't bother shushing them. The building which serves as the main entrance to Caleruega features pineapples in its facade. Pineapples are a common product in the province of Batangas. We were served fresh pineapple juice and fresh pineapple slices with some of our meals, and they were so sweet!



Caleruega is named after a small town in Spain which is the birthplace of Saint Dominic, the founder of the Order of Preachers (OP) which bears his name.



The refectory (dining room) was mercifully off-limits to non-retreatants, but since it was located right next to the entrance hall, it could still get very noisy. And worse, we were joined by another group on Saturday, teenagers in a not-silent workshop! In an effort to ignore all the noise, I chose the table nearest this little koi pond and would stare at the fish swimming peacefully in it while I ate.



Santo Domingo de Guzman (St. Dominic, 1170–1221) had his own little garden which was completely surrounded by hedges so the grass wouldn't get trampled on.



Our rooms were in these stone cottages. Each cottage had two rooms, with their own bathrooms, thank goodness. Each room was shared by two people, but could have accommodated another since each room had three single beds. The bedroom was very spare. Caleruega is a retreat center, after all, not a hotel.



Our sessions were held in the 'Gazekubo,' a combination of the words gazebo and kubo (native hut). The awning is made of nipa, still common as a roofing material in rural areas in the Philippines. The thick walls and windows of the Gazekubo kept out most of the noise of the visitors, unless they were walking right beside the windows and shouting.



The view just outside the Gazekubo. I could live with the little noise to have this.



On our first evening, there was a wedding reception in one of the function rooms of this hall. I just have to say that it's quite difficult trying to pray when you can hear Chic's "Le Freak" in the background. Dancing with the Lord, anyone?



I walked around Caleruega right after breakfast on Saturday. Alone. No one else in my retreat group did so and it was too early for visitors, and it was wonderful! The road leading to the nursery, koi pond and picnic grounds was quite steep. A perfect location to follow the Way of the Cross.



The meandering path down to the koi pond should not be hurried at all.



The sunny part of the koi pond. It goes beyond the walkway I was standing on, surrounded by lush trees and bushes.



Beyond the koi pond were more gardens. Behind the fountain is a little amphitheater with a bonfire pit, with the wood stacked and ready for burning.



The hanging bridge crosses a small ravine with lots of big trees and a tiny trickle of water at the bottom. This was the only point I wanted someone with me. Preferably someone who'd freak out when I got the bridge swaying by jumping on it. I skipped and jumped across to get it swaying anyway.



Crossing the bridge brings you to the picnic area at the edges of the Dominican property. I saw little piles of half-burnt charcoal on the ground so I guess people were allowed to grill food there.



Back in the main compound, the Transfiguration Chapel sits on the highest point of Caleruega. The sculpture of the Risen Christ was created by Filipino artist Ben-Hur Villanueva in 1996.



Because of its location, the chapel is very popular for weddings. In fact, there were weddings during each of the three days that we were there.



And finally, a little decorative detail of Caleruega, just because I like it: the lamps made of bamboo, carved out with holes into which are fitted colorful, synthetic 'gems.'

That warm and fuzzy feeling

The bar of the restaurant Kabisera ng Dencio's in Bonifacio High Street is the friendliest I've seen in years. Warm wooden panels and lighting, wicker bar stools and baskets, solitaire puzzle games on the counter and a colorful mural of what drinking means to most Filipinos all add up to a great-looking place for having a drink or two.

Silhouettes and shadows

THEME DAY: SHADOWS • Looking up from the bottom of the open-top shark tank of Manila Ocean Park, you can only see the sharks as silhouettes and as shadows on the surface of the water.



I can't think of any object that doesn't cast a shadow, so we are going to see a wide variety of images from City Daily Photo bloggers around the world. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants. I'm leaving for a three-day retreat this afternoon so I won't be able to see most theme day photos until Sunday evening at the earliest, so: Happy Theme Day, everyone!

Pink columns

The Manila Central Post Office is one of many American era (1898–1946) buildings that can be found in the City of Manila. It was designed by Filipino architect Juan Marcos de Guzman Arellano in the neo-classical style in 1926. It sustained heavy damage during WWII but was rebuilt in 1946, preserving most of the original design. Aside from being the main post office of the City of Manila, it is also the headquarters of the Philippine Postal Corporation. The sculpture of "The Postman" is a fairly recent addition. It was installed in 1975 and dedicated to the men and women of the postal service.

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Just a reminder to all CDP bloggers that tomorrow is the first of the month and that means Theme Day! The theme for May is Shadows. Don't forget to vote (twice!) for the June theme too. Head on over to the June 2009 Theme Day Poll right now because voting ends on Saturday!

Reality check

Yesterday, Jacob and Per Stromsjo asked why it was necessary for homes in Metro Manila to have privacy walls: are they for privacy, robbers, or both? The answer, of course, is both. I'll explain the privacy aspect some other time when I have a photo that can best illustrate it. Let's just say that it's a reaction against certain Filipino cultural traits. However, this photo will explain why there is a fear of robbery, whether in the home or while walking in the streets, even in broad daylight, and why houses have privacy walls and subdivisions have guarded gates. It also explains why Filipinos tend to carry their backpacks in front, turning them into chestpacks, even when they're traveling abroad. No excuses, no opinions, no solutions—just the facts. According to the 2006 Poverty Statistics report (the latest currently available) of the Philippine National Statistical Coordination Board, 32.9% of Filipinos are poor. Who are the poor? "Those that cannot afford in a sustained manner to provide their basic needs of food, health, education, housing and other amenities of life." According to the same report, 14.6% are "subsistence poor" which means that they cannot even afford "basic food needs, which satisfies the nutritional requirements for economically necessary and socially desirable physical activities." So what are you seeing in the photo? In the foreground is the open parking lot of an upscale mall and the fancy roof of its connecting escalator and path. The wide, white expanse is the paved lot of some demolished building which is being used as a parking lot for trucks and cement mixers. And just beyond the concrete, a sprawling poor community squatting on government land. However painful it is to admit, I don't think there is any barangay in Metro Manila that doesn't have an urban poor community, whether they're 'informal settlers' or not. Yesterday, Boise Diva also wished for us that privacy walls will become unneeded. I wish the same but it will take a lot of hard work and much, much better men and women in our government than we currently have. But I haven't given up hope.

White house

Privacy walls are almost a necessity in Metro Manila, and more and more people try to make the walls look like an integral part of their home rather than just something to keep strangers out. I like how the owner of this house extended the privacy wall to accommodate those extra large doors then created a covered path to the front door of the house.

What's wrong with this picture?

The street sign at the corner of Ongpin and Salazar Streets in Binondo, Manila's Chinatown, is the fanciest in the area. With brightly colored little Chinese dragons atop the names, it is probably the most photographed street sign in the metro. I took a photo of it from the street but there was a huge red shop sign behind it which kind of drowned it out so I decided to take a photo of it from the other side. And immediately burst out laughing! I hope the barangay council never corrects it!

Find more Odd Shots—or post your own—at Katney's Kaboodle.

A room with a view

This is not in Metro Manila. Again. One of my husband's cousins got married in Tagaytay City in the province of Cavite yesterday afternoon and the house that the bride and groom rented for the reception has a magnificent view of Taal Lake and Taal Volcano. Taal Lake is the third largest lake in the Philippines and is located in the province of Batangas. It has several islands and the biggest is where the still-active Taal Volcano is. The reception was supposed to be outdoors so guests could enjoy the view but it rained the whole afternoon, shrouding the entire lake and ruining their original plan. It was bright and sunny when I took this photo this morning, but the dark clouds beginning to form signaled yet another wet afternoon.



The reception was eventually held in the living room of the house. Even on cloudy days, wouldn't you just love to have a view like this from your home? I know I would!

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

A smaller dome

This glass pavilion is the prettiest entrance of Gateway mall in Cubao, Quezon City, right across the Araneta Coliseum. It is also an extension of the dining area of Italianni's, the restaurant right beside the pavilion.

Don't touch!

The lionfish is one of my favorite tropical fishes. It's so flamboyant, I just love it! Of course, those extravagant spines are venomous, and though not normally fatal to humans, the sting is still very painful and the possible effects (headaches, nausea, breathing difficulties) don't sound very comfortable either. With a plate of glass separating us at the bahura (reef) section of the Manila Ocean Park, this beautifully menacing creature posed no danger to me at all.

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I still have four more posts to complete my Corregidor Island Series but they take much longer to write and I've just gotten a bit too busy to do so. I will get back to them when I have a little more time, but to answer Vogon Poet's question in the last post: Yes, Japanese tourists visit the island. So many, in fact, that the tour operator keeps a pool of Japanese-speaking guides just for them.

Corregidor: The tunnels

Corregidor Island had a vast network of tunnels built under solid rock. The Americans designed Fort Mills solely to ward off attacks from the sea but they soon realized that it would be very vulnerable to attacks from the air. So in 1922, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with the help of the Philippine Scouts and a thousand convicts from Manila's Bilibid Prison, began work on tunnels that were meant to be a bomb-proof storage and personnel bunker. Its main tunnel was built under Malinta (full of leeches) Hill and the tunnel complex came to be known as Malinta Tunnel. It was finished in 1932.



During the Battle of Corregidor, Malinta Tunnel served as the headquarters of General Douglas MacArthur and was also the seat of the Philippine Commonwealth government under President Manuel Quezon (you've seen him before here) and Vice President Sergio Osmeña. Today, the main tunnel is the venue of an audio-visual show about the siege of Corregidor. With a script written by National Artist for Theater and Film Lamberto Avellana and sculptures made by National Artist for Sculpture Napoleon Abueva, the show is a must-see for WWII history buffs and for anyone who would like to understand what so many men and women had to endure for our freedom. (Please pardon the fuzzy picture. It was the best I could do in the darkness without using a flash.)



The main tunnel had 24 side tunnels branching from it. Much narrower and lower than the main tunnel, it was actually these laterals that served as storage areas and headquarters. Some of them led to other entrances, and two of the tunnels led to their own tunnel complexes. One of these was the underground hospital which had 1,000 beds. The main tunnel was restored for the lights-and-sounds show, but many of the smaller tunnels collapsed during WWII and remain that way.



Back outside, the island is also riddled with tiny tunnels and caves. I forgot to ask the guide if these were connected to the Malinta Tunnel complex, but he said that they were used by both American and Japanese snipers.



CORREGIDOR ISLAND SERIES #3 OF 7