Gantry cranes

Mid-morning on a clear day, one can look out towards Manila Bay from the CCP Bay Terminal (where the ferry for Corregidor Island docks) and see the big cranes of the North Harbor. The breakwater shelters the Manila Yacht Club.

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Corregidor: The views

Though the views from the top of the Spanish lighthouse must be really amazing, it's not really necessary to go up its steep spiral steps to appreciate the views around Corregidor Island. It is only 5 square kilometers (about 2 square miles) in size after all. This is what it looks like through the tinted front windows of the ferry as we're arriving. Corregidor is shaped like a tadpole and the bulkiest part of the island would be the head.



Corregidor Island divides the mouth of Manila Bay into the North and South Channels. This is the view of the North Dock, North Channel and the hills of the Bataan Peninsula from the entrance of Corregidor Inn.



From the other side of the hotel, you can see the South Dock, South Channel and the mainland of the province of Cavite, which Corregidor is a part of.



Another view of the South Channel, this time from the Japanese Garden of Peace. The island on the left is Caballo Island, also known as Fort Hughes. Caballo and two other islands in the South Channel—El Fraile (Fort Drum) and Carabao Island (Fort Frank)—were also part of the harbor defenses built by the Americans.



The tadpole's tail as seen from the Eternal Flame of Freedom monument. The tip, separated from the rest of the island by a narrow channel of water, is called Hooker Point.



Saying goodbye to Corregidor Island from the ferry's open deck as the sun sets over Manila Bay.



And thus ends my Corregidor Island series. Thank you for coming on the trip with us! CORREGIDOR ISLAND SERIES #7 OF 7

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Duh. I registered this post for Watery Wednesday, forgetting that it's already Thursday! My job's getting to me…

Within the walls

The historic district of Intramuros in the City of Manila was built by the Spaniards in the 16th century. At the time, Intramuros was considered the city of Manila itself. Its name is Latin for "within the walls" and is an accurate description of the city fortress, surrounded by moats and thick, high walls. This is the moat just outside Fort Santiago, one of the oldest fortifications in Manila. It was built for the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi in 1571 at the north-western end of the city where the Pasig River joins Manila Bay. Over the walls, you can see some of the facilities of Manila's North Harbor.

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

Scale

I like the contrast of the huge cranes of North Harbor in the background and the small sailboats docked at the Manila Yacht Club in the foreground in this Manila Bay scene.

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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!