Corregidor Island. Manila Bay.

Before I go into yesterday's tour of Corregidor Island in Manila Bay, I thought I should post a photo of fish eating the dead skin from my feet.  During our 2 months of cycling my feet suffered a tad of dryness.  To cure this problem one can dip their feet in a fish tank in Siem Reap and let those little buggies go crazy. 

Now for yesterday and the tour of Corregidor Island.

The tour was conducted by Sun Cruises. I turned up at the port at 7.30am and signed on for the day.  It costs 2300 Pesos for the entire day.  The boat that transports you out to the island is a 300 seater catamaran.

Once at the island we were assigned a tram which would be our transport for the day.  A tour guide for each tram would give commentary on the history of the island.

Corregidor is a small rocky island in the Philippines about 48 kms west of Manila which is strategically located at the entrance of Manila Bay.  This island fortress stands as a memorial for the courage, valor, and heroism of its Filipino and American defenders who bravely held their ground against the overwhelming number of invading Japanese forces during World War IL.

Also known as "the Rock", it was a key bastion of the Allies during the war.  When the Japanese invaded the Philippines in December 1941, the military force under the command of General Douglas MacArthur carried out a delaying action at Bataan. Corregidor became the headquarters of the Allied forces and also the seat of the Philippine Commonwealth government.  It was from Corregidor that Philippine President Manuel Quezon and General MacArthur left for Australia in February 1942 leaving behind Lt Gen. Jonathan M. Wainwright in command.

Although Bataan fell on April 9, 1942, the Philippine and American forces held out at Corregidor for 27 days against great odds.  On May 6, 1942, their rations depleted, the Allied forces were forced to surrender Corregidor to Lt. Gen. Homma Masharu of the Japanese Imperial Army after having successfully halted the Japanese advance on Australia.  It was only two years and ten months later in March 1945 when the Allied forces under the command of General MacArthur recaptured Corregidor making good his promise to return to the  Philippines.

So now you have the history of the island, but during our trip we were told of other events that are not published in journals. One of our first stops on the tour was the Malinta Tunnel.  The photos is sufficient to describe the history and the importance the tunnel played in the war efforts of the region.

 The photo below was taken inside the tunnel during the walk through.

 On the island there are many buildings which were destroyed by the bombs from both sides.

 The photo above depicts an American and Filipino soldier during the taking back of the island from the Japanese.

 War memorial on Corregidor Island.

 A statute at the port of Corregidor Island of General MacArthur.

The photo above is of a Filipino farmer.  The way the Japanese distinguished between spy and farmer was by the calluses on their hands.  If they had rough hands they were hard working farms.  If they had office hands, they would be be captured and treated to crimes against humanity.

Still to this day the Japanese refuse certain acts were committed against the Filipinos.  All in all, it was a great day out and beautiful weather to go with it.  This tour is well worth.

During the evening Len and I went to the movies and watched the Tom Cruise movie 'Oblivion'.  Great movie.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.
PS: the end is near.