A memorial to the men who died in Corregidor:

"Sleep my sons your duty done,
For freedom's light has come,
Sleep in the depths of the sea,
Or in your bed of hallowed sod,
Until you hear at dawn
The low, clear reveille of God."

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Eversince I was a child, I've always wanted to visit Corregidor Island.  Stories and movies about World War II almost always made me imagine about tanks and planes and battleships and how they commandeer their respective territories.  Drawings of tanks and guns would be scribbled in any writing material I could grab...including our Disney encyclopedia.

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When we were children "gira-girahan" was always our favorite game.  Two groups of toy-gun-wielding children would take their positions in an attempt to eliminate all the opponents.  Of course, "ratatatat" means we fired our gun...and nobody ever missed...kahit shadow lang ung nakita.  And we would usually end up arguing about who-fired-first.  And there would be spies, too!  Our house in JBC is elevated to about half a meter so you can actually see who's been running the other side.  Spies would be lurking under the house giving information to hiding soldiers behind the bushes and sometimes waiting for a prey for them to ambush.  At the end of the day, a group usually ends up a victor though the price is usually a pot of champorado.

What was originally thought of as a wonderful encounter with the gentle giant, Butanding, turned out to be an encounter with the dark side of Philippine tourism.

We left Pioduran, Albay for Donsol, Sorsogon at around 8am in the morning hoping to get a good look of the famous butanding or whale shark.

Upon reaching a part of Donsol, just near the Pioduran-Donsol border, we spotted a group of pumpboats full of toursits circling the seas.  Siyempre, lumapit kami kasi we're sure nandun ung maraming mga butanding feeding on krill.  At sa malayo pa lang, kitang-kita na namin ung mga matatabang puting turistang tumatalon sa kanilang pumpboat kung nakaturo na yung kanilang spotter sa dagat...I suppose, may nakitang butanding.  So without much further delay, binilisan ng operator ang pumpboat at nakisali naman kami sa saya.  And sure enough, may nakita nga kaming 2 maliliit na butanding.  Ung first one, medyo malabo kasi medyo makulimlim.  Ung pangalawa naman ang medyo ok kasi lumabas na si sun at medyo mas malaki ng konti...kitang-kita ung puting spots niya pati ung round head ng butanding.  Nakaka-enjoy...lahat ng kasama namin nakangiti.  C Mrs. Lorino nga, ung retiring principal ng San Lorenzo Academy, was ecstatic...tagal na raw kasi siya hindi nakakita ng butanding because the last time she saw one was when she was cooking it.  Hehehe.

Then suddenly, nilapitan kami ng isang pumpboat with three persons on board and who introduced themselves as officials from Philippine Tourism Authority.  They said na may bago daw'ng municipality ordinance ang Donsol at kailangan daw na magparegister sa PTA.  Since we don't know na may existing ordinance palang ganun, we opted to leave the place na lang.  They got our names and ayaw pang maniwala ung tagaPTA...nagalit ang gago at nagmura pa.  Since, we don't want anything to do with them na kasi nga mga bully, we left the place.  And after a few meters away, we heard a gunshot from their direction at ung kasama niyang goon was pointing the gun at us!  Tuloy ung isang kasamang teacher namin napasigaw ng: "Ser, may baril! Sama na lang tayo kahit sandali lang!"  I felt my head froze and felt that the gun was pointed at me...kahit hindi ako ung nag-negotiate...feeling ko tuloy that's the end of my life.

I used to think that the four-hour bumpy travel from Davao City to Mangagoy (my hometown) is the longest and the most tiring of all trips.  But my monthly trips to Albay...specifically Pio Duran...is my worst.  It's actually a nightmare for some.  Di nga nakatulog boss ko nung pumunta dun.  Hehehe.

We usually leave Manila at around 10PM so we can be in Albay 9AM the next day.  So, you are expected to sleep the whole trip and work the next day.  And to top it all, I'm doing that once-a-month.  It's not that I'm complaining or what...it's just that even the most fit and the most enduring would say "Teka-teka" with that loooong trip.

But, the usual "silent" complaints running through my head ceases when, at 7:00AM, the tip of the majestic conical volcano looms in the horizon of Albay...beautiful...just beatiful...

It's like this experience: Once, gusto ko nang mag-CR kasi lalabas na! But nasa FX pa ako at ma-traffic...tapos, ung driver nagmumura kasi bigla siyang ki-nut (tagalog conjugation of cut)...tapos, nainis ako kasi katabi ko siya't ung laway's showering on my face...tapos, pinagpapawisan na ako at gusto na talagang lumabas...and finally, nasa babaan na...I ran as fast as I could towards that cramped room of heavenly bliss...and as I discharged it all out, I felt that beatific feeling of ecstatic bliss...just like watching that majestic Mayon...

Anyway, here's a pic I got of Mayon from a plane en route to Manila from Legaspi...I know, bawal magbukas ng cellphone sa plane...but, sayang ang moment eh. hehehe.

There's just something with that mountain which brings awe and wonder to those who see it.  Makes you realize that you're just a tiny speck compared to its majesty.