Hellooo Philippines!

Intramuros

On my first day in the Philippines we went to see Intramuros, the old walled city in central Manila that was built by the Spanish. It contains, amongst others, the Manila Cathedral and the fort which was where Jose Rizal, the national hero of the Philippines was incarcerated prior to his execution.

The Cathedral is an impressive old building that was burnt down/destroyed multiple times during the various wars and struggles suffered in the Philippines. Some of the side rooms are used as a mini museum of the cathedral, showing pictures of what it used to look like and recount the various reasons for the destruction. The current version of the church was inaugurated by the previous Pope, a huge event here in Manila and the Philippines I'm assuming, where the people are very religious.

The fort, located on the Pasig river, was used by the Japanese as a prisoner of war camp during WWII. It used to be made of wood, but the Spanish replaced this with stone in the 16th century. The stone structure still stands now - at least what remains of it after the bombings during WWII. The fort also houses a museum in honour of Jose Rizal, which contains the original of his last poem - Mi Ultimo Adios.

We also went to the Jose Rizal park where standing brass statues recreate the execution of Jose Rizal.

Tagaytay

One afternoon we decided to take a road trip to Tagaytay, come of the Taal volcano and lake. The volcano is still active now and will erupt every once in a while, spewing ash into its surrounding areas. The volcano is actually composed of a volcano in a lake, and another volcano inside that in a lake - I found that quite cool. We found a place with a great view and definitely enjoyed that a lot.

Typhoon Pedring

A visit to the Philippines would not be complete without experiencing a typhoon. This is something I can definitely check off my list. Typhoon Pedring hit the Philippines and within a day caused a significant amount of damage and took quite a few lives. The rains and winds were amongst the strongest I have ever experienced and when leaving the house the next day the dirt, uprooted trees and fallen branches could be seen everywhere. The river close to the house flooded completely and when we went out during the night - yes we went out during the tyhpoon, life goes on - it was really high. The next morning the waterline had receded by a lot! It really surprised me how quickly that happens. A typhoon is such a normal thing here that once it's over, the people clean up and daily life resumes extremely quickly, at least from what I have seen.

Taytay Falls

Initially we wanted to head to the Pangsanjan falls yesterday, but once we arrived there we were told that the boats would not take us to the waterfall, so we decided to head to the Taytay falls instead. Driving through the hills and the countryside provides wonderful views and just highlights the tropical splendour of the Philippines. There is such a great variety of greenery and it's all so luscious!

We had to walk for a while to get to the waterfall, which is set amongst rocks covered  in green and just comes crashing down into a pool of clear, clean and ice cold water. The fall itself is smaller than I expected it to be, but it was absolutely beautiful! Of course we climbed down the rocks and into the pool - it was truly wonderful and getting soaked was nice and refreshing.

On the way home, the car decided to play up, so getting home was an adventure in itself and was questionable. We did make it eventually, driving the car at around 40kmh on the motorway and getting a massage from its constant vibrations.