Manila, Philippines

            Friday, 22 Mar 2019 – We docked at Manila, Philippines at 8:00 AM.  Manila is the capital of the Philippines.  The Spanish city was founded on June 24, 1571, by Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi.  The city proper was home to 1,780,148 people in 2015.  With 71,263 people per square kilometer, Manila is one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

Bust of Dr. Jose Rizal, Manila, Philippines

Smoke Break with WWII Soldier

Breakfast was as usual.  After returning to our cabin, we could see the gangway right outside our window.  We were booked on an afternoon excursion, “Charms of Old Manila” and boarded our tour bus at about 12:30 PM.  Our tour guide was Grace and our driver was Conrad.  Our bus left the pier and begin driving along Roxas Boulevard, the wide, wonderfully scenic thoroughfare that hugs the shore of Manila Bay.  Soon, we arrived in Intramuros, the city's oldest district, which is enclosed within a thick wall that the Spanish built for defense in the 1500s.  There, we took a walking tour of the notorious Fort Santiago, where prisoners were held and tortured throughout the history of Manila.  We learned that Dr. Jose Rizal is the Philippine’s greatest national hero.  We saw the symbolic bronzed footsteps of Dr. Jose Rizal, who was imprisoned in the fortress before walking to his execution, the penalty for his inflammatory, anti-colonial writings.  There was a large statue of Dr. Rizal located in the center of Intramuros.  We also toured the “Dr. Jose Rizal” museum, where we were told to remove our hats, even the women.  Before re-boarding our tour bus, we stopped at a souvenir shop, which sold a lot of colorful jewelry and various other items.  The shop was air-conditioned, which provided us some relief from the hot weather.

Our next stop was San Agustin Church and museum.  The roof of San Agustin Church was completely destroyed during WWII, but later restored.   The first San Agustin Church was completed in 1571, and destroyed by fire in 1574, and the second was destroyed by fire in 1583.  Construction of the current church began in 1583 and was completed in 1607.  The massive structure of the church is highlighted by the symmetry and splendor of the interiors – the profile of the moldings, rosettes and sunken panels which appear as three-dimensional carvings, a 17th century baroque-style pulpit with the native pineapple as a motif, the grand pipe organ, the antechoir with a 16th-century crucifix, the choir seats carved in durable molave wood with ivory inlays of the 17th century and the set of 16 huge and beautiful chandeliers from Paris.  The church also contains over 100 tombs.  It was the practice in previous centuries that the mortal remains of prominent persons were buried inside the church.  Their families were patrons or benefactors who, in one way or another, contributed to its construction, donated precious jewels, saints, vestments and other church decorations or even paid for the upkeep of a chapel.  In some instances, they sponsored the priests who were assigned there, or paid for the chapel or a slot for their final resting place.

Dr. Rizal's Execution Site,  Manila, Philippines

We rode on to the serene Rizal Park, whose focal point is the Rizal Monument which was built in honor of the country's national hero.  There was a statue of Dr. Rizal at the site of his execution, along with numerous statues of his firing squad and other soldiers, and recreations of various scenes of his final days.

Our final stop was the Manila Hotel, a luxurious Philippine landmark that opened in 1912.  General Douglas MacArthur used the hotel as his command post during World War II except when the Japanese occupied Manila (which was for most of the war).

            Today’s tour included more than 2-hours of walking and standing, so we were exhausted by the time we got back to our cabin by 4:30 PM.  Since the restaurants we all closed, we decided to try the afternoon tea in the Horizons for the first time.  There, they served tea, coffee, finger sandwiches, and pastries.  Sally had tea and one pastry, while Jesse ate his fill.  Because a movie was to be shown in the Insignia Lounge tonight, there was no dancing tonight.