March 4, 2018 – Manila, Philippines

Founded by a Spanish explorer in 1571, Manila is one of the Philippines’ oldest cities. For centuries, it was a major center of Spanish trade in the Far East as galleons sailed here from their newly established settlements in the Americas. Though much of the city was destroyed during World War II, hints of Spanish, Chinese, American and Malay influences remain. Fort Santiago, a stronghold from Spain’s 300-year rule, and San Agustin Church, a splendid UNESCO World Heritage Site, stand among them, as do the city’s glorious art deco theaters. The historic streets of Intramuros, Manila’s walled Old Town, provide a glimpse of Manila’s colonial age, while its many art galleries reveal its creative side. 

We arrived to the Philippines just as the sun was rising.

Manila is the capital of the Philippines. The Philippines are made up of 7000 islands making it the second largest archipelago next to Indonesia in the world. Originally the island was made up of mostly Moslems and other smaller religions. In fact, Magellan was killed here by a Muslim Chieftain.

Spain controlled the island from 1571-1896. They conquered the islands by requiring everyone to convert to Catholicism. If you did not, the Spanish were not very tolerant. Today, 80% of the Philippines is Catholic. However, the Indios, original people here are not Catholic. Twenty percent of the population is Chinese mixed with Filipino.

Once we pulled into port, there were two bands and some local people putting on a performance. It was on our side of the ship. It appears that more happens on the starboard side than the port side.

As we pulled out of the port, there was a parade going on. It was made up of fire engines, with people riding on them. There must have been over 100 fire engines. We were told it was a celebration for the fire departments. We were hoping that no fires would break out right now.

Manila has the largest Chinatown outside of China.

Our first stop was to Intramuros the Spanish Old Town that was home of the elite during the colonial era. This is the old walled city. When the Spanish took over they built this walled city where they had their schools, hospitals, and seat of government. It was built by forced Filipino labor and took eight years to complete. The Filipinos could not live in the city, but were used as the servants for those that did live there.

The country was under American rule from 1898-1946. During this time, they also used this as the Spanish did. When the Japanese bombed the city of Manila, they first bombed Intramuros, as they knew this was where the seat of government was.

Our first stop in the walled city was at the San Agustin Church, the oldest stone church in the city. Originally there were seven churches in the walled city. But after all the bombing, there were only two remaining. San Agustin was not bombed because they had painted the roof red. The Japanese thought it was a Red Cross center, so did not bomb it. Since it was Sunday, there were services going on so we could only take pictures from the rear.

The city had no water, except from wells and the river until 1880. They had no electricity until the Americans came. The chandeliers you saw in the previous photos came from Paris, but were only for decoration as there was no electricity at that time.

Our next stop was the Plaza San Luis Complex. This is what used to be someone’s home, and today is a restaurant.

In the photo of the dining room you will see what looks like green curtains hanging over the table. These are actually fans called punkahs. They have cords that come down against the wall and the servants will pull on the cords and the curtains will fan those at the table.

Our next stop was at Fort Santiago, built within Intramuros. It was a very pretty park setting. The car that you see made of yarn there is a replica of the old jeeps the Americans had during the war. When the Americans left, they left these for the Filipinos. They use this day as transportation. They added more seats and put a roof on them. I also included a picture of one today. It is called a Jeepeney.

 Fort Santiago was named after the patron saint of Spain. You can still see bullet holes in some of the old buildings. The other picture is where they would hang people. They would put a rope round their next and make them jump off. Another way of killing was to garrote the person with a piece of wire around their next till they died. The third way was by firing squad.

Further down was the main gate with a moat before it.

After passing through the gate you came to where they had their dungeons and prisons. Dr. José Rizal, whose writings ultimately led to Philippine independence, is considered a hero. He was an ophthalmologist and went to Spain and Germany to finish his schooling. While there he published two books and wrote many articles in the papers. When he returned to the Philippines he was arrested and put into prison here. On December 13, 1896, he was killed by firing squad. As you come through the gate above there are brass footprints that recreate his walk to the firing squad.

In here we also saw his prison cell that has a statue of him in the middle.

And the dungeons.

Our last stop was at Rizal Park, named for national hero, Dr. José Rizal. This is a monument and also a mausoleum, as his bones are buried here. This was the spot where he faced the firing squad. The firing squad was made up of half Filipino and half Spanish. The Filipino were forced to participate or be shot themselves. He requested that he be shot in the heart and not the head and one of the Filipinos fired one shot that went through his heart and killed him instantly.

Manila Kilometer Zero, also known as KM 0 stands as a marker for distance reference. It is a marble marker with a KM 0 label across from the Rizal Monument in Rizal Park.

Known to many as the Manila Kilometer Zero and not KM 0, this marker serves as the nation’s starting point when measuring the distance going to the different provinces and cities in Luzon Island and the rest of the Philippines.

Most of the roads in the Philippines have a marker that has a label of the distance from their local Kilometer Zero as well as a label of the distance to the next municipality, city or province.

This evening we had we had a destination performance in the theater. It was Bayanihan, The National Folk Dance Company of the Philippines. They have performed all over the world including Broadway and Lincoln Center. They told the history of the Philippines through dance.

This was a special day for many of the crew, as they were able to see their families after almost seven months.

We are now off to Shanghai for two days, preceded by three sea days. It is humid and very hot here, but when we get to Shanghai it is going to be a high of 50 and a low of 38. Got to get out our cold weather clothes.