Our last weekend on Corregidor

Here are some photos from the past week, including our last weekend on Corregidor.  We start with a hike with Julia, long-time hiker and friend.  This is an interesting time of year to hike, since it's been dry and the jungle is thinnest before rainy season, improving visibility off the trails.

 We've walked right by this water tank many times before on our way from Middleside to Breakwater Point, but this time Steve spotted it

 Marcia and Julia seen through holes on both sides of the water tank

 

Julia and Marcia near the end of a long, hot hike

Just before sunset one night we strolled along the "Baywalk."  Morrison Hill is in the middle with Bataan off in the distance to the right.

One of Willy's large bancas, with the words "WELCOME TO CORREGIDOR ISLAND" painted on the wall in the background

 Sun rays over Morrison Hill

Frangipani (plumeria, calachuchi) along Baywalk - very pleasantly fragrant

Looking westward while walking the Baywalk toward the Engineering Dock on the north shore of Bottomside

Marcia, Rowena (holding her son Jairey), Michelle, and Flor at the Baywalk Store

 Bougainvillea along the Corregidor Inn driveway

 We hosted the Sieh family for their Corregidor visit on Friday.  Here they are in front of a Japanese anti-aircraft gun at the Japanese Memorial.  Ronna and Stephen with daughters Stella, Mia, and Isabel.

Twelve-year-old fraternal twins Mia and Isabel pose as mimes inside Battery Cheney bunker

Marcia and Steve on Battery Cheney

Sunshine (you remember her, Jessie Lichauco's granddaughter) brought some friends on Saturday.

Marcia got this interesting shot of Sunshine through the barrel of a mortar at Battery Way

What is a trip to Corregidor without seeing a monkey?

Brahminy Kites circling over Battery Crockett

Sunshine's group at Malinta Tunnel: Robin, Sunshine, Leeds, Nat, Steve, Marcia, Grace, and Alonso

Robin, who is British, told us that his grandfather was on MacArthur's staff, and that he left by submarine before Corregidor surrendered.  We assume that he left from this, the south (Navy) dock.

The south dock.  Look close and you should see a Pacific Reef Heron, which Marcia saw land just moments before.

A close-up, in case you missed it

Michael Kahler came as a guest of Doris Ho, arriving Saturday for an overnight stay. After we sent Sunshine and company on their way, we took Mike along with friends Jhen and another Mike into Malinta Tunnel, where we saw a gecko, a hermit crab, and this interesting creature, all spotted first by Jhen.

We've seen tailless whip scorpions in other tunnels and caves before, but this is a first for us in Malinta Tunnel.   It's also known as an African cave spider.  Although scary looking as anything, it is not dangerous to humans, since it can't bite us and is lacking that stinger tail we associate with scorpions.

Sunday morning we took Mike on our favorite trail hike.  Although he had been on Corregidor many times in the past, he had never seen the best preserved building on the island, the old Fort Mills Hospital.  It's something we feel all visitors should see while they're here, but is always skipped on the standard tours.

Fort Mills Hospital, main entrance

Hospital construction began in 1912, as you can see on this close-up of the arch.  We had perfect lighting to see the numbers, especially the "2", which is usually lost in the shadows.

Just as we began our jungle hike, Mike got a phone call from his mother, who lives in the United States.  With these high-falutin' phones you can never quite "get away from it all."

Mike under the banyan tree beyond Battery Hanna

 The roots of one of the giant fig trees

The damaged barrel of Battery Smith far off in the distance across Cheney Ravine

Marcia under a different banyan tree, this one just off the trail near the nest where she got such great pictures of the eaglet twins last year.

One of the eaglet photos from last May

A termite nest near the trail below Battery Cheney

 Gun number one at Battery Cheney.  Our friends Earl and Len put in a lot of hard work to clear this battery when they were here a month ago, and it still looks real good.   Much appreciated!!!

Despite obvious shrapnel damage, you can still read some information about the barrel being relined in 1933 in Watervliet Arsenal in New York State.

Lanete (laniti) blossoms above Battery Cheney

Local fishermen (not from Corregidor) below "Banzai Cliff."  What's that sound?

On the following close-up, you can see that these guys are dynamite fishing.  This helps explain why Manila Bay is essentially fished out.  (The change we've observed in the past six and a half years is disturbing.)  Dynamite fishing stuns the fish, which then float to the surface for easy collection.  But it also destroys the delicate fish beds.  Thanks a lot, guys.  You're helping to assure that there will be no fish or other seafood in the bay for your children's children.  Dynamite fishing, chain dragging, and cyanide poisoning are all strictly illegal, but all too common here.

Underwater explosion obvious to the left of the boat

A Brahminy Kite soars near Wheeler Point

Another set of cool tree roots

Mike coming out of Wheeler Tunnel

We don't know if we've shown this before, but it's so neat that we don't mind repeating.  This tree branch hit the wall at one of the senior officers' duplexes, and just found a way around it.

Fuchsia and white bougainvillea in front of the Spanish Lighthouse on Topside

Mike, Marcia, and Steve at the new Texas A&M monument, Topside.  Mike is an A&M grad.  The thumbs up says, "Gig'em, Aggies!"

Following are some photos we took of the moon rising over Malinta Hill.

A couple of sunset pictures taken from the "Lorcha Dock" on Bottomside.

And finally, a couple that Marcia just took as Steve was preparing this blog at MacArthur's Cafe on Sunday night.  We dedicate these to Bill and Midge, who love Corregidor sunsets.  Wish you were here.

Only three days remaining.

Steve and Marcia on the Rock

Steve leads publicity hikes for Sun Cruises

We were pleased when Professor Ricardo Trota Jose (Rico) of the University of the Philippines History Department asked to join us for the weekend.  Rico's first trip to Corregidor was in 1977, and his most recent was in the '90s.  Sun Cruises brought video crews to Corregidor on Saturday and Sunday to film us walking along two of our favorite trails.  (Are you getting the idea that every trail on Corregidor is "one of our favorite trails?")  We are hopeful that a video will be put together for the purpose of promoting trail hiking on Corregidor, not only for history buffs, but for avid hikers and nature lovers as well.

Rico, Marcia, and Steve at the mandatory photo stop at Steve's father's gun at Battery Way, before heading into the jungle.

Steve telling Rico about Battery Sunset, which is not far from the trail.

At X-F-1, near Battery Hanna (X-F-2)  Paul of SCI in the foreground, and Photographer Dale at center

Sun Cruises employee Tonie found this old medicine bottle

Rico and Steve at the Battery Hanna overlook

Rico and Steve resting under our favorite banyan tree

Audio specialist Dan exiting Wheeler Tunnel

The first day's photo shoot ended with a tour through the ground floor of a senior officer's duplex

On day 2, the hike began at Kindley Field.  Here are Paul, Julia, Marcia, Steve, Rico, and Tonie, with Caballo Island in the background.

Steve telling Rico about the Japanese landing on May 6, 1942, with photographer Alex in the foreground

Steve and Rico on the very dry Kindley Field, with the video crew looking on

Steve kidded Tonie that she reminded him of the Grim Reaper, with the walking stick that resembles a scythe.  One way to battle the heat here is to wear clothes that breathe and don't allow direct sun to reach the skin.

Tonie and Marcia found this large and beautiful blossom, yellow as you can see, with a deep burgundy throat - we'd love to know the name!

When we'd almost reached the eastern tip of the Tail, Marcia took this telephoto view of the towers on Topside, nearly three miles away.

Rico found this shell (ammo) holder far down the tail.  With Julia looking on, Rico explains that it was part of the internal framework for an ammo case, designed to hold the shells in position within the case.  It being made of wood, it's amazing that it hasn't long since ended up in a fisherman's cooking fire.

Videographer Alex in a bird's-eye-view shooting location

Notice that Alex is using a tripod to steady the camera, but against his own torso, not the ground.  We've got to try this!

The grass that was all burned away on our previous visit is starting to grow back.  After rainy season begins, all traces of the fire will soon be gone.

One last look at Hooker Point...the tide level was too high for us to cross the land-bridge today.

And one last look at Caballo Island.  We said the same thing a few weeks ago.  Never say never.

It was hot, and when we finally rounded the tip of the tail (going from the north side to the south side) we found some of the lead walkers had tucked into the shade of a very convenient rock ledge.

After that we returned to Corregidor Bay by banca (small double outrigger) rather than retracing our steps along the same path.  We recommend that Sun Cruises make this an option, which will add to the expense of the hike but offers three big advantages.  The first is that you don't have to return over the same trail, which requires more uphill hiking and can be very tiring when it's as hot as it's been for the past two days.  The second is that the banca ride allows the hikers an up-close view of the north shore of Corregidor, territory that they would otherwise only see at a distance from the ferry.  The third is that less-conditioned and older hikers can participate.

Because it was windy during our return trip, we did not risk taking the camera out and subjecting it to possible saltwater splashes.  Below are a few select photos of the north shore taken on a previous banca ride around the island in September (rainy season) of 2010, so they are not as sunlit as if we had been able to take them today. The terrain is also far greener, for two reasons; the previously mentioned fire has left much of this part of the Tail mostly bare, and what vegetation we encountered today is crispy dry.

 Does anyone else - besides Marcia - see this little rock formation as a person sitting cross-legged and cross-armed, looking right at us?

Love that little tree on the point!  It always reminds us of something from Dr. Seuss.

Same little tree, up close

Malinta Hill center, the "head" of the island (Middleside & Topside) right

We recently hiked both of these trails, and because we were not being videotaped at the time, took many more of our own photos.  If you want to see those earlier stories, they are available at::

http://steveandmarciaontherock.blogspot.com/2015/03/the-steve-and-marcia-jungle-trail.html

and:

http://steveandmarciaontherock.blogspot.com/2015/04/tail-walk-and-civilian-cemetery.html

We wish to thank Professor Rico Jose for joining us and graciously taking part in the videotaping.  We are very hopeful that both of these trails will soon be a part of Sun Cruises' alternative offerings.

Steve and Marcia on the Rock