Bataan

We had a great weekend in Bataan. First, we climbed Mt Samat and paid tribute to the fallen heroes at the Shrine of Valor. We rode the elevator to the top of the 360 foot cross on the peak of the 500 meter tall mountain. The view of Manila Bay and Mount Mariveles was astounding. It was not easy to imagine this as a battleground. The land was so green and beautiful one can hardly hear the echoes of artillery shells and bombs landing. Yet it was there seventy years ago that Filipinos and Americans fought side by side against superior Japanese forces and resisted for nearly four months before finally surrendering on April 9, a day we commemorate every year as the Day of Valor.

We then drove to the Pawikan Sanctuary in Morong. I did not expect the room to be as nice or the beach as beautiful. The sand was not white but it was fine and the sunset was majestic, probably the most beautiful I have seen in my life. You have to respect the wisdom of the turtles in choosing a beach where they have laid eggs for tens of millions of years. We walked three kilometers on the beach at around 9pm in search of a turtle laying her eggs but we did not find any so we just turned back. I did have a good time talking to my brother Richard while admiring the brilliant night sky.

Early the next morning, we took the turtles that hatched the previous night to the beach. We released them a few meters from the shore and they soon flapped their flippers toward the horizon. The moment when they finally reached the water and started swimming in the vast ocean was so special my eyes welled with tears. For are we not, like them, little beings thrust into the mighty ocean of life with all its lurking dangers? They will struggle and only one out of a hundred will live. But that survivor will come back to those very shores in twenty years to breed and spawn the next generation of life. Nature is magnificent and a true wonder to behold.

We left the sanctuary before lunch and headed to the nearby town of Bagac where we checked in at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, a resort where the owner, an architect and construction magnate, has recreated a Philippine colonial town by assembling his collection of old houses from all over the country. Colonial houses are called bahay na bato as the first storey is made of adobe walls. The second floor is made of wood and is characterized by large windows with capiz panes, ventanillas below the windows that let in air, and high ceilings that allow the air to circulate. When I build my own house, it will be inspired by these houses. We had a fine promenade in the afternoon as we took a tour of the houses and learned of their history. We capped the day by walking to the nearby beach to admire the sunset once more.

Yesterday, a Monday, we had a leisurely Filipino breakfast at Cafe Marivent. The kids then spent the last couple of hours of our vacation playing in the pool. At 11am, we drove off to go back to the city after a relaxing and renewing weekend of history, nature and culture in surprisingly beautiful Bataan.

Boracay New Year 2011

We remember this trip for how difficult Titus was during his terrible twos. Here is a wonderful corrective to that memory:

Boracay was breathtakingly beautiful. It was the most beautiful place we have ever been to. It exceeded our expectations. The sand was really white and powdery. The water was crystal clear, but seen from the beach, it was a magical display of different hues of blue from light blue to turquoise to the dark blue of the deep sea. There were many establishments and tourists, but it did not feel crowded at all. We did not engage in water activities because sitting by the beach and enjoying a beer while reading a book was enough to fill the day. We enjoyed the food at Don Vito's where we had the best Osso Buco and a glass of Sidecar. We also had a great dinner at Lemon Cafe where the tiger prawns with coconut risotto was exploding with flavor. We spent a lot of time walking around the shops at D'Mall and taking lots of photos - almost every angle was picture perfect. On our last day, we built a sandcastle and we really started to feel relaxed. Magnus walked around carrying a bag while butt naked. I swam for a while and prayed, thanking the Lord for the sheer majesty of the place and the fact that we were there as a family celebrating the new year.