April 17  Manila -- Corregidor

The welcome into Manilla was as enthusiastic as Okinawa, although without John Phillips Sousa.  He came out for departure.  Lots of ebullient native dancing, drumming and marimba playing.

 We took a three hour tour of Corregidor.  It was proceeded by a one hour bus ride to the ferry dock and a 1.5 hour ferry ride.  It was followed by a one hour lunch, another ferry ride and another bus ride.  Lots of transportation was involved in getting to a very bombed out island from WW2.  But its strategic importance made it an important piece of real estate.

Middleside barracks

 At Battery Way a piece of concrete was thrown out from a shell blast and lodged in the tree.  It's still there.

 

 Spanish American coins found by our guide Armando during his many explorations of the island

 Battery Hearn.  That's a bomb crater in foreground, and the closer shot reveals the shrapnel damage to the gun barrel.

 Topside Barracks, the Mile Long Barracks.  Everything on the island was bombed and shelled, first by the Japanese in 1942 then by the Allies in 1945.

 Cine Corregidor, the pre-WW2 movie theater

 The lighthouse at the very top of the island, and views after climbing to the observation platform.  Bataan is a short distance away, and you can see the lower entrance to Malinta Tunnel in the other direction.