For those of you who do not know what or where Corregidor is (and there’s a good chance you don’t really know since history books tend to give it about a paragraph in the middle of the war section and most American kids never learn about it, I never did–but I digress) here’s a little history for you…
“Corregidor Island, locally called Isla ng Corregidor, is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in southwestern part of Luzon Island in the Philippines. Due to this location, Corregidor was fortified with several coastal artillery and ammunition magazines to defend the entrance of Manila Bay and the City of Manila from attacks by enemy warships in the event of war. Located 48 kilometres (30 mi) inland, Manila has been the largest city and the most important seaport in the Philippines for centuries, from the colonial rule of Spain, Japan and the United States, to the establishment of the Republic of the Philippines in 1946. Corregidor (Fort Mills) is the largest of the islands that formed the harbor defenses of Manila Bay together with El Fraile Island (Fort Drum), Caballo Island (Fort Hughes) and Carabao Island (Fort Frank), which were all fortified during the American liberation of the country. The island was also the site of a small military airfield, as part of the defense. During World War II, Corregidor played an important role during the invasion and liberation of the Philippines from Japanese forces. Heavily bombarded in the latter part of the war, the ruins left on the island serve as a military memorial to American, Filipino and Japanese soldiers who served or lost their lives on the island. Corregidor is one of the important historic and tourist sites in the country.”
Students at Faith Academy get their first taste of Corregidor while they are on outdoor education. They camp on the beach, hike into caves, and hear stories around the campfire of Philippine and American heroes and their bravery. Every day tourists pile into a boat in Manila bay, ride for 90 minutes, pile out and onto trollies and take in the history of the island given by knowledgeable tour guides. If you only have one day it is most definitely the way to go but if you have more time to spare there’s so much more to explore–Trails, hidden caves, bombed out supply tunnels and fantastic look out points that the average person will never see. The history and imagining the place teeming with activity, schools, houses, churches, etc is fascinating to me. It’s small enough that you can walk everywhere and yet you can lose hours in the adventure.
For the “adventure crew” it’s a get-away-from-the-city-breath-of-fresh-air opportunity that we take every chance we get. We gather up our hammocks and food, find p1000 (appx $25USD), pile into vans, ride about 4 hours to the Bataan peninsula, meet a man with a boat, venture a little over a mile to the tadpole shaped island, and stay for as long as our days away from school will allow us. There are very few other options for a long weekend that are as cheap or as fun and Corregidor is almost always cooler than Manila even though it’s so close because of being out in the bay.
The camping area near the South Dock has pavilions and a special little grove of trees for our hammocks and even a CR (bathroom) and shower facility. I can tell you that showering at night under the stars is an experience like none other. The big open field allows us to play Frisbee in the day and go star tipping at night. The huge pier beckons you to jump from it during the day and lay on it watching the stars at night. If you’re like me and think you could never sleep in a hammock you should give it a chance before your write it off! Ask any one of my converts, they’ll tell you I don’t lie. :o)
Outdoor Education Corregidor 2013