While still in the process of retrieving the data (read photos and info) of my latest tours and escapades, it is nevertheless good to pick a photo or two of places that are both historic and memorable.
One such place is Manila Bay, which we used to frequent when there were small family outings with some relatives. The view of the wide expanse of water is, if I may be allowed to use the term, mesmerizing. According to a Teodoro Agoncillo book, the bay covers an area of 700 square miles and has a circumference of 120 miles. Such a key bay would have served as an important point of business and commerce. Once it was visited by a Chinese fleet sent by Yung Lo of China, a Ming Emperor who has just ascended to the throne, as part of regaining control over the trade in the country.
Before the end of the nineteenth century, Manila Bay has been the scene of one of the biggest battles in what has become the Spanish-American War where Commodore George Dewey of the American Asiatic Squadron literally crushed the Spanish fleet of Admiral Patricio Montojo. This Battle of Manila Bay has reached many parts of the world that even the famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle expressed delight in the US victory. Whether it was indeed a one-sided battle, let others think over it.
Later it could have been only a place of sad thoughts as one who has been alive during the Second World War could have seen from the bay the bitter battle and eventual fall of Corregidor Island, that sperm-like island at mouth of the Manila Bay.
Today Roxas Boulevard decks its shores together with some of the fine hotels and establishments. A visit of Manila Bay can be added to a tour of some of the nearby places in Manila. This I have done so but I am yet to fully collect and prepare those precious photos and info.
One such place is Manila Bay, which we used to frequent when there were small family outings with some relatives. The view of the wide expanse of water is, if I may be allowed to use the term, mesmerizing. According to a Teodoro Agoncillo book, the bay covers an area of 700 square miles and has a circumference of 120 miles. Such a key bay would have served as an important point of business and commerce. Once it was visited by a Chinese fleet sent by Yung Lo of China, a Ming Emperor who has just ascended to the throne, as part of regaining control over the trade in the country.
Before the end of the nineteenth century, Manila Bay has been the scene of one of the biggest battles in what has become the Spanish-American War where Commodore George Dewey of the American Asiatic Squadron literally crushed the Spanish fleet of Admiral Patricio Montojo. This Battle of Manila Bay has reached many parts of the world that even the famous writer Arthur Conan Doyle expressed delight in the US victory. Whether it was indeed a one-sided battle, let others think over it.
Later it could have been only a place of sad thoughts as one who has been alive during the Second World War could have seen from the bay the bitter battle and eventual fall of Corregidor Island, that sperm-like island at mouth of the Manila Bay.
Today Roxas Boulevard decks its shores together with some of the fine hotels and establishments. A visit of Manila Bay can be added to a tour of some of the nearby places in Manila. This I have done so but I am yet to fully collect and prepare those precious photos and info.
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