Day Four - Corregidor

 Greetings from the red team! It was an early start this morning as we had to wake up at 5am. It was a 2 hour drive to Manila Port and another 2 hour ferry to Corregidor Island. Corregidor Island is a small rocky island at the entrance of Manila Bay. It played a significant role during World War Two and is now a memorial for the Filipino and American defenders. Upon arriving at the island we all hopped on a tour bus and we met out tour guide, Armando. He was very entertaining, lively and knew his facts about the island very well. Firstly, we entered The Malinta Tunnel. It was built over a period of ten years to house the American-Filipino troops. It has been renovated to serve as a tourist attraction, complete with lights and visual effects. We then hopped back into the bus which took us up to the highest point of the island to see all of the ruined artillery and barracks. Most of the guns were bombed or had bomb craters surrounding them. One of the two barracks was called the ‘Mile Long’ barrack and was quite literally a mile long. This barrack was bombed heavily and mostly in ruins although some of it remained intact. Lunch was provided at the Corregidor Hotel and we were spoiled with a buffet lunch. After this we visited the Corregidor lighthouse, museum and memorials. As the tour drew to a close, we said our goodbyes to the driver and tour guide and left on the ferry for the Manila port. W then took a taxi to Gerry’s Grill where we had authentic Filipino food, including snails and pig brain. Following this, we were allowed to go window shopping at the ‘Mall of Asia’ which is the biggest shopping mall in the southern hemisphere. There was also a Christmas parade and fireworks. Then we waited an hour for our bus to arrive to take us back to the ministry and we entertained ourselves by pretending to be a Zumba class on the steps of the mall. Overall it was an educating and enjoyable day, and despite the early wake up, it was relaxing to take a break from our usual activities.

 Hey Mum, Dad and Cody! Love you guys heaps and missing you. Everything is great and I’m having so much fun. Also a shoutout to Holly and Cathy! Wish you guys could be here to share this experience but we all feel your presence. Btw Holly, thought of you today when I heard all the Christmas music playing in the mall xx Cass

 Hi Family! I’m missing you guys but I’m also having a lot of fun. I hope you guys are all good and enjoying yourselves too. Love you all lots and give Rolly a hug from me. Eliza

 Hey Mum and Dad, and Peka and Jin cause I know you’ll both be reading this too. I’m having heaps of fun here and I’m excited for what’s coming in the next few days. There’s so much here that I wish you all were here to see. The view from Corregidor is amazing and everything here reminds me of home. Oh well, love you all. Hanisiof and take care! From Soni xx