The city tour is aptly scheduled on our first day at 1:30pm. It cost us Php600 per pax. It's nice that we were only 4 local tourists in the van so it was roomy. The tour would be around 4 hours.
Itinerary:
1) Immaculate Conception Cathedral
2) Plaza Cuartel3) Handicraft Weavers
4) Crocodile Farm
5) Iwahig Penal Colony
6) Mitra's Ranch
7) Baker's Hill8) local tiangge
As light rain poured, we drove first to Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The cathedral was painted light blue and white and has two spires. Due to the rain, we decided not to alight from the van.( We returned to the area on our last day and thank goodness the weather was great)
On the opposite side of the cathedral was Plaza Cuartel. Our female tour guide told us the main event that happened at the cuartel. 
Inside the plaza was a bronze marker. This marker was placed above the area where the main underground bunkers existed. American prisoners of world war II were imprisoned in these bunkers. When WWII was about to end , the Japanese who overtook Plaza Cuartel realized that they were losing the war. So they put all the prisoners in the dungeon and poured drums of petroleum and burned the prisoners alive. There were more or less 150 prisoners and only 11 survived to tell their story.
Inside the plaza was a bronze marker. This marker was placed above the area where the main underground bunkers existed. American prisoners of world war II were imprisoned in these bunkers. When WWII was about to end , the Japanese who overtook Plaza Cuartel realized that they were losing the war. So they put all the prisoners in the dungeon and poured drums of petroleum and burned the prisoners alive. There were more or less 150 prisoners and only 11 survived to tell their story.
The marker reads:
"Sa pook na ito na dating tanggulang militar nuong Ikalawang Digmaang Pandaigdig naganap ang pagsunog ng mga sundalong hapon sa humigit kumulang 150 Amerikanong bihag ng digma nuong 14 Disyembre 1944. Ilang nakaligtas ay lumangoy sa dagat patungong Iwahig. Ang mga labi ng nasawi ay dinala at inilibing sa St. Louis County sa isang panglahatang libingan sa Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri, United States, 1952"
Translated in English as:
"In this place which was a military fort of World War II, the burning of more or less 150 American POW was done by Japanese soldiers on December 14, 1944. Some managed to survive by swimming their way out from the sea to Iwahig. The remains of those who died were brought and buried in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri, United States, 1952".
Our next stop was the handicraft weavers. Similar to Ilocos, there's also a livelihood of weaving buri here in puerto princesa. Our guide told us that these products are being exported abroad and even Calvin Klein ordered buri placemats. Our female tourmate tried the manual weaving machine but i chose to shoot.
We then went to the store where the finished products are displayed and being sold. I got a few book markers made of buri.
Off we go to the crocodile farm. Our guide let us tour the farm by ourselves..i checked out the croc nursery where 3 - 4 month old crocs are being kept; then we went to see the big crocs. The concrete cages were similar to the ones in Zoobic safari. At the end of the croc cages was a jungle like environment where different birds are housed. Since it was quite muddy, we went back to the main building and waited for our tourmates to return. While waiting, we checked out the baby croc which you can hold and have your picture taken at a measly Php30 per 3 poses.
It was my first time to hold a baby croc and it was kinda cold. maybe because they are cold-blooded animal? The handler gave me a bonus photo so that's 4 shots instead of 3. Other local tourists followed and had their picture taken as well. My husband didnt oblige..
Iwahig Penal Colony was next. It was quite a long ride. It was a smooth ride as the main road was beautifully paved. However, upon entering Iwahig, it was rough road but not rocky. It was a refreshing sight--ricefields on both sides of the road,
lots of greenery. The prisoners live in nipa huts and can freely roam the area. They wore color coded shirts- brown for minimum security, blue for mid security risk and red for high risk or maximum security.
lots of greenery. The prisoners live in nipa huts and can freely roam the area. They wore color coded shirts- brown for minimum security, blue for mid security risk and red for high risk or maximum security.
After Iwahig, we drove about 30 minutes going to Mitra Farm. It was located a-top a hill and one can see overview of the city. As the sun was almost setting, didnt stay long. we took a couple of photos and headed down to the city to get some stuff at the local tiangge.
We're back at the pension house before 6pm .just enough time to clean up for dinner at Ka Lui. (Photo of Puerto Pension at night)
No comments:
Post a Comment