Manila, Philippines - March 7th

Port of Manila

This morning we docked in Manila around 8 AM.  Our tour left about 9 AM and we headed for the Taal Volcano...more about this later.

Upon leaving the ship we drove through the Intramuros section of Manila which is an historic walled area within the city (.26 sq. mile).  During Spanish rule this was considered the City of Manila.  The Battle of Manila in 1945 entirely flattened the Intramuros with the exception of the San Agustin Church.  The Intramuros is still be reconstructed.

We passed by the Manila Hotel which is an historic 5-star hotel built in 1909.  The oldest surviving premiere hotel in the Philippines.

Street scene

Street scene
Here are some street scenes we passed in Metro Manila on our way to our next stop. 



Bamboo Organ

Next we headed for the St. Joseph Parish Church which has a 19th century bamboo organ. We were fortunate enough to hear it being played. Link to Organ Videos. 

St. Joseph Parish Church






Whole Jack Fruit
After visiting the church, we continued to Tagaytay, the site of the volcano, we stopped at a fruit market to view the exotic (to us) fruits for sale. We had our first taste of Jack Fruit.  You can see in the picture to the right how large it is compared to a pineapple.  And it does grow on a tree.

Chris at fruit market
The other picture show it cut up.  The vendor let us taste it and it was delicious and supposedly very nutritious. 

Cut up Jack Fruit
Supposedly Whole Foods sells it so I will try to find some when I get home.

Finally we headed to the volcano.  We had a buffet lunch at the Taal Vista Hotel which was built in 1939. 

After lunch we headed out onto the terrace of the hotel to view the lake and volcano.  The lake is actually a large caldera filled with water with Volcano Island (containing its own smaller lake) in the center. It is the 2nd most active volcano in the Philippines with the latest eruption taking place in 2022. Read more here.

Taal Lake with Volcano Island


Rizal Monument
Our last stop was at Rizal Park in Manila to view the monument to Jose Rizal, now the country's most exhalted and memorialized national hero, executed at this cite by colonial Spanish rulers in 1896.













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