Monday - March 5, 2018

Monday, March 5, 2018

We arrived in Manila earlier than scheduled, and we were still greeted by a band and of singers and dancers. This group was just as enthusiastic as the one that greeted us in Puerto Princesa. What a great way to start our visit.

After breakfast we boarded a shuttle that would take us to a shopping mall. We hoped to get our bearings on this jaunt. Our plan was to return to the ship in a little while, and spend the afternoon walking to the Old Town.

The shuttle ride was much quicker than expected. We arrived at the mall 40 minutes before it opened. We spent the time walking the nearby streets and observing local life. The mall did not look like much from the outside. When it opened, we again learned that appearances are not everything. It was huge inside. It rambled on and on. Every product you could imagine was available here with the exception of quality handicrafts. It took us longer than expected to tour this maze. We boarded the return shuttle for a ride that took twice as long as our first ride. Traffic was now horrendous. It is also chaotic. Even if cars and trucks stop for traffic lights, motorcycles whiz in and out around cars and ignore the lights. Pedestrians are on constant alert.

After lunch it was our turn to be pedestrians. We started our walk to the Old City with the temperature in the 90’s and humidity to match. We were glad to have taken water with us. We sweat it out as fast as we took it in. We successfully crossed the busy thoroughfare that ran past the walls of the Old City. We were “accosted” by Pedi cab drivers, but we walked on. A fence kept us from entering the city so we walked to Rizal Park.

This park commemorates a founding hero with statuary, landscaping and his tomb. It is also home to the Chinese Garden and the Japanese Garden. Entry to each of these gardens is free. We only needed to sign the guest book. The design and execution of each results in meditative areas of peace in the bustle of the city. We enjoyed the Chinese garden the most.

Before leaving the park we passed a beautiful fountain site. The fountain was not working now, but it was a long series of fountainheads. It looked like it would be delightful after dark. Now it was a night place to sit and listen to the recorded music being broadcast.

At last we found a park exit that led to the entrance to the Old City, Intramuros. Consultation with the guard at the first garden we saw showed us how we would proceed. A short walk into the city took us to a very nice handicrafts shop. We found fabrics, napkin holders and woven trivets. All of these were locally made and reasonably priced. We helped keep the economy strong.

Now it was 4:30 and time to head back to the ship. We wanted to get back before the sun set at 6:15. We had a map of the walled city that showed most, but not all, of the streets and, of course, the wall. We noted a place that seemed to show an exit through the wall not far from the way to the port. A kind young lady stopped and confirmed our guess. We started on our way. She was going the same way a bit behind us. She stopped us as we passed a small alley to tell us that at the end of this alley we should go up the stairs to the top of the wall. Then we could proceed to the exit shown on the map.

This worked, but when we got to the way out, a guard told us the gate had closed at 6:00. Alice asked him how we could get to the ship. He called a colleague over. This man understood us and took us through the closed gate and town the path that would take us to the outside world. As we walked with him we had a friendly conversation. He opened another closed gate to let us out, bid us a good evening and thanked us for visiting Manila. What a nice experience this turned out to be.

Back onboard we shed our sopping clothing. How good it is to have free laundry. They even take it wet. Dinner was satisfying.

This was the first day of having family and visitors come aboard for our Filipino crew. Pam, our wine steward was expecting her father and daughter to come aboard. We told her to let us pour her own wine and go join her family. She insisted on staying.

After dinner we went to the top deck where we could look down on the crew entertaining their guests. Dinner and ice cream were the order of the day. The ship’s officers made their way through the crowd, stopping for pictures and conversations of welcome. It was inspiring to see how caring they all were.

We had been looking for Pam and finally spotted her. We went down to greet her. She introduced her father and daughter. We took a picture of them and left so they could resume their visit. Local authorities had refused to let guest into the port until 7:00 PM. Normally they would board at 11:00 and spend the day. Schedules had been adjusted to provide this dinner and allow them to stay until 10:00 PM. They will return tomorrow.

We finished our day by watching the end of the Academy Awards. It is Monday here, but Sunday back home.