Tuesday - March 6, 2018

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

We are walking back to the Old City today. As we left the ship we were amazed at the quantity of luggage and packages coming off the ship. This is not the end of a segment, so this is not passengers’ things coming off. This belongs to Filipino crew. They are taking advantage of this opportunity to let their families take home some of the things they have bought for them or just accumulated in their voyaging. This will ease their getting home at the end of their contracts.

We thought we knew our way around Intramuros now, so we set out toward the gate we had used yesterday. It was closed. We do not think it ever opens despite the signage. Our good Samaritan of yesterday was not around to help us. This was OK because our map showed that farther along was a busy street that would take us inside the wall. The map was right, and we were inside.

The next challenge was to find the tourist information office. It was on the map, but there were no signs of it. Several inquiries were fruitless. People did not know. Now we were in front of a fire station. Surely they would know. The lady at the desk would not even acknowledge our presence. Moving on we encountered a traffic monitor. He gave us good directions. I turned out that the office was on the grounds of the old fort, beyond the ticket office. We tried to enter without a ticket, and the guard let us in. He watched us to make sure we did not go beyond the information office. We left with a better map and some material describing the features of Intramuros.

We visited the Manila Cathedral and its gift shop. The cathedral was reconstructed in 1958 after an earthquake badly damaged it in the early 50’s. The large bells were removed from the steeple and mounted in a newly building that also housed the gift shop. These enormous bells are now a silent testament to the past.

We continued to other sites and craft shops before returning to Amsterdam. Today’s treasure was more colorful fabric. The humidity again left its mark on us.

Sail Away festivities began at 4:30. This band and these dancers were the most energetic yet. It was easy to see why. The adult director was crazy enthusiastic. His kids could barely keep up with him. At 5:00 we cast off our lines and headed out of the harbor.

We are happy to have experienced Manila, but it does not have a place on our list of cities to revisit.