On the Road: Bataan Weblog

Armed with a map of Batangas we hit the North Luzon Expressway for the Bataan Toursim Center to ask directions and get us the correct map for the day. With maps, brochures and pasalubongs in hand we headed to the Pawikan Conservation Center where we met Sir Manolo. He shared his knowledge of these endangered prehistoric creatures and the local effort to conserve their population.

We had lunch at a plaza carinderia before we headed for our next stops which were the Japanese bell tower and the Alcuzar houses. The latter is a four hundred hectares property where fully functional Spanish inspired houses rose. We were told not to take photos because they were then getting ready for a soft launch. But I couldn't help but press the shutter button. It's an exclusive resort. Definitely not for a solo traveler like me. Beautiful. Pricey.

Next stop, Shrine of Valor up Mount Samat. You can see the towering cross from the plains of Bataan. It's a steep climb. I thought it would be a nice challenge to hike up Mount Samat even with it's paved winding road. Going up in a car, I realized how crazy that idea was.

The Shrine of Valor memorial is one of the popular destinations in Bataan. On the way up several markers and shrines, Japanese and Catholic, can be seen on the side of the road in memory of the soldiers who treaded the same path during the Death March. It's a sad part of our history. For a moment I thought of the cause of all that. I thought of several one word answers and carried on. I liked the view from the top. I liked the open curved roads. It's one of those please press pause places.

After that we headed back to this little house with a garden which we saw earlier in the morning. We got to talk to the owner and his best friend. They're going to open the house and offer coffee to whoever stops by. Standing there in their garden, we discussed our next visit to Bataan.

Recalling this recent road trip I caught a line from one of Snow Patrol's songs. "Just say Yes! Just say there's nothing holding you back." That's what we did. We picked Bataan. Invited people. People backed out. We still went ahead. "So simple and you know" it was fun and we're going back next weekend. This time we're going to stay over night, wallow in the South China-Bataan sea, and share cups of coffee in that little garden.