I strongly suggest a day tour of the Island of Corregidor.  It is just an hour away from Manila by ferry.  I never realized how beautiful the island was until I visited it for the second time last December 2010.  My first visit took place when I just a preteen and all the residents of our very small residential community in Marikina took a day off to visit the island altogether.  Once I got there, I remember just swimming in the clear blue waters of the beach with my sister and brother in law while my mom, dad, and neighbors toured the ruins of the barracks and other World War II monuments.  Bear in mind that all that remains in Corregidor are the shells of the barracks once occupied by American and Filipino soldiers.  The island was heavily bombed by US forces in their quest to retake the island from the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army and free the thousands of prisoners of war.   Fast forward 60 years, and here are the pictures we took of our visit and the historic ruins of the island.  Enjoy!

Our first stop, the ruins of the Middleside Barracks

These barracks were just some of the quarters occupied by American soldiers when the Philippines was still a colony of the United States from the early 1900s.?

Marc in front of the ruins of the Middleside Barracks

The ruins of what used to be a repair shop

Cannons at Battery Grubb

Marc at Battery Grubb

Me at Battery Grubbs wearing my most recent Philippine flag inspired polo shirt.

Who needs a shirt from Gucci and Pucci when I can purchase from Collezione.

(SM Department Store in the Mall of Asia)

Next stop on our tour was Battery Way

This is the middle part of one of the cannons in Battery Way.  During our visit, many tourists stood on one end of the cannon while some else took their picture through the hole.

A closer view of the cannon in Battery Way

Me at Battery Way

Storage in Battery Way

The Topside Barracks

The ruins of the theater for American and Filipino soldiers

Here's a view of the theater's facade

The Pacific War Memorial very close to the ruins of the theater and Topside Barracks

The entry way to the Pacific War Memorial in Corregidor

A closer view of the Pacific War Memorial

Inside the Pacific War Memorial

The inscription on the Italian marble made circular stone in the middle of the Peace Memorial

A flag of the USA inside the museum displaying war memorabilia at the Pacific War Memorial.  If you look closely and count the stars on the flag, there are less than fifty states.  This means this was the US flag prior to the addition of its last states, Alaska and Hawaii among them.

Marc just had to take a picture of this frame with Philippine currency during the Japanese occupation of the Philippines from 1940-1945.  I remember playing with some of these bills as a child.  These bills were so plentiful back in the 60s and 70s.  They were so worthless back then, Filipino children used them as play money.

An orange colored steel sculpture on the grounds of the Pacific War Memorial

Standing in front of the quaint Sun Cruises shuttle bus which took us all over Corregidor.  For this full day trip to the island, Marc and I each paid approximately $50 for the ferry ride from Manila to Corregidor, a full day tour, as well as a truly sumptuous buffet lunch at an open air hotel restaurant. This day long day tour, I must say again was simply divine.

The Memorial to the Filipino Soldier in Corregidor

In front of the Memorial to the Filipino soldier, a tribute to the valiant young men who defended the Philippine Islands during the Second World War

Another view of the Memorial to the Filipino Soldier.

Here you see a rifle topped with a helmet

The Memorial to the fallen Japanese soldiers is the most recent addition to the many monuments in historic Corregidor Island.

Cannons at the Japanese Memorial