Subic trip march 11th and 12th

 
                                                 TRIP TO SUBIC  MARCH 11TH AND 12 TH
Subic trip
We left our apartments early trying to get ahead of the traffic and headed north for Subic the scenery on the way is beautiful we past many farm fields with crops of corn and rice and banana plantations and coconut trees we tried as we were driving to get pictures of mount Pinatubo this mountain is a volcano that irrupted  covering a entire town of Bacor with mud and ash if you go there you can see many homes where just the roofs are visible. We traveled on to our hotel passing Clark military  base then to our hotel the Camayan resort hotel it is real nice hotel right on the beach of the Subic bay Then we went to see the bats that are hanging in the trees there are hundreds of them and they are very large bats. Then we went through the zoo part of the trip there was all kinds of animals, snakes, birds, They load you in a jeepney that has bars all around it and drive you through a area that is fenced in where the lions and tigers and other animals are running loose they took us up to a area where the lions come right up to the car and stick there heads in to the bars and one of the guides poke out chicken to them and they munch it up and try to get in to get more at that point you are glad that you are caged in. Then we went to another area where there is a pond with a bunch of crocodiles swimming around under you there are people there that for a few piso they will tie a piece of chicken on a string hanging from a pole then we would dangle it over the crocks and they would try to get it and we would try not to let them get it. It was kind of fun.Then we went back to the hotel rested for a while then went out on the beach and watched some young people play in the water and just enjoyed the ocean. The next morning after breakfast we went to a place called Ocean Adventure the first thing we did was to go to a building to see a demonstration on survival techniques in the jungle how to start fire with bamboo how to make dishes and utensils,how to handle snakes and birds bats and other survival things this area was called.( walk on the wild side) the next area was called Balancing act with the african acrobats this was quite interesting they did some amazing balancing acts.Next we saw some trained sea lions  do some interesting things they were well trained animals. The next show was called  Dolphin friends show this was the best show of the day they had dolphins trained to do all kinds of tricks they could ride on them as they raced each other across the pool then they would get up on there tails and walk across the pool and then they would get on them and they would go across the pool then jump way high in the air and the rider would fly in the air (I hope I can put pictures of this in this blog) The time we spent here was enjoyable.We then  left the resort and drove up the road were the Bataan death march took place there is markers every so often on the side of the road. We stopped at the site of the atomic energy plant that was built but never operated because of some political opposition. it was a huge plant and must have been a big waste of money.Next we traveled on to a cashew factory this is a funny name for this place it consists of a man with a over sized nut cracker cracking the nuts and a women roasting them and putting them in plastic bags.We bought some of them for a lot less that you can buy them in the States. We left here and went to Mt.Samat The World War Memorial The Dambana ng Kagitingan as completed and inaugurated in 1970 consists of the Colonnade and the huge Memorial Cross  The Colonnade is a marble capped structure with an altar ,esplanage and a museum. There are several historical depictions on the Colonnade which include the following: stained glass Mural behind the altar, 19 Scriptural Marble Reliefs and  Parapet 18 Bronzed Insignias  of USAFFE Division Units, 2 Bronze Urns (symbolic of the eternal flame) 18 flag poles with colors of USAFFE Divisions/Units and Inscriptions of the "Battle of Bataan."
The Memorial Cross is a towering structure (555 meters above sea level) of steel and reinforced concrete with an elevator and viewing gallery (arm of the cross.)  The height of the cross is 92 meters from the base.  The height of the arm is 74 meters from the base.  The length of the arm is 30 meters (15 on each side).
The viewing gallery is 18 ft. by 90 ft. with a 7-foot clearance.  The exterior finish of the cross at the base up to an 11-meter level is capped with "Nabiag Nga Bato" sculptural slabs and sculptural base reliefs depicting significant battles and historical events.  Above the base, the Cross is of "chipped granolithic marble."  This is a impressive structure it is set up on a hill and can be seen from a long way off. We went up into the arms of the of the cross and took pictures and viewed the area from there it is beautiful. We went down to the  museum to see all of the things that are displayed there it was heart renting to see and hear about the death march and how the people were treated especially the women and the children . We left there and headed for home we were all hungry so we stopped at a little town and went to a mall as we walked through it there was all kinds of things happening music dancing different bands playing ect. we all couldn't decide where we wanted to eat so we split up we went to a place called yellow taxi pizza we had a fun time there eating our pizza there was Ann and me,sister Jones brothers Gozart & Ciriako and our guide Clem, and drivers Berry& Lou