Exploring Mt. Samat

September 4, 2011 is the day for our tour in Bataan as well as Pampanga and Subic. We had this tour for our History subject wherein every class that has this said subject must join the trip.

As early as 3:30 in the morning, I have to wake up and prepare for the trip as we're supposed to meet in the campus at 5:30. I rode a bus for about 45 minutes and arrived at the meeting place on time.
About 6:15 in the morning, we departed from Intramuros and headed to our first destination: San Guillermo Church in Pampanga. We travelled for more or less 2 hours. Actually, I have been to that place before because we also had an educational tour there in my third year of high school. As we have arrived, I again saw the a famous church sunken into the ground leaving half of the structure accessible. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in Zambales was so drastic that all the provinces near it is filled with meters of ashes.

San Guillermo Church

After visiting the Church, we then headed to our next destination which is another Church named Abucay Church after having a bus stop in Double Happiness. However, I did not take pictures because I did not find it extraordinary and interesting. To our next stop, is I guess the best place we visited in this trip- "Ang Dambana ng Kagitingan" or "The Shrine of Valour" located in the peak of  Mt. Samat, Pilar, Bataan. The Shrine of Valour is a memorial shrine complex built to honor and remember the gallantry of the Filipino and American soldiers who fought during World War II. The memorial shrine complex was started in 1966 with the laying of the cornerstone on April 14, 1966 by President Marcos.

The Shrine of Valor

To share its history briefly, Mount Samat was the site of the most vicious battle against the Japanese Imperial Army in 1942 during the Battle of Bataan. Suffering heavy losses against the Japanese all over Luzon, Filipino and American soldiers retreated to Bataan Peninsula to regroup for a last valiant but futile stand. This retreat to Bataan is part of a United States strategy known as War Plan Orange.




After the fierce battle lasting three days, 78,000 exhausted, sick and starving men under Major General Edward King surrendered to the Japanese on April 9, 1942, the Fall of Bataan. It was, and still is, the single largest surrender of U.S. soldiers ever. Together with the Philippine soldiers, they were then led on the Bataan Death March.

The scene of their last stronghold is Mount Samat, the site of the Dambana ng Kagitingan. The shrine was conceived as a fitting memorial to the heroic struggle and sacrifices of the soldiers who fought and died in that historic bastion of freedom.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Samat

If you'll visit this place, you have to ride a bus up to the top of the mountain and then climb for about 500 steps through a steep stone-floored stairs. Upon reaching in the bottom of the Cross, you can see an elevator that will bring you to the arms of the cross where the viewing galleries are found. However, there was a power shortage when we arrived there which did not make us use it. It is said that if you go at the arms of the cross, you can see the Rizal Shrine in Luneta, Manila perfectly aligned to the cross 130 kilometers away. 

Our next stop, is Ferdinand Magellan's landing point in the shores of the Subic Bay. Sadly, we only went there for a few minutes so we are not able to see the gallery of paintings and miniature ships.

And finally to our last destination, is the Duty Free near the area where we can buy goods as our take home presents. I did not manage to buy anything because the products are not cheap enough for my money, and I along with my classmates just passed time in the bus until 6:30pm.

 With our energetic vibes, a friend even did a planking in the bus shelf to make it more memorable and we are laughing our loudest laughs upon witnessing it. :)

After minutes of killing sometime in Subic, we finally moved to our way back to Intramuros, Manila with a few happy memories I somehow will never forget.
I have realized that Philippines is rained with so much mesmerizing views that visiting them is very worth reminiscing.