Post by fots2 on Jun 19, 2016 7:07:23 GMT 8
My last trip to Corregidor Island was ten months ago. Since there have been a few changes, I thought I would create a post to keep everyone up to date.
Most views will be familiar to people here but I also had time for some off-road treks to less traveled areas. When away from the day tour routes, I never saw another person during my entire five day trip. Corregidor was very hot and very dry but it was great to be back! Of course you will see some tunnels.
The first change you notice occurs even before you get to the island. Sun Cruises has changed the location of their Manila office and ferry terminal. Now you must go to the Esplanade Seaside Terminal which is adjacent to the Mall of Asia. It even has a 7-11 beside it which is great for an early morning snack or breakfast before you check-in for the ferry.
This is the larger of the two ferries Sun Cruises has for their Corregidor tours. The “MV Sun Cruiser II”.
The lower deck passengers start to board.
Moments before arrival at the North Dock. Bataan is in the background.
Passengers disembark and board their assigned bus.
Not much has changed at the Corregidor Inn.
On Topside at the Lighthouse area, all gift shops are now in the left-side building. The right-side building has washrooms and the kitchen for the day tour buffet lunch. The tall building in the foreground is the pre-war “Fort Signal Station” which will soon be torn down.
Sun Cruises built this large tent as the location for the lunch buffet which they were just starting to use. It has air conditioning but I expect it would be “mobile” during a typhoon. The Corregidor Inn cannot handle multiple buses showing up for the buffet lunch at the same time so this is the latest solution to that problem.
The last ATV on Bottomside. RIP (Rest In Pieces)
While I was on Corregidor, MacArthur’s Café was closed. This is the other north-side watering hole called Baywalk.
Pacific War Memorial Museum
The Cine.
The Post Hospital
Looking east from Topside. The Malinta Tunnel west entrance is clearly visible.
Ok, enough of the tourist stuff; let’s get off-road and see the real Corregidor.
A 1945 Banzai party area. The necks are broken off all the bottles.
Here is a little “Then and Now” for okla. Well hidden in the jungle is a structure named “Gasoline Reserve Storage Tanks”. It is a large semi-buried bombproof structure which was completed in July of 1915. Further reinforcement with concrete and trolley line rails were added just before the war. The storage tanks consisted of 20 steel tanks of which 17 held 8000 gallons and 3 held 7000 gallons. Total gasoline storage capacity was 157,000 gallons. The construction cost was $16,880.
South-west corner of the structure. The front wall is staggered a bit so is much longer than you can see in this view.
More of the front wall.
More of the front wall.
Most of the roof looks like a little forest now however this small section is bare concrete.
Near the eastern end of the front wall is this doorway with its original steel door still attached.
Looking back out the doorway.
A short ways in on the left-hand side is this vertical shaft.
The vertical shaft does all the way down to a horizontal tunnel which passes the whole length of the buried storage tanks.
The horizontal tunnel.
The local residents do not appreciate a visitor.
Eventually you will come to a turn on the left.
Looking back at the same turn.
Straight ahead is sunlight.
Looking back into the tunnel entrance.
At Battery James there is a plaque with the battery’s history. Only one sentence mentions the fate of many Philippine Scouts. “On 15 April 1942 a shell collapsed a tunnel behind the battery suffocating 42 men”.
Here is the entrance to that tunnel which is completely sealed now.
Gun position #1 of Battery James.
No trip to Corregidor is complete without a visit to some of the big guns. This is Battery Wheeler.
Gun #2.
The tube of Gun #1.
Wheeler’s Battery Control position.
Looking out Battery Control.
The entrance to the West Defense Officer’s Station.
Telephone booths on both sides inside the West Defense Officer’s Station.
Telephone booths on both sides inside the West Defense Officer’s Station.
Due to vegetation, you can wander around the same area of Corregidor many times and still find things that you never noticed before. Here is a new one for me. This deep hole was in front of me after I pushed some bushes out of the way. It is approximately 12 feet deep.
Looking straight down, I see a tunnel off to one side. I doubt this is due to erosion as it is at the top of a hill in a very dry area. The tunnel is Japanese rat-hole size which is common on the island. I wished I had a ladder.
After Malinta, probably my next favorite tunnel would be Wheeler Tunnel. This view is near the south entrance where the concrete lining starts.
Wheeler Tunnel in on two levels. A bomb or heavy shell exploded just above this section of tunnel and collapsed the roof. This is where the lower level tunnel curved up to meet the upper level tunnel.
After the collapse, a stairway was cut into the rock to connect the two levels. The work is far to elaborate and large for Japanese construction so I believe the Americans/Filipinos did the job. They even added a nice set of concrete steps.
Looking up the steps where they also cut through a concrete wall at the top.
The upper level has passageways and large rooms.
Toward the right you can see the start of a sloping tunnel that used to connect the upper and lower levels.
The view as you walk down this sloping tunnel.
Part way down the sloping tunnel is a doorway on the left that takes you down to another room.
In the room looking back up the steps.
Further along the sloping tunnel you soon come to the other side of the same collapse you saw earlier. It is possible these days to squeeze past it. I will go back out the same way I came in.
Heading back, this is the view up the sloping tunnel.
The view at the top of the stairway cut between the upper and lower levels. Notice that the doorway was roughly cut through concrete and rebar.
Looking down the stairway to the bottom doorway.
There is more to this tunnel than I have shown you but this is a good sample.
I also spent more time wandering around Battery Chicago. Here is the northern entrance of the underground magazine.
Local fishermen come ashore to have lunch in the shade. To the left you can see one of the Shinyo suicide boat caves.
More ruins in the jungle.
This appears to be a circular gun platform on the NE side of Malinta Hill. It is not shown on any map and we really do not know it’s purpose.
The entrance to Middleside Tunnel.
There is evidence of massive fires in this tunnel during the war.
This chunk of ceiling rock has broken away recently. Notice how it melted during a fire.
What was this?
View of the opposite side.
Late afternoon view of Malinta Tunnel’s west entrance.
Many times in the tunnel I see evidence of recent rock fall. This time was no different.
This one would be have been a nasty surprise if you happened to be under it at the time.
Orange rock exposes fresh rock fall in an unlined section of tunnel.
This photo is a few years old. It shows Malinta’s south shore road before rock slides closed it completely to vehicular traffic.
Now even sections of guard rail have been pushed over the cliff. I have to agree with Karl, Malinta tunnel’s south entrance is completely buried. I cannot find any trace of it now.
Here is another big gun before we go. This is battery Cheney, Gun #2.
Battery Cheney, Gun #1.
Topside at the entrance to the Pacific War Memorial
I was unable to attend the memorial to our friend Phantom (Tom Aring) which took place this past February. On the way back to the Inn, I stopped to pay my respects at that exact location. Tom will have this view of Corregidor Island forever. RIP buddy.
As I mentioned, it was great to be back on Corregidor Island. Even after trip #51, it never gets boring and there are new things to discover. I'll be back again someday.
Most views will be familiar to people here but I also had time for some off-road treks to less traveled areas. When away from the day tour routes, I never saw another person during my entire five day trip. Corregidor was very hot and very dry but it was great to be back! Of course you will see some tunnels.
The first change you notice occurs even before you get to the island. Sun Cruises has changed the location of their Manila office and ferry terminal. Now you must go to the Esplanade Seaside Terminal which is adjacent to the Mall of Asia. It even has a 7-11 beside it which is great for an early morning snack or breakfast before you check-in for the ferry.
This is the larger of the two ferries Sun Cruises has for their Corregidor tours. The “MV Sun Cruiser II”.
The lower deck passengers start to board.
Moments before arrival at the North Dock. Bataan is in the background.
Passengers disembark and board their assigned bus.
Not much has changed at the Corregidor Inn.
On Topside at the Lighthouse area, all gift shops are now in the left-side building. The right-side building has washrooms and the kitchen for the day tour buffet lunch. The tall building in the foreground is the pre-war “Fort Signal Station” which will soon be torn down.
Sun Cruises built this large tent as the location for the lunch buffet which they were just starting to use. It has air conditioning but I expect it would be “mobile” during a typhoon. The Corregidor Inn cannot handle multiple buses showing up for the buffet lunch at the same time so this is the latest solution to that problem.
The last ATV on Bottomside. RIP (Rest In Pieces)
While I was on Corregidor, MacArthur’s Café was closed. This is the other north-side watering hole called Baywalk.
Pacific War Memorial Museum
The Cine.
The Post Hospital
Looking east from Topside. The Malinta Tunnel west entrance is clearly visible.
Ok, enough of the tourist stuff; let’s get off-road and see the real Corregidor.
A 1945 Banzai party area. The necks are broken off all the bottles.
Here is a little “Then and Now” for okla. Well hidden in the jungle is a structure named “Gasoline Reserve Storage Tanks”. It is a large semi-buried bombproof structure which was completed in July of 1915. Further reinforcement with concrete and trolley line rails were added just before the war. The storage tanks consisted of 20 steel tanks of which 17 held 8000 gallons and 3 held 7000 gallons. Total gasoline storage capacity was 157,000 gallons. The construction cost was $16,880.
South-west corner of the structure. The front wall is staggered a bit so is much longer than you can see in this view.
More of the front wall.
More of the front wall.
Most of the roof looks like a little forest now however this small section is bare concrete.
Near the eastern end of the front wall is this doorway with its original steel door still attached.
Looking back out the doorway.
A short ways in on the left-hand side is this vertical shaft.
The vertical shaft does all the way down to a horizontal tunnel which passes the whole length of the buried storage tanks.
The horizontal tunnel.
The local residents do not appreciate a visitor.
Eventually you will come to a turn on the left.
Looking back at the same turn.
Straight ahead is sunlight.
Looking back into the tunnel entrance.
At Battery James there is a plaque with the battery’s history. Only one sentence mentions the fate of many Philippine Scouts. “On 15 April 1942 a shell collapsed a tunnel behind the battery suffocating 42 men”.
Here is the entrance to that tunnel which is completely sealed now.
Gun position #1 of Battery James.
No trip to Corregidor is complete without a visit to some of the big guns. This is Battery Wheeler.
Gun #2.
The tube of Gun #1.
Wheeler’s Battery Control position.
Looking out Battery Control.
The entrance to the West Defense Officer’s Station.
Telephone booths on both sides inside the West Defense Officer’s Station.
Telephone booths on both sides inside the West Defense Officer’s Station.
Due to vegetation, you can wander around the same area of Corregidor many times and still find things that you never noticed before. Here is a new one for me. This deep hole was in front of me after I pushed some bushes out of the way. It is approximately 12 feet deep.
Looking straight down, I see a tunnel off to one side. I doubt this is due to erosion as it is at the top of a hill in a very dry area. The tunnel is Japanese rat-hole size which is common on the island. I wished I had a ladder.
After Malinta, probably my next favorite tunnel would be Wheeler Tunnel. This view is near the south entrance where the concrete lining starts.
Wheeler Tunnel in on two levels. A bomb or heavy shell exploded just above this section of tunnel and collapsed the roof. This is where the lower level tunnel curved up to meet the upper level tunnel.
After the collapse, a stairway was cut into the rock to connect the two levels. The work is far to elaborate and large for Japanese construction so I believe the Americans/Filipinos did the job. They even added a nice set of concrete steps.
Looking up the steps where they also cut through a concrete wall at the top.
The upper level has passageways and large rooms.
Toward the right you can see the start of a sloping tunnel that used to connect the upper and lower levels.
The view as you walk down this sloping tunnel.
Part way down the sloping tunnel is a doorway on the left that takes you down to another room.
In the room looking back up the steps.
Further along the sloping tunnel you soon come to the other side of the same collapse you saw earlier. It is possible these days to squeeze past it. I will go back out the same way I came in.
Heading back, this is the view up the sloping tunnel.
The view at the top of the stairway cut between the upper and lower levels. Notice that the doorway was roughly cut through concrete and rebar.
Looking down the stairway to the bottom doorway.
There is more to this tunnel than I have shown you but this is a good sample.
I also spent more time wandering around Battery Chicago. Here is the northern entrance of the underground magazine.
Local fishermen come ashore to have lunch in the shade. To the left you can see one of the Shinyo suicide boat caves.
More ruins in the jungle.
This appears to be a circular gun platform on the NE side of Malinta Hill. It is not shown on any map and we really do not know it’s purpose.
The entrance to Middleside Tunnel.
There is evidence of massive fires in this tunnel during the war.
This chunk of ceiling rock has broken away recently. Notice how it melted during a fire.
What was this?
View of the opposite side.
Late afternoon view of Malinta Tunnel’s west entrance.
Many times in the tunnel I see evidence of recent rock fall. This time was no different.
This one would be have been a nasty surprise if you happened to be under it at the time.
Orange rock exposes fresh rock fall in an unlined section of tunnel.
This photo is a few years old. It shows Malinta’s south shore road before rock slides closed it completely to vehicular traffic.
Now even sections of guard rail have been pushed over the cliff. I have to agree with Karl, Malinta tunnel’s south entrance is completely buried. I cannot find any trace of it now.
Here is another big gun before we go. This is battery Cheney, Gun #2.
Battery Cheney, Gun #1.
Topside at the entrance to the Pacific War Memorial
I was unable to attend the memorial to our friend Phantom (Tom Aring) which took place this past February. On the way back to the Inn, I stopped to pay my respects at that exact location. Tom will have this view of Corregidor Island forever. RIP buddy.
As I mentioned, it was great to be back on Corregidor Island. Even after trip #51, it never gets boring and there are new things to discover. I'll be back again someday.