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Post by buster on Dec 16, 2009 14:57:20 GMT 8
From the breaking news pages of today's Inquirer, the following: Zipping up in Corregidor By Izah Morales INQUIRER.net First Posted 14:05:00 12/16/2009
MANILA, Philippines – Looking for a new kind of adventure? You don’t have to go far.
The Rocket Zipline in Corregidor will literally take your breath away as you scream your lungs out while sliding through 200 meters of cable suspended about 20 feet from the ground, with the trip from the jump-off point to the other end lasting all of 25 seconds.
“We added the zipline so that tourists who stay overnight would have something to do aside from the usual historical tour," said Roland Cortes, general manager of Sun Cruises Inc. (SCI), which opened the zipline Tuesday.
If you’re worried about how sturdy the cable is, the zipline can carry up to 250 pounds, said Joey Cuerpo of Powerup, which helped install the adventure facility with the end in view of developing Corregidor into a fun place, aside from being the historical landmark that it was always known for.
Kristine Castro, marketing manager of SCI, added, "This year we launched Corregidor not just as a historical island but also an adventure island."
Cortes said he hoped that “with the support of the Corregidor Foundation” SCI, which brings 70,000 tourists to the island annually, could build another zipline next year “connecting the Malinta Tunnel to the topside.”
Castro also said that aside from the zipline, SCI also sponsored sports activities this year such as marathon, beach football and volleyball, the Corregidor aquathlon challenge, and kayaking race.
Wakeboarding in Corregidor’s South Beach is a water sports activity that SCI will also be adding next year, Cortes added.
But Cortes assured the public that despite these innovations, preserving history and the environment remained top priorities.
"We have a corporate social responsibility where we clean up the beach quarterly and we use solar-powered electricity in the island," said Cortes.
The tadpole-shaped Corregidor, 48 kilometers west of Manila, can be reached through Manila Bay or through Cavite City. Its history lies in the heroism of Filipinos and Americans who fought the Japanese in the island during World War II. The following is a link to the first page of a Google search using the key words "zip line accident.' It contains results 1 - 10 of about 33,400 internet references to "zip line accident." www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&rlz=1C1GGLS_enPH320PH320&q=%22zip+line+accident%22&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=f&oq=
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Post by fots2 on Dec 16, 2009 16:41:02 GMT 8
News Flash:Coinciding with the installation of the second zip line from Topside to Malinta Tunnel will be the demolition of a decades old arch on Bottomside. The new “fun place” will have no use for it since “War Memorial Zone” will no longer apply. Pacific War Memorial and future zip line ticket booth. SLEEP MY SONS. (if you can) The roller coaster on Topside is getting closer all the time….
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Post by Porco Rosso on Dec 16, 2009 19:04:25 GMT 8
Sorry Fots, the THEN AND NOW Cameras have revisited Corregidor this morning and have taken these comparison shots.
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Post by okla on Dec 16, 2009 23:18:03 GMT 8
Hey Fots.....I served in the USAF with a grizzled, old Master Sergeant, way back in the early 1950s, who had an exclamation when things displeased him that would sum up this "zip line" situation. I will quote the old Sarge since it pretty well describes my feelings also....."that's enough to gag a maggot off a gut wagon". What are these people thinking? ? The roller coaster on the topside parade ground is a distinct possibility, methinks. Insanity running amok.
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Post by Mark Lauron on May 24, 2010 8:22:46 GMT 8
Im half flip half american and grew up in the Philippines and unfortunately some flips have to have some other way to generate funds unfortunately some people are tackless and have no idea what the heck history is . Unfortunately a lot of kids around the world these days probably have not heard of world war two . Schools dont teach it parents dont teach it and our memorials turn in to field trips with no meaning . creating a carnival atmosphere in a war memorial where thousands of people died is like having a party on a grave yard. Unfortunately even the fluctuating prices of the boat rides across the bay fluctuate in price as well because some punk out there wants to make an extra buck. If you were caught digging in a civil war site you would be lucky not to get 20 years in jail. Unfortunately respect has to be taught and history has to be learned and appreciated. We have to try to educate people there about the history. Then again when someone is starving and destroys monuments for food what do you do? If they had a coast guard boat and a couple of armed patrols on the island things would be different but unfortunately business over there wants to squeeze every last drop out of the memorial and not put anything back into it to keep it as prestine as possible . I guess I will enjoy this memorial to the human spirit as long as I can with my kids as long as it is there , then one day it may be gone. Doesnt the US government help with the preservation of this our second Alamo?
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Post by okla on May 24, 2010 9:50:02 GMT 8
Hey Mark....Couldn't agree with you more. I made a comment several months ago in this thread saying that it was regrettable that when the US granted full independence to the Philippines way back in 1946 that some type of agreement wasn't made whereas the US Park Service might take over the administration of Corregidor (and the other island forts) and perhaps a couple of limited areas (Abucay Line and Mt Samat) on Bataan as National Battlefield Parks/Monuments/etc. Of course the Philippine Government would have complete sovereignty,etc. These parks would be administered just as Gettysburg, Shiloh, and other stateside military battlefield monuments are today. I suppose its too late for any such endeavor now, but the deterioration of Corregidor due to scrappers, vandals, and lack of care concerns me big time. Now we have theme park rides,etc to deal with. Sometimes I am glad that I am 78 years of age and will not live to see this (these) hallowed sites in the PI go down the toilet due to neglect,greed and short sightedness. I have ranted enough, but thanks for your post.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2010 13:06:57 GMT 8
Hey Buff I agree with you fully, this is mark
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Post by fots2 on May 24, 2010 17:48:23 GMT 8
Hi Mark, good comments.
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Post by buster on May 24, 2010 19:58:03 GMT 8
Sometimes there are places where "reductio ad absurdum" begins to approximate reality. Is Corregidor one of those places? A particularly popular fate amongst resorts is that public resources (eg history, an unspoiled natural environment) can be milked like a cash cow - indeed, like a neighbor's cow. Eventually, the resort so disturbs the ambiance and natural attraction of the host area, they feel the need to create artificial and unnatural attractions. Corporate games, zip lines, maybe. This destroys the essential original nature of the attraction they were marketing (ie milking.) The law of diminishing returns starts to kick in, and the reason people visit the attraction gradually declines, weighed down by the sheer insensitivity of the unnatural attractions and environmental degradation. In Corregidor's case, the more they get away from history, heritage and environment, the more they run the risk of destroying their core asset. Either a Resort gets back to understanding why it became an attraction in the first place, or it risks becoming a unattractive parody of its former self.
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Post by Deleted on May 25, 2010 9:40:19 GMT 8
I read these ramblings and have a little chuckle, I personally don`t know the finances available to sun cruises or the Corregidor foundation but it costs money to preserve the islands buildings and weaponry, the money has to come from somewhere and not everybody is interested in WW2 battlefields, forts and gun battery's etc like what we are.
A national park? great idea, but who is going to pay for it and the up keep?
As Corregidor enthusiasts we want the island to remain as it was after the battle, with sympathetic restoration and maintenance of the islands sites, but it all comes down to money, no money, no protection. Sun cruises exist to make a profit so they have to entice as many people as possible to the island to make that profit, hopefully the more they make the more will be spent on maintenance.
I think protecting the battlefield and the fortress can be done with the help of tourism, it just has to be done right, instead of being sarcastic and getting the backs up of the management at sun cruises maybe you should suggest ways that can bring more people to the island which in turn will bring in more money?
Its inevitable that some sort of money making idea is going to happen, so why not try and influence Sun cruises to what we want instead of agitating them?
You catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar
I understand what Buster and a lot of you are saying, but if sun cruises make no money there will be no resort, no hotel, no ferry, no nothing!
The majority of people are not interested in history, they want to go on holiday to enjoy themselves and that does not include hiking through the jungle to look at bombed out buildings and rusty old guns!
To my mind a theme/fun park is stupid i would concentrate on marketing Corregidor as a place to relax and get a way from it all, like a health farm etc, or bird watching, sea fishing, something that will bring in money but keep those extra people away from the historical stuff, except whats on the main tourist route, otherwise all the foot paths will become eroded etc, and those quiet out of the way gun battery's will be crowded and full of screaming kids, ruining the peace and quiet! In other words find a happy medium that will keep sun cruises happy and also help maintain the fortress.
Incidentally has anyone seen the zip line being used?
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