The Philippines was sold to the Americans to the tune of 20 Million dollars. Corregidor was developed for a whopping 150 Million. – This fact alone has piqued my interest on Corregidor. But today, I’ll be presenting to you, a different side of Corregidor – not the sparkly and shiny military base that it was (well, maybe a little bit) but the hallowed out shell that it is now after being the center of World War II.

In its hey day, Corregidor was the prime property of American military. If you were a soldier assigned in Corregidor, you had it good. It was as close to the United States as you could get in those days.

There were movie nights featuring the latest cinematic releases stateside. You had a PX goods store that carried all the comforts of American living. There was a pool. There was an island-wide tram system. Weapons-wise, it had the biggest, most advanced and most bad-ass guns you could find.

Corregidor was impenetrable and undefeatable…until World War II.

When the war broke out, aerial attacks bombarded this strategic Philippine gateway. All efforts were directed towards Corregidor to weaken and destroy it.

Everyone retreated to the Malinta Tunnels and its sub-tunnels. The main tunnel served as the artery to which all other sub-lateral tunnels were connected to.

It became military intelligence headquarters, it was the mess, it was the infirmary and it was the morgue. It supported the existence of 3,000 soldiers.

At times, when the power in the tunnels would go off, everybody had to work in complete darkness and close to zero ventilation.

Wounds never healed. Wounds suffered infection and gangrene due to the unsanitary and very humid environment.

Pneumonia was a fact of life.

Sunlight was a scarce commodity.

Taking the Malinta Sublateral Tunnels Tour brings out the darker history of Corregidor. Armed with a hard hat and flashlight, we dove into the dark pit that lay behind the Tunnel’s Lights and Show Exhibit. We hopped over the rope divider and pushed forward.

The air was thick and still. Sweat beaded on my face like marbles and any hint of claustrophobia was amplified tenfold.

Duckwalking below collapsed ceilings, climbing over rubbled entrances and dodging blown out walls give you an idea of how unstable it was to be in the tunnels. I’m not to be a fan of highlighting very dark aspects of a tour, but this time, I believe it is a great way to learn history. There’s not much to learn about WWII if it’s not about war and death and loss. So, I really took an exception to this one.

 

Now, if YOU wanted to go take a trip, the sublateral tours are usually scheduled at night, so you would have to be booked at the hotel to get it. How did we manage to do it in broad daylight? Well, we’re special little nymphs, that’s why. Deal with it. Besides, it’ll be so so so much better to do it at night! It would be so much exciting – especially during the part when you turn off all your lights and start walking in complete darkness.

The only way to Corregidor, other than owning or commandeering your own boat going there, is through Sun Cruises. And since their website is down, I’ll just redirect you to their Facebook Page. It’s a monopoly, but a pretty fair one at that, don’t worry.

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This post is the official entry to Pinoy Travel Bloggers Blog Carnival for the month of October 2011.
This month’s theme: Dark Tourism
This month’s blog carnival is hosted by Gael of The Pinay Solo Backpacker