Rizal @ 150: Heritage Trail

Thanks to Anne we learned about the Rizal Heritage Trail in honor of Jose Rizal's 150th Birthday. It's like Amazing Race for Rizalistas, actually. We had to visit 27 sites were Rizal is honored and we had to let our passports be stamped for each location.

We decided to start our pilgrimage in NCR so Manila was the place to be. First site that we visited was Paco Park where he was secretly buried after being shot in Bagumbayan.

We were surprised that the weather was cooperative so more photo ops for us.

After Paco we went to Luneta for the other 3 sites. It was close enough so we decided to walk. We suddenly realized that it was already 11AM. We were thrilled to be baked under the Noon Sun. Bleh. More photo ops followed while searching for the other sites. Luneta was a huge park and we were also searching for the place where we have to get our passports stamped. Unfortunately, no signage in sight, so we had to ask the trusty manong guard. Good thing he was able to tell us where to go.

While at the Rizal Monument, we met a guy from India and some Aussie travelers. They seem to be oblivious with the sweltering heat. Good for them. More bleh for us.

We went to Intramuros for the last few sites. Since it's almost lunch time we decided to visit PLM first since it was the closest. We were able to have our passports stamped thanks to the very accommodating site taker. For the sites we've visited so far, we were happy that all of them site takers were very nice and encouraging. Kudos to them.

Thanks to pollution, we realized that half of the metro's dirt is in our faces, so we decided to have lunch at Greenwich. We weren't sure if we'd be happy that it was raining outside while we were feasting on a bucket of chicken. :P We took our time with the bucket and we had a nice rest. Too bad it was sunny again when we went out to go to Fort Santiago. Another set of bleh.

The fort still has the Old World charm. I was able to see the landscaping that captivated me in my younger days and it was nice to know that it was still maintained. We visited the prison cell and the chapel cell were Rizal was placed before being shot. There was even a bone of Rizal with a bullet. After touring around, we added 2 more sites in out passport.

The last 2 sites were the old sites of Ateneo De Manila and the University of Sto. Tomas which is on opposite ends of the walled city. After countless steps we were able to finish the last 2 sites of the NCR leg. Whew!

After a whole day's worth of walking and constant exposure to the sun and pollution, we decided to reward ourselves at the nearest Starbuck's. This is one of the branches that I wanted to visit since it was cool to see a cafe built within the walls of Intramuros itself. The call of the sofa was irresistable so we had to chat and stay for an hour before we decided to call it a day. 9 sites down and 18 more to go. The challenge starts when we go to the rest of the list and start our journey around the country. I hope we can finish this soon. Good luck to the three of us. :)