We’re gathered around a campfire that’s on its last logs. That’s good as
the fire needs to be out when we go to bed in less than an hour. This is a
State Park with some 44 campsites many with water and electricity. Our’s
has neither. So long as the batteries can run the breathing machine, that’s
not a problem. The campsite is right by the lake and is very pleasant right
now. We had some BIG thunderstorms move through in the late afternoon with
lots of wind. Everything has survived (so far). The campground is pretty
full … at least all the sites with water and electricity are taken.

Tomorrow we’ll go to West Yellowstone for church — about 15 miles away.
The block starts at 10. After that we’ll take a drive through the area and
spend the rest of the day at the campground. Life is good!
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After an on-time arrival and an hour’s wait, I’m now sitting on a very hot airplane waiting for the door to close. With that the penultimate leg of this trip is underway. Then Nina will pick me up at the Pocatello airport for the drive home. Hurrah!

And we’re waiting for Customs and Immigration to give us clearance to deplane.

I’m in the Northwest Business Class Lounge at the Manila International
Airport. The flight to Narita, Japan will start boarding in about a half an
hour. Getting on the airplane will require going through oine more security
check, making three X-ray screenings in total and two verbal question sets.
I’m sure I’m safe….!!! The checkin agent said the flight is full. So I
guess this means that Northwest makes money on this flight today? She
couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell me about the flight from Narita to Portland.

Time to board!
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We have just finished lunch on the Corregidor tour. This has been
fascinating! The tour started at a dock in Manila and an hour and fifteen
minute boat ride. The boat was neither memorable nor exciting. The island
tour, however is very well organized and very interesting. Being here makes
the defense and fall of the island fortress seem very real. We always
prepare to fight the last war, in this case, to fight WW1.

The tour is by bus with a knowledgeable tour guide (and ours is excellent).
Being driven around on this hot, sultry day is delightful. The island was
very strategic at the time to control all the shipping into and out of
Manila. Today, the island is a memorial and in the age of airpower, has no
strategic importance.

The gun batteries are impressive. The Malinta Tunnel is very sobering and
gives deeper meaning to the feeling of being completely hopeless. The final
stop was the Japanese cemetery. What is interesting is that this cemetery
was lost to memory for about forty years until an old photograph surfaced
in Portland, Oregon and allowed the location of the then completely
overgrown cemetery to be determined. The bones were exhumed, cremated, and
returned to Japan and a memorial built. It was a fitting end of the tour.

We’re now headed back to the boat. I took a lot of pictures and hope to be
able to upload a few when I get home.
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About 20 minutes before the appointed pickup time I was sitting in the
church and heard shouting and singing outside. It was a full blown people’s
march going to the Presidential Palace. It may have some relationship with
the dumptrucks full of people we passed this morning coming here. I was a
bit worried that my driver might have gotten hung up in the traffic behind
the marchers (of which there were several thousand). Not to worry. I walked
down the street and there he was waiting for me. The demonstration was
about the budget, more specifically about spending on education. That’s
probably not anything that will get the general population riled up, I
don’t think.

From here it’s back to the room. I’ll take a shower and probably eat in the
hotel restaurant. I think this will be another early night to bed. This
driver cannot keep a steady foot on the accelerator. It’s going to drive me
nuts!
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Today as I made my way through all the stalls, kiosks, and stores, my
second impression was how cheap everything was. All of the supposedly name
brand stuff are knockoffs, some worse than others. Every movie imaginable
is available, including stuff now in first-run theaters, like X-Men III.
Every CD can be bought as well. I didn’t see software or any Nike shoes,
but that’s probably because I wasn’t looking in the right place.

The third impression is how completely noisy everything is. Filipinos do
not value silence. There’s always a stero blaring, horns honking, jeepneys
racing their engines, people shouting. The only place where I’ve found
somewhat of a semblence of quiet is in the churches. Even then, they’re
open to the streets and all that noise comes in.

The first impression? I don’t think that Filipinos sweat….
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It was much better than walking, although I didn’t get where I wanted to
go. The peddler guy ran out of steam and dropped me at the Santa Cruz
Church rather than the Quiapo Church which is about ten minutes by foot
from here. For some reason, he wanted the whole fare! I let him argue for a
while while sweat just poured off of him and then gave him the fare. I can
walk the remaining distance. I haven’t been in a pedicab since Saigon in
1967. I was more than a little smaller back then. The ride didn’t get any
smoother, however, in the meantime.
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