By May of this year, I was invited for the second time to visit Leyte by the family of Ron. It is really an honor to be considered as part of their family and I am humbled by their treatment. I am extremely glad I found another family in this part of the country.
Anyway, I stayed again with them for a week. That time, the whole family was busy in politics and in my own little way, I helped them in the process. After that fruitful event and the day before we return to Manila, we spent almost a whole day in the beach of Baras in Palo, Leyte.
The moment we set foot on the resort, I started to walk and explore the place. To my right, facing the beach, the whole stretch of the shoreline seems endless. It could be several kilometers long but it is noticeable that there is only several meters of the beach that has been turned into a resort. To my left, the shoreline ended with a concrete structure that acts as a sea wall. The way I looked at the sea wall, it was somehow familiar. So I decided to take a stride going towards that direction.
The sands in the entire stretch of the beach is powdery fine and black. I've seen people along the shoreline who rub the sands in their body and the sands stick to their skin. By the looks of it, the sands may come from a volcanic eruption because of its texture.
As I walked further, I passed by the Leyte Park Hotel. The hotel is just a stone's throw away from the beach and its visitors were enjoying a mid-day swim in the swimming pool instead of the beach. Some few steps after the hotel is a vacant space with lush green trees where some locals use this one as their picnic ground for free and they can enjoy the water of Palo beach for free. And just what I've been thinking all along, after passing that ground and the coconut trees, the MacArthur Leyte Landing shrine came into view.
That particular time of day, there were no visitors in sight. I had the whole place by myself except for a couple of local entrepreneurs who earn their living in the park by taking pictures. After taking a couple of shots of the statues of the Leyte Landing, I head straight to the food stalls along the highway facing the MacArthurs park. Every item they sell is very expensive. Wow! Is this the price of turning the place into a tourist spot? Imagine a bottled drink with a suggested retail price of 23-25 pesos. The stalls are selling that one for 35 pesos. I guess, with the stiff competition among them and the erratic influx of tourists, they're selling their items that high in order to cover their rent and earn a little bit.
After satisfying my thirst, I returned to the MacArthur's Shrine and eventually retrace my steps back to the resort. The moment I approached the shrine, there was a group of kids who scanned the park and with their looks, they seem to come from the beach and they also explore the place like I did. They happened to stepped into the area where the statue of MacArthur and his colleagues are erected. Upon seeing them, the photographer warned them that stepping inside the area is prohibited. What made me laugh was his remark that a pair of boots can be rented and have your picture taken together with the statue. In short, it is prohibited to stepped inside the area of the statues unless you are wearing a pair of boots. Haha. Anyway, upon my return to the cottage, lunch was being served.
We spent the whole afternoon in the beach and taking pictures. I had my field day because of so many subjects to capture aside from my companions who willingly modeled for me. Though I got wet in the process of taking pictures, I did not wallow in the water because of the jellyfish. I have seen people scratching their body every now and then because of the sting of the jellyfish and I don't want to experience the same.
The moment we set foot on the resort, I started to walk and explore the place. To my right, facing the beach, the whole stretch of the shoreline seems endless. It could be several kilometers long but it is noticeable that there is only several meters of the beach that has been turned into a resort. To my left, the shoreline ended with a concrete structure that acts as a sea wall. The way I looked at the sea wall, it was somehow familiar. So I decided to take a stride going towards that direction.The sands in the entire stretch of the beach is powdery fine and black. I've seen people along the shoreline who rub the sands in their body and the sands stick to their skin. By the looks of it, the sands may come from a volcanic eruption because of its texture.
As I walked further, I passed by the Leyte Park Hotel. The hotel is just a stone's throw away from the beach and its visitors were enjoying a mid-day swim in the swimming pool instead of the beach. Some few steps after the hotel is a vacant space with lush green trees where some locals use this one as their picnic ground for free and they can enjoy the water of Palo beach for free. And just what I've been thinking all along, after passing that ground and the coconut trees, the MacArthur Leyte Landing shrine came into view.
That particular time of day, there were no visitors in sight. I had the whole place by myself except for a couple of local entrepreneurs who earn their living in the park by taking pictures. After taking a couple of shots of the statues of the Leyte Landing, I head straight to the food stalls along the highway facing the MacArthurs park. Every item they sell is very expensive. Wow! Is this the price of turning the place into a tourist spot? Imagine a bottled drink with a suggested retail price of 23-25 pesos. The stalls are selling that one for 35 pesos. I guess, with the stiff competition among them and the erratic influx of tourists, they're selling their items that high in order to cover their rent and earn a little bit.
After satisfying my thirst, I returned to the MacArthur's Shrine and eventually retrace my steps back to the resort. The moment I approached the shrine, there was a group of kids who scanned the park and with their looks, they seem to come from the beach and they also explore the place like I did. They happened to stepped into the area where the statue of MacArthur and his colleagues are erected. Upon seeing them, the photographer warned them that stepping inside the area is prohibited. What made me laugh was his remark that a pair of boots can be rented and have your picture taken together with the statue. In short, it is prohibited to stepped inside the area of the statues unless you are wearing a pair of boots. Haha. Anyway, upon my return to the cottage, lunch was being served. We spent the whole afternoon in the beach and taking pictures. I had my field day because of so many subjects to capture aside from my companions who willingly modeled for me. Though I got wet in the process of taking pictures, I did not wallow in the water because of the jellyfish. I have seen people scratching their body every now and then because of the sting of the jellyfish and I don't want to experience the same.
MacArthur's Shrine
Baras beach
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