Historical Bataan: Trip to Mt. Samat

This post is an account of our three-day respite from city life--- last year. Waaahhhh! Another late post 😡😢😬😭Another virtual spanking or bullying I'm sure to get, you can bet on that, from my family, of course.

It is our usual routine to celebrate Ana Cristina's birthday by going out-of-town. This time, our family decided to see the fast becoming popular tourist attraction,  Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, located in Bagac, Bataan.

For this trip, itinerary planner, Ayana Grace, our eldest daughter, included short stop-overs at some historical landmarks before proceeding to our main destination. 

Would you like to tag along with the 4 Sisons? Are you sure? Well, what are you waiting for? Go let's!!!

Before coming with us on this tour, would you be interested to know some historical facts about the Fall of Bataan- - - the very reason why the Philippines is celebrating Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan) April 9 every year. It was interesting looking back at the significance of this day and get a glimpse of how Filipino and American soldiers, together, fought the battle against the Japanese army during World War II.

So are you sure you would like to come with us and explore a bit of Philippine history. Have you made up your mind? Come right on!

The World War II Memorial Monument. Last Stand Memorial along Jose Abad Santos Ave, Layac Junction, Dinalupihan, within the province of Bataan.

Not very far from 711, our first stop, where we had to heed the call of nature, we just had to walk a few steps to the junction in order to get a strategic view of the monument, for photo ops, of course!

I had to wait for the vehicles to pass by before taking this panoramic view of the monument.

This monument standing at the junction is the first line of defense depicting the heroism of soldiers who fought for freedom in the Battle of Bataan. (Sssshhh... history has never been my favorite subject in school but this trip left me without any choice but to review the story of the Battle of Bataan and the Death March.) 

Time's up! Hubby says, "Let's go!" Ooooppps... but not 'til we finish this family selfie 

with the monument at the background! 

Okay, next in our itinerary, the Balanga Cathedral, officially known as the Diocesan Shrine and Cathedral Parish of St. Joseph in Balanga City. 

Thanks to Google map for keeping me company and updating me of landmarks throughout the trip.

The St. Joseph Cathedral (Sanctuario de San Jose)

This cathedral was used as artillery detachment to bombard Mt. Samat during the Japanese invasion, but was later renovated by the first bishop of the Diocese who made St. Joseph its patron saint.  

The church up-close

Hubby signaled to leave as the rain was about to pour down.

But I had to stop in the middle to steal this shot. 

Just across the Cathedral was Plaza Mayor de Ciudad de Balanga. 

Here's a panoramic view of the Plaza.

From Balanga Plaza, we proceeded to Mt. Samat. This is where the real adventure began. 

July 21, 2018 marks one very memorable travel experience for our family. It was rainy season and in my part of the world this season is heralded by onslaught of storms. 

My country usually gets an average of 20 tropical cyclones per year. Hearing the news that tropical storm Inday (Ampil) left the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) at 1 am on Saturday, July 21, gave us confirmation to pursue this trip. Inday did not make landfall in the Philippines, and there were no areas placed under tropical cyclone warning signals the previous days. Inday was actually waving goodbye while another tropical storm Josie came rushing in to join the southwest monsoon (Hanging Habagat). Josie was the Philippines' 10th tropical cyclone for 2018. It insistently made its presence felt on our way to Mt. Samat. The gush of wind it brought was undeniably strong! 

The ascent to Mt Samat

Mount Samat National Shrine or Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valour) Memorial Cross or Bataan Memorial Cross is a historical shrine located near the summit of Mount Samat in the town of Pilár, Province of Bataan. The memorial shrine was built to honor and remember the gallantry of Filipino and American soldiers who fought during World War II.

We can pause for a while so you could watch this video.

The video above shows our trip from the World War II Monument to the Cross of Mt. Samat, then to Las Casas. 

In the video, you will see that while passing through some fields, the Cross can be seen standing tall on top of the mountain, Mt. Samat, that is. It was only past 9:00 am but it was dark as we entered the foot of the mountain because of the rain and the tall trees dimming the skies as we went deeper treading the winding road up to where the cross was located.

It was a chest-thumping experience approaching the top with the road becoming steep as we neared the peak. There was a momentary silence among the four of us when the van's engine signaled for help as the driver seemed to struggle keeping the momentum steady. “Lord, please don’t let the van run backwards down the winding road with cliffs on both sides!” I was certain all of us were one in praying that we reach the top safely. A few more growling sound of the engine made hubby tell our driver to park at the nearest leveled-surface so the four of us  could just walk towards the Cross at the summit. The driver was quick to buy the idea! Only then were we able to catch our breath as the van came to a full stop. All thanks and praises to God for that!!!

So we left the van and walked to where the base of the Cross was standing.  

Look at this view of the winding road below from where we stood.

The wind was so strong and it was so cold up there. It was difficult to see the view down below through the mist.

My umbrella threatened to turn inside out but it began to rain so I had to hold on to it tightly, afraid of getting colds. 

Here we are, finally! 

The Cross of Mt. Samat 
(Dambana ng Kagitingan)

Look at that! The Cross of Mt. Samat.

The museum was closed because of inclement weather. There was no electricity then so we couldn't take the elevator going to the top. We just had to content ourselves seeing  the Cross as a landmark in this historical place. 

It was hard to capture a clear view of the cross with the strong winds and the clouds blocking its view. Imagine me taking a video with one hand while holding an umbrella on the other hand. 

It was very windy!

Both hands were shaking in my attempt to resist the blow of the wind.

Well, that was how Josie started to spew its fury as she accompanied us to Mt. Samat. 

Here's another video clip to show you the area around the Cross of Mt. Samat. 

See that, we had time to stroll around and take videos and photos of the view from where we stood. Credits to Ayana Grace for that video. The wind brought by Josie was getting strong, it almost blew her umbrella away.


We couldn't even get a very clear view of some parts of the province of Bataan.

Oh, there was this photographer taking a unique pre-nuptial coverage of a couple on such kind of a weather! 

You can see them going uphill in the video in the beginning of this post and in the photo below.

It was time to leave. Look at how the road looked on our way out of Mt. Samat. 

You are hungry, I know... we are all hungry. 

Just looking for a good place to eat or buy some finger foods along the way. 

On our way, our driver saw this Death March Monument marker along Gov. JJ Linao National Road in Pilar, Bataan. We had to park to take pictures of this structure. The marker reads 17 km, meaning that this point marks the 17th km of the Bataan Death March. Every kilometer of the Death March from Mariveles to Capas National Shrine (Camp O'Donnell) is marked with obelisk markers like this one. 

There were other Death March markers along the way.

Reviewing Philippine history about the Bataan Death March gives me goosebumps especially imagining how  the 70 to 80,000 Filipino-American troops were forcibly transferred by the Imperial Japanese army on April 9, 1942 from Saysain Point, Bagac, Bataan and Mariveles to Camp O'Donnell in Capas, Tarlac via San Fernando, Pampanga during World War II. The distance marched was said to be 96 to 112 kms and the march was characterized by severe physical abuse. 

There was no more time to find the Zero km Death March Marker at Aguinaldo St. past Friendship Tower for photo ops. We might have gone past the place unaware although we were able to take a few shots of the Japanese - Philippine Friendship Tower or Bagac Friendship Bell Tower. We could have been near the 0-km, another historical location. 

The Japanese-Philippine Friendship Tower

(Bagac Friendship Bell Tower)

Oh, yes, this is the tower, right? But where’s the bell in this photo? 
Go, try to find it, if you can. 😄😜😏

Do you see it?

This tower is a significant reminder of the efforts of Japan and the Philippines to bring back friendly ties many years after the havoc caused by World War II. Located about 200 meters from where the Bataan Death March started, the 27-meter Philippine-Japanese Friendship Tower that was erected by a Japanese Buddhist organization in Bagac, was inaugurated on April 8, 1975 as a symbol of reconciliation between the two countries. The tower is very significant to Philippine history because it tells of the friendship between Japan and the Philippines, a testimony that the war between the two countries has really ended. 

The sun has began to appear beneath the clouds as we left all these historical landmarks. We were not able to find a place along the way where we could buy some food so off to Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar we went. But that calls for another long post. 

Are you still coming along? 

Click here and see you there!