June 8, 2026

The Intramuros section of Manila, Philippines is the historic walled core, of this Capital City. Today, the surrounding stone walls are  ringed by a golf course, in lieu of the moat from long ago. Below shows comparison from rendering 300 years ago, under Spanish Colonization to Today. Many of the historic buildings, churches, fort and prison remain. Kimberly and I walked it for over 4 hours, and we saw maybe a quarter of it. We sadly gave up due to the heat, humidity and our exhausted feet and missed the Corpus Christi procession to the Manila Cathedral with the Bishop, by just a half hour! If only we had known ahead of time!

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We passed up many offers of transport in the quest for exercise!

One of my favorite parts of the walk was meeting all the little kids in the streets. They were not shy and so curious! Sadly some did ask for food, candy or money. I shared some caramel hard candies I had with them.

Here's what we missed from the Corpus Christy Procession! The shower of flower petal, when The Blessed Sacrament went up to altar, looked very cool - images all from the Manila Cathedral facebook page!

Got a super refreshing drink from street vendor right before leaving the Intramuros area - cucumber and lemon juice on ice. So good! We weren't hungry, but would have liked to try the corn dogs covered in french fries! I did have a Cloud 9 bar day before - it is the top selling candy in the Philippines - their version of a Snickers bar. Snickers is better, there's is more caramel than peanuts!

2nd YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF SAILING THE WORLD

By Pat Patrick • October 1, 2026
WOW!! I can't believe it has been two years of sailing around the World already for me and my fellow shipmates on the Villa Vie Odyssey! We left Belfast, Ireland back on September 30, 2024 and it has been such a great adventure to date! We have been to 201 different ports, some more than once, during those two years, with much more to come!

APOPO, SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 29, 2026
Before coming to Cambodia , I sadly have to admit I was unaware of the landmine problems they face. On our first night in Siem Reap, where we hiked up the hill to try and see the sunset views, there was a small band of men playing instruments and our tuk tuk driver explained to me they were victims of landmine explosions who had lost limbs or their sight and were trying to make money via donations to support their families.

Ta Prohm Temple ( AKA Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), CAMBODIA

By Pat Patrick • September 28, 2026
I rallied for our last temple of the morning, because I heard this one was unique and I think it was my favorite. Ta Prohm was built starting in 1186 by King Jayavarman VII as a Buddhist monastery and university dedicated to the king's mother. It was left mostly un-restored so that huge banyan and silk cotton trees grow directly over and through the walls. In 2001, the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie was filmed here.