Leyte, my home

I was born and raised in little Tacloban, the capital of Leyte, which is one of the biggest islands in the Philippines. The first thing I'd get when I say this is, "Ah, Waray." That is what you call the people from the Eastern Visayan islands of the Philippines, and Warays are stereotyped to be 'brave' people, which really implies we are angry and troublesome, LOL. I don't know where this comes from, I don't think there are more fights where I live than anywhere else in Ph. They say it comes from the pronounced R's and the strong accent of our dialect, which makes us sound like we're angry all the time. But whatev, we aren't, give us a chance. :D

Leyte is a chiefly agricultural island located in Eastern Visayas. Many important facets of Philippine history happened in Leyte. General Douglas McArthur landed in Palo, Leyte to liberate it from Japanese forces in 1944, and the seat of government was placed in the Leyte provicial capitol for a brief period in 1944-1945.

Leyte is also home to the infamous Imelda Marcos, whose lavish home in Olot continue to strike awe (and cause head-shaking) in anyone who beholds them, the way the Ming and the Italian leather in Sto. Niño Shrine and all those rotting shoes do. Sto. Niño Shrine was built in honor of Tacloban's patron saint. It is now a museum and is open to the public (there's a minimal fee). If you decide to go and check the museum out, you should have no trouble locating it as everyone knows where it is and it would certainly be on any Tacloban map. Just make sure to say 'shrine' and not 'church' as there is a Sto. Niño Church nearby. But then, the church is worth a visit, too, as they say that the Sto. Niño at the altar is miraculous.

The other must-see in Leyte would be San Juanico bridge, the longest bridge in the Philippines. The bridge connect Leyte and Samar, one of the two biggest islands in the Philippines. The bridge was built during the Marcos Regime, and they say it used to be called Marcos bridge. Unlike the rest of the Philippines, the Marcos reign was actually beneficial to most businesses in Leyte, esp. they say Tacloban and the surrounding areas. The Marcoses held so many parties and therefore their lavish wealth and crazy spending habits meant business to Leyte. LOL. So back to the bridge. There are a lot of old wives' tales about the construction of that bridge. Old folks say there was one post of it that just refused to stabilize, so the builders did human sacrifice and dropped children into the torrents of that strait. Morbid, I know, but that's what always comes to mind whenever I see the waters under that bridge.

Although I can't say I've explored every nook and cranny of Leyte, I've hiked a couple of its mountains, dipped in one of its lakes, bathed countless times in its accessible beaches and will continue to see more given the chance. For now, off to the next island.