Subic Bay

Dearest Rachel –

The way this itinerary works, one might think that, for each country we visit, we’re required to stop in at least two locations, which have to be as close together as possible. It doesn’t seem to be absolutely necessary that it be so; we can cover a reasonable distance (I was going to say a fair amount of ground, but a ship doesn’t run on ground, does it? And if it does, that’s a Very Bad Thing) given a ten to twelve hour overnight voyage, especially at full speed. So why are we stopping at a tiny little place barely a hundred miles (if even that) from our previous destination yet again?

Still, for what it’s worth, I’ve dug up that the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone, often shortened as Subic Bay or just Subic, is a special economic zone covering portions of the city of Olongapo and the town of Subic in Zambales province, and the towns of Hermosa and Morong in Bataan. The relatively developed and fenced area is called the Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ). This had been the location of a U.S. Navy base, but, in early 1991, after the collapse of protracted negotiations, the Philippine Senate rejected terms for renewal of the base’s lease. The U.S. Navy was already in the process of downsizing its Subic operations in June 1991 when Mount Pinatubo erupted. One of the largest volcanic eruptions in the last 100 years, it covered the Navy Base in volcanic ash and collapsed a significant number of structures. So… just as well they were asked, and preparing, to leave, I suppose.

After the departure of the U.S. Navy (the last ship left in November of 1992) and the cleanup from the Pinatubo eruption, the bay area was converted into a commercial zone largely through the efforts of some 8,000 residents of nearby Olongapo, under the leadership of mayor Richard Gordon, who wanted to protect and preserve the $8 billion worth of facilities and property from looting and destruction. Subic was transformed and became a model for converting former military bases into commercial use after the Cold War with the assistance of blue chip companies like Coastal Petroleum and Fed Ex pumping in over $3 billion of investments, creating 70,000 jobs in the free port’s first four years. For all the talk about how little of the peace dividend the world received between the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of terrorism (and it did seem like too short a period of time, didn’t it? You’d think we’d get more than a decade of Pax Americana from all of that), at least certain places benefited substantially, and this was one of them (albeit clearly with deliberate effort on the part of its citizens).

The freeport area has a population of over six thousand people, but employed around 135 thousand as of mid 2019. It’s a popular destination for weekend visitors from Metro Manila, with attractions including beaches, an underwater aquarium, jungle survival tours, and duty-free shopping.

Ours is one of those ‘jungle’ tours, evidently, with an off-road jeep ride (presumably similar to that taken in Mo‘orea, although the blurb speaks about the jeeps being ‘open-air,’ so… maybe more so, even?) through narrow canyons and across shallow streams surrounded by towering cliffs and desert-like valleys on our way around Mount Pinatubo. This will eventually take us to a spa resort called Puning Hot Spring, with pools of filtered thermal spring water fed by the Sacobia River. The spa also offers hot sand steam treatments that supposedly help blood circulation, as well as mudpack treatments to boost healthy skin. I’ll be honest, I don’t know quite how much of this I’ll participate it – and how much of it I’ll film (or be able to). At least there’s a meal provided, including authentic Filipino cuisine; again, what that entails remains to be seen. I’ve been told about things like balut, but, considering my reaction to trying to eat a simple prawn, I’m not sure I’d be ready or willing to put myself through that, even if it were offered to me.

But that’s the thing about these reports; I’m talking about facts, figures and press releases about a place before I get there; what it’s going to be like once I’m there often turns out to be a very different thing. And with that in mind, honey, keep an eye on me, and wish me luck. I’m probably going to need it.