DIY Manila heritage tour: Baluarte de San Diego

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In the Ayala Museum, I learned that the British troops actually invaded Manila for a few years in the mid-1700s. Strange, because I thought that the Spanish and the English were allies... I mean, Henry VIII was married to Katherine of Aragon. But probably by the time the British reached Manila, the Spanish alliance was leaning more towards France. Also, perhaps, this was the period when the British Empire was starting to expand after the establishment of the East Indian Company's foothold in India.

Anyway, this is a different aspect of Philippine history that rarely gets discussed in detail in school. So actually walking where the British breached Manila's defences was fascinating. We did that in a spot called Baluarte de San Diego. 

Now, it's obviously not a baluarte anymore. The Intramuros administration has converted the place into a promenade... trust the GQNC girls who are into Filipino rom-coms to find it because they found it in a movie. I'm thankful that they did; otherwise, I'd never gotten to see this place. 

Baluarte de San Diego is such an oasis of calm in the middle of the urban jungle. I felt like I entered The Secret Garden; a fitting comparison just because a part of that story is about the protagonist losing her parents to cholera in India, which was then under the East India Company. Deeper into the greenery, I finally found the star of the plaza, the actual baluarte. It's an archeological dig site, which made it more fascinating for me. However, my fear of the wet and slippery floor prevented me from exploring it in-depth. I contented myself with just taking a look from the top.






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