Hi Steemians! 🤗
For today's post, I am sharing you my experience in walking around Fort Santiago. If you want to go there, here are the details of the site openings:
Mondays
1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Tuesdays-Sundays
8:00 am to 12:00 /1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Entrance Fee: P75
Fort Santiago is known as a relaxing place where one can really feel what happened in the past. Visiting it made me interested in knowing more about the National hero of the Philippines,  Dr. José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda, and some of our country's history.
Honestly, it was my first time to go there (even if our house is just 1 hour away from it hahaha). I love the place because of its atmosphere, fresh ambiance, different structures and I was really amazed on how they preserved the whole place like it's still the same as before. It made me feel that I’m in the old Spanish time where you can see old walls, attractions and different types of kalesa (a vehicle for two drawn by a horse).Â
Upon entering, the beautiful park was the first thing that attracted my attention. The big courtyard is surrounded by old ruins, cannons and guns that were used during World War II. It’s like I can still see what really happened in the past when I saw an arch entrance after crossing the courtyard.Â
As I enter, it made me think of the people that suffered before to get our freedom today. Inside the museum, I saw different faces of Jose Rizal. I saw his works like sculptures, paintings and etc. It gave me goosebumps as I tour inside the museum. Also, I felt weird together with some sort of creepy feeling. I think it must be the quiet place that was causing it because many died there.  Taking photos of the things inside the museum is an opportunity to share it with my friends, family and to the steemit community! 🙂
 The message of Fort Santiago is very clear. It is to appreciate what happened in the past for it is what leads us to the present and the future. Dr. Jose Rizal once said, “To foretell the destiny of a nation, it is necessary to open the book that tells of her past.” It’s like an eye opener to us, especially Filipinos, that if things will happen again (I hope not), we already know the mistakes that we shouldn’t do. Instead, make our decisions correct and do whatever it takes for our country and for our countrymen. We must never forget that many people suffered and sacrificed their life just to achieve the freedom that we’re all enjoying today. As a Filipino, we should have our own mark in this country.  Â
P.S
Photos are all mine using my iPad3. 📸
I'm so excited to explore more places and I'll make sure that I'll share it with you guys! I would love to hear your comments and your stories in the comment section below. Upvote, Resteem and Follow! 🙂
 To more travels! Cheers! 💙
