Treasures unfold | Zamboanga City, Philippines

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Take me back

After the struggles of hitchhiking a day tour to Santa Cruz Island, I still had a few hours to spare. I actually had quite the energy required for more activities; backpacking always brings forth unparalleled energy to survive long days and cold nights and this day was no exception. It was too early to head home to my Airbnb so I decided to check out a nearby must-visit destination in Zamboanga, Fort Pilar.

From Paseo del Mar, where the Santa Cruz Ferry Terminal is located, Fort Pilar is only 200 meters away or about 2-3 minute chill walk. If you have all the time in the world, there's no reason not to stop by Fort Pilar when you are already in the area.

Forts or military fortresses were a thing back in the day when the Philippines was still under the Spanish regime. In fact, a number of forts were built during those times all over the Philippines. The oldest Fort San Pedro happened to be located in Cebu. Hence, exploring forts are no longer new to me.

When I arrived in Fort Pilar, I was told the museums and exhibit halls were closed for public viewing since it's Sunday. Nonetheless, I was still grateful that they let us in.

Fort Pilar was built in 1635. That was a long time ago so I was expecting the fort to have withered through the passing of time. I was a bit surprised and confused whether I'd be delighted or disappointed at what I saw next.

Aside from the thick, mossy, and dark battlements or walls that guard Fort Pilar, everything else inside looks like it was either built or reinforced to fit modern-day architecture. Upon entering Fort Pilar, I instantly noticed two things. One is that judging by the shape and the materials used in the infrastructures inside Fort Pilar, there's no way these buildings were the original buildings erected in 1635. I could be wrong, but I invite you to take a closer look at the photos I took and scrutinize them. Let's discuss this further in the comment section! 😁

Second are the long rectangular-shaped, freshly painted buildings that gave the place breathability, which I definitely needed that afternoon! The rectangular white buildings were positioned to form a little square with a deep well in the middle. Although I'm a little convinced that the roofing material was a bit old and could be from the Spanish era, the buildings' design was just too simple.

Behind the flashy white buildings was a narrow, almost invisible, pathway that led to the top of the battlements. I followed the path and found myself looking at Zamboanga City from atop of Fort Pilar. It was almost crowd-free in this part of the fort.

You'll be battling the sun's rage if you come here in the middle of the day; make sure you visit early in the morning or later in the afternoon. I could have spent more time here if the museum and exhibit halls were open, unfortunately my visit wasn't as educational as I wished it to be.

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What else is in store?

I'm not sure if it's just me or other Filipino backpackers feel the same, but I have this construct that any city or town outside of Cebu and Manila is small and therefore peaceful and uncrowded. But that same belief melted when I found myself walking towards Zamboanga's city center. It could be smaller but there's no way it was crowd-free.

Before I knew it, I was walking with hundreds of people who were on their way to the city center, too. It was easy to spot my Muslim countrymen as they were wearing traditional Muslim clothing which was undeniably vibrant.

With Google Map's guidance, I continued walking towards the city's center and in no time, I arrived at Zamboanga's Rizal Park and was quite astonished by how big the park was compared to the one in my hometown. I visited here a few days before Philippine's Independence Day; I reckon it's why the park was freshly painted and well-groomed. If I'm wrong then Zamboanga's definitely doing well in maintaining their parks and open spaces.

Beside Rizal Park was another attention-grabbing architectural icon that has become Zamboanga's pride. It's not a government building but a fast-food chain. Yup, that's right! This building is occupied by McDonald's. I salute their eagerness to fit in in Zamboanga's rich culture and heritage.

If you think that was already awesome, well you have to see this! Zamboanga City's City Hall seals the deal for that afternoon walk. Its marvelous and massive facade drew me closer to the building. Checking each component of the City Hall's facade made me appreciate Zamboanga's heritage even more.

I had to ask a stranger to take a photo of me in front of their City Hall.

I continued walking around in search of the nearest church. On my way to the church, I passed by Plaza Pershing, Zamboanga's busiest malls and jeepney terminals.

Even their church has a unique contemporary design. I haven't seen a very modern church design as as this one.

This post is one of the rare posts in which I barely showed my face LOL! But yeah, I took a lot of photos and dumping some of them below 🤣

It was pleasing walking around Zamboanga city and checking out their surprising architectural wonder! Next time you visit this city or any city for that matter, spare a few minutes to walk around. You'll surely discover more about the place, its people and its history.

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