Читать книгу Beautiful Philippines: A Handbook of General Information - Philippine Islands. Commission of Independence - Страница 10

Table of Contents

On the outskirts of the City of Manila, lies one of the most beautiful scenic routes in the tropics—the expanse of country extending from the city itself to what is known as the Montalban Water Works, in Rizal Province, from which the city derives its water supply. At the head of a picturesque gorge, the Mariquina River is impounded by a dam, and the water is brought to the City of Manila, 39 kilometers distant, through aqueducts of cast iron.

A view of Pier 5, Manila

The ride to the gorge through the heart of the Mariquina valley, one of the most fertile regions of the Island of Luzon, is a veritable scenic fairyland. Lowland, mountain, hill, stream, field, bridge, road, village, and town combine to form a landscape that invariably fascinates the visitor. The scene is restful and pleasing to the eye at almost every vista that presents itself.

Exterior view of Malacañang Palace, Manila

The Executive Offices, Malacañang Palace, Manila

Crossing the Ayala Bridge and passing through General Solano Street, the visitor proceeds on his way to the famous valley. On both sides of General Solano stand old Spanish residences practically as they were in the days of the Spaniards. This was then the fashionable residential section of the city and its glories as such have not as yet entirely departed.

A public market, Manila

The Malacañang Palace Soon, the Governor-General’s palatial home known as the “Malacañang Palace,” is reached on the right, immediately after the only brewery in the City of Manila. The palace is beyond doubt the finest residence in the islands. The gardens are particularly well-kept, Governor-General Harrison having improved the residence and the grounds making it a sumptuous and fitting place for the first executive of the land.

The Aquarium, Manila, exterior view

Immediately next to the Governor’s palace is the executive building housing the offices of the Governor-General’s staff and cabinet. It is an elaborate structure decorated with hardwood carvings.

After a detour to drive thru the grounds of the palace, the visitor proceeds on his way towards Santa Mesa. The next place of interest is known as the “Rotonda”—a circular Plaza at which two important thoroughfares and some of lesser importance intersect. In the center of the Rotonda stands the Carriedo Fountain built in memory of Francisco Carriedo, the Spanish engineer who installed the first gravity water system in Manila sometime in the 19th century.

A typical country scene

Santa Mesa Soon the visitor arrives at another residential section known as Santa Mesa. This section is on top of a hilly district overlooking the city. Fine bungalows and villas surrounded by beautiful lawns adjoin one another. Americans, Europeans, and Filipinos live here side by side. Mingled with the sumptuous abodes found in this section are several patches of nipa huts, furnishing a startling contrast—the almost primitive native residence common throughout the archipelago, especially in the barrios, as compared with the architecturally highly developed occidental type of residence. In the midst of this ensemble of residences are rice fields cultivated in typical native fashion with terraces, ditches, carabaos, etc.

San Juan Bridge and Heights The visitor now comes across a country that is more open, and cultivated patches of land become a more frequent sight. In a few minutes, he reaches the famous “San Juan Bridge,” a historical landmark. It was here, on February 4th, 1899, that the first shot of the Filipino-American war was fired. Two days later, the treaty of Paris ceding the Philippines to the United States was ratified, and the Filipinos continued to revolt.

After crossing the bridge, the visitor reaches San Juan Heights, a suburban development project in the municipality of San Juan del Monte. Less than two years ago, an enterprising American formed a company and divided this property up into lots and started selling the parcels on the instalment plan. The project was a success and now a good sized community has settled on this district. Other parcels of land in the vicinity have been similarly divided into lots, and Manila suburban property is now rapidly undergoing development in the familiar American manner. Among these other parcels are the San Juan Heights Addition, the Rosario Heights, and the Magdalena Estate, the latter being an immense tract of land extending for several miles into the country.

The Mariquina Valley

The Reservoir Nearby is located the distributing reservoir of the Manila Water Supply system, called “El Depósito.” It was constructed in Spanish days, but has now grown to be entirely too small for the ever-growing needs of the city.

Along the side of the reservoir is the “Boys’ Reformatory School,” where wayward and recalcitrant youngsters are won back to good behaviour and useful life at the expense of the city and the Insular government.

Turning back to the main roadway, the visitor sees the palatial residence of the Ex-Mayor of Manila, now Senator Hon. Ramon Fernandez.

The Mariquina Valley From this point on, there is an entirely rural scenery, an immense plain bounded by mountains in the north and east. This is the Mariquina Valley. Somewhere on this valley just outside the municipality of San Mateo, was the spot where General Lawton was shot by the Filipino insurgents. This whole region was intensely fought over by the contending forces, the Filipino insurgents retreating to the mountains to the north and east.

Salt beds, Pangasinan

The Town of Mariquina Soon afterwards, the town of Mariquina is reached. It is a typical Filipino community. Proximity to the Philippine metropolis does not seem to have altered its appearance in the least. It has a rural air and atmosphere and the people evidently belong to the hard-plodding farmer-class.

An excellent road makes driving a pleasure through the Mariquina Valley. The combination of colors and light, tropical vegetation and houses, the undulating mountain divides, the brilliant green of the palms and bamboo, contrasted with the intense verdure of the rice fields, present a vista that can be expressed adequately only by painting.

The Payatas Estate After Mariquina comes the town of San Mateo, centrally situated in the Mariquina Valley. It was here that tenants of the vast Payatas Estate in the vicinity combined and bought the property from the Japanese owners three years ago. The enterprise was the first cooperative agricultural Filipino effort on a large scale and has proved to be a success. The purchase price was $775,000, and all of this amount but $100,000 has been paid up.

Exterior view of the Lingayen Provincial Building, Pangasinan

At the Dam Then the dam is reached. It is in the town of Montalban, 35 kilometers from Manila. The road winds in and out along the banks of the river, the banks of the river themselves become steeper and steeper, and soon the towering white limestone sides of the Mariquina gorge loom up several hundred feet, and the reservoir inclosure is reached.

Those who desire to go as far as the dam must be sure to obtain permits from the Metropolitan Water District before leaving Manila, otherwise the trip will have to end at the head of the deep gorge at the gate of the reservoir. With such a permit the visitor is allowed to enter the reservoir gate and he proceeds up the shaded walk to the dam and reservoir.

The walk to the reservoir is only a few minutes, up a well-kept path lined with shrubs, trees, and flowers with the rushing water of the river below to the left.

The reservoir, surrounded by the green mountain sides, makes a pretty picture reminding the visitor of some of the descriptions of lakes in the Scottish Islands, as depicted by Sir Walter Scott in some of his works.

Different Return Route The return to Manila may be made by way of Pasig, the capital of the Province of Rizal, after leaving Mariquina where the roads branch. On this way back, Fort Wm. McKinley is worth visiting. It is said to be the largest army post under the American flag and one of the best administered. It cannot fail to impress the visitor because of its fine buildings, spacious parade grounds and attractive officers’ quarters.