TACLOBAN

Tacloban is the geographical and historical heart of the Eastern Visayas. Choking smog, kamikaze jeepneys, and a lack of sights won't give travelers much cause to linger. Indeed, today's Tacloban provides the same strategic significance to travelers that it provided MacArthur—namely, a base from which to reach other islands.

ORIENTATION AND PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Tacloban is a portal to and from Samar, across the San Juanico Straits to the northeast. The city is sandwiched between Panalaron Bay to the north and Can-cabato Bay to the south. The pier, market, and bus/jeepney terminal overlook Panalaron Bay. Magsaysay Blvd. wraps around the northern and eastern boundaries of the peninsula, originating in the north by Children's Park, the tourist office, and Leyte's Provincial Capitol building, and ending in the south at Real St. Jeepneys blaze down southwest Avenida Veteranos and southeastern Real St., converging to funnel passengers southward to Palo or the airport across Cancabato Bay.

FOOD

Visitors can slurp a San Miguel while watching a Filipino soap opera at a roadside barbecue O along Real St. The fish and vegetable market O along the streets outside the bus terminal provide a great medium for the culinary artist.

SIGHTS AND ENTERTAINMENT

The white Neoclassical facade of the Leyte Provincial Capitol, built in 1902, on the corner of Sen. Enage St. and Magsaysay Blvd., is architectural evidence of colonial influences. Santo Nino Church, at the corner of Real and Zamora St., houses the city's patron saint. In 1889, en route to a makeover in Manila, an image of the Christ child was lost overboard. Months later, natives on north Mindoro recovered the crate, which was then stolen back by impassioned residents of Tacloban. The Santo Nino Shrine and Heritage Museum, on Real St., founded by Imelda Marcos, dis­plays local artists' paintings of the stations of the cross. (Open M-Sa 8-11:30am and l-4:30pm. Video permit , camera permit .)

South of Tacloban, the General Douglas MacArthur Landing Memorial commemo­rates the charismatic commander's return on October 20, 1944. Take a jeepney from Avenida Veteranos to Palo via Baras (20min., last return 4:30pm ). Ask the driver to drop you off in front of the memorial. Hide in foxholes on nearby Hill 522. The Battle of Baluarte Marker, 52km away in Barugo, commemorates a battle between guerrillas and Japanese troops. North of the city, the San Juanico Bridge— the longest span of its kind in Southeast Asia—links Leyte to Samar.

DAYTRIP FROM TACLOBAN: S0H0T0N

Sohoton Natural Bridge National Park is across the straits in Samar. A subterranean river snakes beneath two mountain ridges, creating the natural stone bridge for which the park is named. From Tacloban's bus terminal, take ajeepney to Basey. Get off at Basey's Town Hall; the Department of the Environment and Nat-' ural Resources (DENR) is across the street. Francisco Corales Jr. arranges the nec­essary boat trip and provides kerosene lamps. The guide expects a tip. Boats do not go out in the rain.

Accommodations can be found at St. Michael's Lodging House  to the left of Elsie's Bakery, next to the jeepney stop in Basey.

Another option is the guesthouse in the national park.

While in Basey, navigate the picturesque streets to St. Michael's Church, built in 1636. There are many attractions in Western Samar: the area around Calbayog is full of caves and waterfalls, while the Samar Archaeological Museum and Research Cen­ter, at Christ the King College in Calbayog, documents the island's history.