Finally after much delay, the Pasig River Ferry became operational and with the usual flair of the tutubi in organizing trips, hopped on to the nearest terminal in Guadalupe, Makati on J.P. Rizal St (vying for the highest concentration of billboards per square meter in the world can be seen leading much to urban blight).

UPDATE: This Pasig River Ferry service was discontinued in 2011. Government is mulling reviving the service in 2014 to aid in declogging the Metro Manila of heavy traffic but it needs additional capital and investors to revive it.

The sky was cloudy, unlucky me, so I half-heartedly took pictures inside the airconditioned catamaran with blue plastic seats through glass window after asking permission from a man in uniform whose job, I already know, is to ensure we don't take pictures of the Palace of the Small Iron Lady of these islands i.e. Malacanang.

Ayala Bridge with its steel trusses and rivets presently undergoing repair work (left)
Signspotting mode (below)somewhere near Sta Ana displaying the Philippines' vaunted ubiquity of the English language with the river-choking, mosquito-sheltering, floating water hyacinths (Eichhornia crassipes) natives of South America on the foreground. Most pinoys erroneously call them water lily with their beautiful lavender-colored flowers (that I have yet to capture on "film").

Here's hoping someday I get to see how the Nilad tree, where Manila got its name, and the cuyapo (kuyapo/kiapo, lulluan in Tagalog ), a floating plant where Quiapo was named, look like. Both those plants are the places named after them.

With the return of the ferry plying the once pristine river where the city of Manila was founded, may those eponymous flora also return when the river breathes life again.

There's hope; I saw fishes and various species of birds!

Information (as of March 24, 2007): Only Guadalupe, Hulo and Escolta terminals are completed. Each trip costs P25 and takes almost an hour only from Guadalupe to Escolta, unbeatable by any form of land travel unless you're with the Iron lady convoy. Ferries are airconditioned catamarans (double-hulled). Trip schedules are spaced 55 minutes apart starting at 5:30am with last trip at 9:05pm



I have blogged about the Pasig River before on a trip with Ambeth Ocampo, historic bridges, lighthouse, structures and
riverine inhabitants.

To all my legions of readers (too few, actually), I'm thinking of organizing an "unplanned" trip to Manila on board the ferry one of these days. Let me know what ya think! :)

Related Pasig River Posts:

Pasig River Ferry
Pasig River Cruise,
Pasig River Lighthouse,
Pasig River Structures,
People of Pasig River,
Pasig River Bridges History and Pictures

Labels: Ferries, Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Pasig River

On board with us during the tour was a Philippine Coast Guard with M-16 in tow to make sure we won't take pictures of Malacanang when we pass by splendid edifice that ironically-- gets flooded when the metro is flooded-- offering some sort of consolation that the president's home is also prone to the problems of the common folk


I don't have picture of Malacanang Palace, the Goldenberg Mansion and Mabini Shrine all visible when we passed by. the guard alighted upon reaching Mabini bridge.

Shown also on the photo are Quezon Bridge leading to Quiapo and green Arroceros Park, known as the city's last lung, haven of artists and birds, and site of a legal battle between Winner Foundation, the caretaker of the park, and Manila City government, (in)famous for tearing down heritage structures.


El Hogar Filipino 1914 Beaux-Arts style buidling. I can only imagine how grand this building would have been in its heyday. This is also a favorite venue for shooting music videos of Sarah Geronimo, Bamboo et al as well as commercials-- even the current "Kapuso Walang Kinikilingan" boast has this building as a background! Old headquarters of HSBC is also visible behind the building

the Neo-Classical Pacific Commercial Bulding right across El Hogar

the colorful Gawad Kalinga community on the Mandaluyong riverbank near Guadalupe, said to be the Filipino's legacy to the world and a brainchild of Tony Meloto (hope to volunteer someday for this worthy endeavor). It was said the house owners were given different colors of paint resulting to a multitude of colors

the imposing Makati City Hall with fishermen in a small banca providing contrast to the house of power and simple folks of the country's commercial capital

other pictures I made into a slideshow to save on bandwidth and for added impact :)

next in line: Bridges of Pasig and its riverine inhabitants
until next time, folks!

Related Posts:

Pasig River Cruise,
Pasig River Lighthouse,
People of Pasig,
Bridges of Pasig River.

Labels: Manila, Metro Manila, National Capital Region, Pasig River, Rivers