"Leyte - We Shall ..." a Province of Leyte Travel Page by bike_packer

My family on a long road tour again in the summer of 2006 was our 2nd time to pass by Leyte and by default the famous San Juanico Bridge. Driving from Manila to the Visayas took us more than 48 hours to reach Tacloban with an overnight stopover in Sorsogon. Ormoc City in Leyte was our Roro jump-off point to Cebu Island and beyond. Our first visit to Leyte was on our Luz-Vi-Mnda tour in the Summer of 2002 - starting from Gen. Santos City (Mindanao) and visiting places while driving up to Manila in 10 days.

Leyte is famous as the landing site of Gen. Douglas McArthur when he returned to liberate the Philippines from the Japanese invaders on the last years of WW II. The Battle of Leyte Gulf on that time, considered as one of the biggest naval battles in history, is one of the major turning points leading to the the final victory of the Allied Forces in the Pacific.

Welcome to Leyte, Bye Bye Samar or the other way around. San Juanico Bridge across the strait with the same name connects one of the 2 biggest islands in the Visayas - Samar and Leyte. S-shaped and a total lenght of more than 2-kms, the bridge is the longest in the country and plays a very important connection literally in bridging the country's major islands to realize the Phil. Maharlika Highway stretching from Laoag City (Luzon) to Zamboanga City (Mindanao).