After our Bantayan trip it was time to visit the Queen City of the south.
It was raining that day. We already made an arrangement the day before for a service to pick us up in the morning at our hotel. We would learned later that it would be cheaper, for those who are 2 to 4 in the group, to just contract a taxi for the day tour. One can negotiate for P1,500 for the said day tour. The driver would also serve as your tour guide.
Taosit Temple
Our first stop is the one farthest from the city. The Taoist temple sits at the top of the hills of Lahug and offers a view of Cebu City. The temple was built using the donations made by the local Chinese community. The temple permits photography but prohibits taking photos of the altars.
Osmena Museum
We then went to the Osmena museum. It is the former house and office of the late president Sergio Osmena. It is currently owned and maintained by CAP. Yes, the College Assurance Plan. Inside the Osmena museum, at the 2nd floor, is the vintage car of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. It also has a gallery open for art exhibits. We then went to the old Chinese district of Parian. It is in here where they built the Heritage of Cebu Monument. It depicts the various events in the history of the province. We stop by the Shamrock outlet to buy “pasalubongs” to bring back to Manila.
Cebu Cathedral
Magellan's Cross
Not far from the Cathedral is the Cross of Magellan. From time immemorial the current location has been set aside to commemorate the erection of a cross in Cebu by the expedition of Magellan. The original cross was encased inside a Tindalo wood.
Cathedral of Sto. Nino
Very near the Magellan Cross is the famous Church and Convent of Sto. Nino. The Sto. Nino venerated in the Church since the time of Legaspi, is the center of intense devotion and religious pilgrimage. It is the centerpiece of the Sinulog Festival. We also noticed that outside the church, there are people selling their services to help you pray for a fee. Since most of them are outside, it seems that they are not allowed to do that inside the Church.
It was almost pass 1 PM, so its time for lunch. I was hoping our driver would bring us to a specialty restaurant, but he just drops us at SM Cebu.
Fort San Pedro
After lunch we headed to Fort San Pedro. The Fort is triangular in shape and was made of stone and mortar. Near the Fort is the Malacanang of the South. It is the former office of the Bureau of Custom. So when it was declared the Malacanang of the South, the Bureau of Custom has to fine another site for them to set up their office. The place is off-limits to visitor.
Traffic was heavy, that after a 30 minutes visit to the branch office of my wife’s employer it was already 4 PM. We where now headed back to our hotel in Mactan. The service that we rented is good only for 8 hours, including the lunch break. Well, this is another reason why it is better to contract a taxi.
Rice wrapped in leaves
The night before when we had our dinner, we noticed this food wrapped in coconut leaves just like a “suman”. It is actually how they serve rice. To eat it, just slice it open and eat it with your hands.
Magellan Shrine
Lapu-lapu Shrine
The following day is our schedule trip back to Manila. But since our flight is 9:30 PM we still have the whole day to roam around. To roam around we decided to just commute to roam around. It was a sunny day that time. We headed first to the Lapu-lapu and Magellan Shrine. It is located at the very same spot where Lapu-lapu and his men repulsed the Spanish aggression.
Provincial Capitol
We then headed back to the Magellan Cross and Sto. Nino Basilica just to take some pictures with the blue sky. Since we didn’t stop the previous day at the Capitol building, we rode a jeepney going there. The Capitol was built in 1937. Its concave facade links two wings of the capitol forming a u-shaped plan. The facade leads to a tall foyer capped by a dome. Inside the dome is painted the history of Cebu. The foyer leads to the wings on either side.
We were looking for the Cebu City Museum but unfortunately it is under renovation. We just headed to the Cebu Cathedral Museum. It is an old house renovated and converted into a museum. It holds antique statues and furniture from the different places in Cebu. It was nice for the nun in charge explain to us about the different artifacts inside.
With still time to spare, we just headed to SM Cebu to pass the time. Dinner is the Sutokil restaurant near the Lapu-lapu Shrine. It is very similar to the “paluto” at the Dampa in Paranaque. Sutokil stands for Sugba (grill), Tuwa(with soup or broth) and Kilawin.
Overall it was a very enjoyable trip. We didn’t visit any resort at Mactan since we already bummed around the beach in Bantayan. Maybe next time we visit Cebu, we will head south of the province to see what the area has to offer.
