The trip was planned randomly when Philippine Airlines had a seat sale last February, so fast forward to June, I was flying to the queen city of the south with my mom and sister.
En route to where we are staying, we passed this beautiful, enormous bridge.
Upon our arrival to Gran Tierra Suites, we rendezvous with my college best friend to start our sweet escapade. The place we stayed was a family room where we just paid around 1,299 php per night. It's complete with the usual room amenities like free wifi, television, comfortable bedding and the most important of all - clean bathroom.
It was almost 5 in the afternoon, and our first stop was the Santo Nino Basilica. It's the oldest Roman Catholic church in the country and was founded in the 16th century.
Cebu and Bohol was hit by a 7.2 magnitude quake back in October 2013, so most structures were damaged. The effect could be clearly seen in the Basilica where part of of the church cannot be accessed.
During our visit, we are fortunate to attend mass with locals at this open space.
We were also able to see the Santo Nino and to explore the other part of the church. It's so liberating to be able to visit something that had been part of history.
Up Close with the Santo Nino...
We also witness the restoration being done to the bell tower...
The Magellan's Cross is just meters away from the Basilica. The cross was planted when Magellan arrived in Cebu in 1521. The damaged from the quake could also be observed. Trusses were installed for support.
At the front where Magellan's Cross is housed...
We headed to Crown Plaza to experience some extreme adventures. We tried the 6D but there's nothing much special in that ride, but our next ride - the edge coaster would definitely be one for the books!
We had our sumptuous dinner buffet before trying the sky walk adventure.
The following day, we visited the Cebu Provincial Capitol before we head to the port for our Bohol day trip. The building was designed by Juan M. Arellano and it is located in Osmena Blvd. I just find the building very attractive.
The travel to Bohol is a 2 hour fast ferry ride. We decided to avail a package tour to have a hassle free Bohol exploration. My mom and sister did not joined us as they have other plans.
We met up with the tour guide in Tagbiliran Port, and they gave us some important information about the famous chocolate hills, tarsier, Panglao island and the most important of all - how they are coping after the the quake that hit them.
Our first stop was the Tarsier Sanctuary where we were able to chanced upon some sightings of the smallest primate in the world.
Next in our itinerary was the Loboc River cruise where we had our lunch. Food was superb with the soothing music in our background and fantastic view. Definitely something I'll cherish forever.
After the river cruise, we witnessed the damage caused by the quake to Loboc church. It's sad to see that such old church had been crushed down to pieces.
We passed by the man-made forest on our way to Carmen, Bohol to visit one of the hundreds of chocolate hills.
To reach the decking view, we have to climb 214 steps but it's all worth it! Amazing formations of hills...
Next on our stop was the butterfly sanctuary. I was personally kinda tired already but nevertheless I was so excited to learn more about them.
Since we are running out of time, and we have to catch up the return ferry to Cebu, we just passed by the blood compact monument and the Baclayon Church. The latter was also damaged by the quake and we could see that they are on the process of trying to restore the establishment.
Upon arriving back to Cebu, we tried the famous Zubuchon for dinner. I now understand why Anthony Bourdain loved it so much!
For our third day, we have to leave the city very early to catch a bus to Oslob for a whale watching adventure. It's a 3 hour bus ride from the south terminal to Oslob. The conductor will drop you off at one of the resort. The whale shark experience cost us around 500 per head for swimming with the gentle giants.
Unlike in Donsol, the whale shark sighting here in Oslob is much higher because they are already domesticated. Meaning, fishermen were feeding them so tourists and locals could swim closely with the butanding. Also, it shocked me that they are not that strict with the number of people that could approach the whale shark.
Nonetheless, this is off my bucket list. I was so happy to be inches away from this plankton eating creatures.
We head off to Tumalog Falls to witness another nature's beauty. To get there, we have to ride a habal-habal that I am always frightened of. The risk was worth it because I had never seen such wonderful view until then.
The water's clear and cold, it made me want to have a picnic there and spend more time. Since we have a tight schedule, we have to head back again to the Cebu and endure the almost 4 hours ride back. We ate at the famous Sunburst restaurant for a late lunch and head back to the inn for a quick shower.
Upon refreshing ourselves, we visited the Fort San Pedro. It is a military defense structure to repel Muslim raiders.
We walked towards the Cathedral to check the structure.
We decided to check the Ayala Mall after the walking tour and met up with our friend from College. After having dinner, our friend brought us to Mr. A Restaurant, where we had a great view of the city for our last night.
The following day, I felt so tired already and decided to just rest until it was time to check-out and head to the airport. My short vacation was truly something I will remember forever. 4 days wasn't enough to explore Cebu. In my next visit, I will spend more time to explore Mactan and other parts of Cebu.
It's truly more fun in the Philippines! :)
