Cebu: the Island and City Living

The Cebu gang took a past-four-in -the -morning - PAL flight. We planned to visit two different places in Cebu province: Bantayan Island and Cebu City. It was almost six a.m when we got our luggages in the conveyor and headed to the taxi queue. We asked the cab drivers to bring us to the Ceres bus station, so that we could commute to Hagnaya Port. Ironically, when we reached the terminal, we just decided to take the shuttle vans offering faster rides to Hagnaya Port(with pick-your-own-schedule edge) due to shorter stopover.

Municipality of Sta Fe

Upon reaching Hagnaya Port, we took the earliest schedule to catch which is around 9:30am. After a two-hour calm ferry ride, we finally reached one of Cebu's picturesque islands - Bantayan! We checked-in at Santa Fe Beach Resort. After some rest, we just spent beach-bumming the entire day. There's nothing like exchanging stories by the beach and relaxing under the bright sparkly night sky. 

The next morning, some of us decided to go to Santa Fe Beach Club (our accommodation's sister resort), where Ogtong Cave is located. Our eyes were just mesmerized by the breathtaking view the beach club gave us. We spent a few hours doing the usual photo ops and enjoying the view that only God-created scenery could offer. 

Before heading back to the resort, we passed by the public market to buy some 'pasalubongs'. Since we could not contain our cravings, we dropped by a small decent eatery to taste Cebuano viands. We were more than satisfied with the taste of cold-cuts and dried fish - Cebuano style.

We also passed by the island's town plaza. Baroque churches influenced by European architecture stands out in the quaint town. We just hung out at the park after offering s simple prayer at the church. This gave us a clearer picture on the lifestyle of the people living in the island.

Upon arriving at our resort, stories were shared by some who opted to stayed as they had their own stories on how they understood the island's way of living more - simple and laid-back. This is through the semi-fishing villages near the resort and the kids that play along the shoreline. We also catched the amazing sunset view opposing the island. We made our last sunset in the island for the trip as worth it as possible since we are headed back to the city the next morning

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Cebu city gives me a feeling of being in another country. Not sure exactly why. The nearest rationale I could think of is because it seems that the progressive city is similar to Manila but also different in a lot of ways (dialect, landmarks, way of living etc). It also gave us the opportunity to recall those things written in history books at school upon seeing Magellan's Cross, Basilica de Sto Nino. Fuerza de San Pedro,Casa Gorordo,Plaza La Independencia, and Lapu Lapu Shrine. 

There are also a lot of things to try and a lot of food to eat in Cebu. We have tried the famous CNT Lechon. One dinner spent in the city was also spent to taste the famous Pochero in Abuhan Dos which happens to be near one famous nightspot. This nightspot pertains to Club Ultima which is also famous for Skywalk and Edge Coaster Rides. The Skywalk is waking on a glass floor in one of the building's high peaks. However, this is only offered during the day. Since it was already evening when we dropped by, we tried the eliptic-edgy ride: the Edge Coaster. Also, we did not miss the night life in Uptown Cebu, where the I.T/BPO  Park and Ayala Mall is located.

Travel Thoughts:

would just like to share that....

- Trip to Hagnaya Port is 3 hours from Cebu City and trip from Hagnaya to Bantayan is 2 hours.

- Shuttle fare is 3k per van

- CNT Lechon is famous for its delicious lechon (even without sauce). This is located across SM City Cebu

- Club Ultima is located at the Crowne Regency Cebu which is walking distance to the restaurant that offers huge and yummy pochero - Abuhan Dos