Cebu City

The next morning we headed back to Cebu City where we stayed for two days at the Pensionne La Florentina. The accommodation was quite old and we suspected bed bugs infected (but then as a backpacker one is getting used to sleep under all kind of circumstances). The rest of the day was spent in the huge Ayala shopping center watching a movie, shopping and having dinner.

The next morning we went to explore the city. One of the city’s sights is the very spot where apparently Magellan (yes, the guy you probably heard of during your secondary school history lessons) put up a cross. Parts of the original cross are still encased in the new cross. Interesting site for sure.

The nearby Basilica of the Holy Child was our next stop. This church was founded the 16th century and built on the spot where Spanish explorer Lopez de Legazpi (ole) found a statue of Baby Jesus. There was a long queue of devotees who wanted to worship. It was very impressive to see once again how devoted the Christians in the Philippines are. For example on Fridays there are hourly messes from 5 AM to noon as well as in the evening.

A bit further north was is the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral with its nice all white facade. Even more north we found the Heritage of Cebu Monument a interesting piece of art work which incorporates historic events of the city.

The afternoon was spent relaxing and stocking up on snorkeling gear. In the evening we had one last nice dinner with Helen, Michelle and Jean. We were a bit sad that we would be on our own again for the rest of our Philippines experience as we really had great fun traveling with them.