T&J Travels #6: Cebu 2016 (Part 1)

Our flight was right on time so as soon as we dropped off our bags at the hotel we set out to find the nearest tourist spot in our IT. I didn't bother learning the routes so we had to rely on whatever we find out along the way.

At the reception we were told that we should take the 01K at the terminal right in front. We don't know which of the jeeps, there are just too many  but they were friendly enough to help. The jeep took us a block off from where Plaza Independencia where we needed to walk a bit to reach it.

+ Plaza Independencia +

The park is peppered with a few monuments and sculptures, but not much to look at. It is mostly space, probably for city events that can be held here. As for taking photos, it would be quite tricky since there are a lot of commercial buildings surrounding the park and the electricity lines are hard to evade.

 



+ Fort San Pedro +

Like the park, Fort San Pedro is like a mini version of Fort Santiago but is well kept. If you're not into artsy fartsy poses you would be able to roam the grounds for 20 minutes tops. If memory serves, entrance fee is 30 php per adult.

Based on Google maps, we only need to walk along Osmena to reach Basilica Sto. Nino. Along the way we saw this humble marker:

It would have been better if they had a dedicated museum on site. This is disheartening that it was just regulated to a slab of rock and cheap wood painted to look like brick.

+ Basilica de Sto. Nino +

It was a Saturday morning and although the number of people is good from the looks of it most of us were just tourists. We get to see the gold laden altar that I needed to adjust the colors of my photo just so it won't look too saturated. I can't find an article to explain what I'm supposed to be seeing but I'm kind of freaked out seeing too many saints statues in black.

We stayed there for a while, as much as waiting at the long line for the Sto. Nino that had it's own special place. At first we're not sure where the line is supposed to go and we were too shy to ask so we just waited. It seems that the cause of the long line is for the devout who looked like they were wishing for something because it takes time for them to finish. I was already panicking on what to do (I'm not a Catholic) and I was looking at my boyfriend for help. He just motioned us to pass by to let other patrons have their time.

Back at the line the hall was filled with stories related to the church, or the Sto. Nino. One of the things I learned was how the Sto. Nino was submerged in water until it answered their prayers of rain.

When we were done at the Church we exited on the other side we assumed to be where the Magellan's Cross is.

+ Magellan's Cross +

It really was just like what most photos show! I was even controlling myself not to post the cross at the middle because I know everyone had that exact photo and there's no way you could photograph it differently. We did saw someone who had to almost lie down on the floor, but I'm not that desperate to attempt the same.