9 February 2023
Taking advantage of the low-priced mid-week tickets offered by Cebu Pacific (USD 130 return for two), we took a 55-minute flight from Puerto to Cebu City. It was going to be a short trip, just four days. This proved to be largely insufficient, the more we discovered the island, the more we realized that it had been a mistake to have booked the return flight in advance.
We took a cab to the Hotel Marco Polo, a 45-minute drive from the airport to the hills behind downtown Cebu City. A fairly plush hotel at very affordable rates, in addition to a superb buffet breakfast, it also afforded panoramic views of the city and across the channel back to Mactan Island (where the airport is located).
Our first day was spent downtown. Where better to start than at Magellan’s Cross, in front of the City Hall. The large wooden cross, is housed in a stone rotunda (built in 1841) and the crucifix on show is said to contain remnants from a cross Ferdinand Magellan planted on the shores of Cebu in 1521. A painting on the ceiling of the rotunda shows Magellan erecting the cross, one of the most venerated religious relics in Cebu.
Nearby was the sprawling Carbon Market, a boisterous, cacophonous frenzy that is definitely a local affair with mounds of fruit and vegetables, some handicrafts (including basketry) and a large flower section. The late morning heat now gradually becoming stifling, we took refuge for a coffee and croissant in the stylish and cosmopolitan Ayala Centre. We then took a cab to the popular House of Lechon restaurant. Cebu may be famous for this specialty but we were disappointed with our serving as the skin was not crispy, which must be considered as a cardinal sin for lechon.
We found Cebu City to be a smaller, more relaxed version of Manila. However, Cebu itself is the most densely populated island in the Philippines and is second only to Luzon in its strategic and economic importance to the country. This is also one of the most prosperous regions in the Philippines with tourism, real estate and business (especially in the IT sector apparently) all booming.
The next day, we took a three-hour bus ride south to Moalboal, famous for its white-sand beaches, sea-turtles and spectacular diving. We found it to be quite hectic and loud but luckily, we met a local couple in a café who kindly brought us to the Serena Resort, some 15km away, which was much quieter and with its own private beach.
Located in Badian, 17km south of Moalboal, are the Kawasan Falls; we booked a canyoneering trip that would take us from the head of the canyon down to a series of three waterfalls (the largest cascading 15m into a massive, milky-blue swimming hole). After being brought to the starting point on the back of an antiquated motor bike, we took just over three hours, accompanied by our guide, to navigate the 5km long trail through a combination of walking, climbing, swimming… and jumping into rockpools. It was physically very arduous (we were by far the eldest couple there) but the natural beauty of the place was really very special. We also saw ample evidence of the damage inflicted by the typhoon Odette the previous year – whole bridges had been washed away and electricity pylons were still down.
Returning to Cebu City (after a stop in the true lechon capital, CarCar), we headed back to Mactan island, the improbable site of one of the defining moments in the Philippines' history. It was here on 27 April 1521 that Ferdinand Magellan was fatally wounded at the hands of Chief Lapu-Lapu. The event is commemorated at the Mactan Shrine on a stone plinth bearing the date that Magellan was felled. We did not come here to see the statue however.
Cebu has a worldwide reputation for guitar-making (no doubt a legacy of the Spanish colonial period) and we had come to visit the family-owned Allegre guitar factory. Albert, the young but very competent salesman, gave us a tour of the premises where we could admire the workmanship of his fellow employees. I then tried out several instruments before happily settling on a solid mango wood acoustic guitar (and one he assured me would not warp in the tropical climate of the Philippines)..
The next day we flew back to Puerto, very content with our short but intense sojourn in Cebu and vowing to return as soon as we could – Bohol, Dumaguete and Siquijor, amongst others, await us.
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