CEBU REVISITED

I never thought that I will be able to squeeze my Cebu vacation from a very tight schedule. The purpose of going home is to mingle with my relatives whom I have seen ages ago. Fiesta of Sto. Tomas de Villanueva was commemorated last Sunday, September 20, 2009.

Day 1: September 18, 2009, Friday

We fly via Cebu Pacific at around 1:30 p.m. The promo we availed was Go-Lite. Supposedly, our schedule was 8:00 a.m. but the airlines has policy that the boarding gate closes 45 minutes before departure and passengers should have already checked-in 30 minutes prior to departure. Unluckily, we arrived at around 7:30 a.m. at NAIA Terminal 3, so we were technically late for boarding. We paid Php 17,000.00 as penalty charge. What a way to earn profit...

But with as the saying goes, "there is a purpose for everything." And how lucky we are because we bumped into Mr. Gabby Concepcion, one of the Philippine's finest actor. I never thought that Mr. Concepcion is very warm and accomodating. He even pose for a picture with my mom, sister and myself.

We took our lunch at Mr. Donut by buying their sandwich or turnovers. I grabbed a bite of Tuna turnover and bottle of mineral water. We also purchased 14 packs of Kopi Roti Coffee Bun as take home to my cousins and relatives. Well, after 6 hours of waiting, we were about to board the plane bound to Cebu.

Upon arrival we visited our cousin who owns a cellphone shop at Mandaue. Dinner time was spent by eating grilled liempo, chicken and chorizo along with pochero at Neoneo Grillery.

After the sumptuous dinner, we checked-in at Jacinta Pension House in preparation for our Bantayan Island trip the following day.

Day 2: September 19, 2009, Saturday

We woke up at around 4:00 a.m. and checked-out of the pension house. Our uncle drove us to Ceres Bus Terminal so that we can go to Hignayan Port and ride a ferry on our way to Sta. Fe Beach Club. It was a 2.5 hour trip from the terminal to the port.

We checked-in at Sta. Fe Beach Club resort. I should say, the hotel is affordable.

We rented a boat so that we can have some island hopping.

The view was really breath-taking especially when we went to the neighboring island. The island is not yet fully developed. My cousin told me that it is a Virgin Island. What a way to relax by watching the tranquility of the beach. We also had lunch by the island. It was really a feast because we had grilled liempo (pork belly), fish and crabs, plus a pot of rice to partake.

I was able to get a glimpse of the coral from the boat.

This is the Sugar Beach. It was named so because the sands are sugary in texture.

We also went to Ogtong Cave, also in Sta. Fe. It is a pool that is cave-like in structure. But we did not stayed long because we have to go to our cousin and have dinner with him.

Day 3: September 20, 2009, Sunday

We checked out at Sta. Fe Beach Club at around 8 a.m. But we also had a photo op inside our hotel room. Then we fetch our cousin and take the ferry bound to Hignayan Port.

From there we rented a van from the port to my mom's hometown to attend the Fiesta.

It was another feast. There is lechon, hamonado, baked macaroni, fish and shell fish. There are also some desserts served not only to us but also our guest.

We left our ancestral home at around 10 p.m. and we checked-in again at Jacinta Pension House to call it a night.

Day 4: September 21, 2009, Monday

We woke up at around 7:00 a.m. to pack and freshen up. We have to check out at around 9 a.m. to go to Magellan's Cross and the Sto. Nino Basilica.

There are so many devotees lining up to get the glimpse of the Sto. Nino.

Before boarding, we went to Park Mall and took our lunch at Joven's Grill and Seafood. The service is buffet so I was able to eat well. In fact I did not took my dinner upon arriving to Manila because I'm really full.

At around 2:00 p.m., we checked in at the Mactan International Airport. We arrived ahead of schedule @ around 5:05 p.m., 10 minutes in advance.

The Cebu experience is worth relaxing. I never regretted every single minute of it. I was about to upload some pictures and update my blog, unfortunately our computer hardware crashed therefore giving me a luxury to publish my experience only now...