Cebu is wonderful for sea activities, but you must visit the city and its attractions. You'll learn a lot about its diverse background and colonial history.
On the streets you'll see small fruit markets where you can buy mangoes and mangosteens. These are the BEST fruits in the world :O Make sure you buy a bag or two and keep them in your hotel fridge ;)
Onomnomnomnom
Hmm, I don't think we tried a bottle of Filipino rhum while we stayed. :/
Lots of schools and public buildings still used Spanish and seemed heavily influenced by Christianity. (haha, those high school Spanish classes weren't useless)
We finally arrived at the famous Magellan Church where the Magellan's Cross is.
A brief film of the Church - garden and hallway (It was very crowded)
Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who reached Cebu in 1521 and was a big part of the Philippines' Christianization and Spanish colonization.
I wonder if the statue on the right is a depiction of a Filipino person during the colonization?
The map of the Philippines - Magellan died in a battle with Lapu-Lapu, who was a ruler of the Mactan island. Apparently there were statues of Lapu-Lapu that I missed. He was one of the first native rulers to resist Spanish colonization.
Interesting painting. There was a sign saying the original Magellan's cross is encased inside the wooden cross. People believed that the original cross holds magical powers and they prayed and touched it to the point it was deteriorating.
Outside the church
Next, we go to the Beverly Hills of Cebu - it's where the rich Filipinos live, away from the poor area. It was a quiet neighborhood on the hills.
On top of the hills, there was a huge Taoist temple with lavish decorations. The architecture was interesting, a mixture of Chinese and tropical designs.
Photography of the inside was prohibited by the temple and all visitors had to be very quiet. I quickly turned my camera away from the temple because I didn't wanna get in trouble :P
On our way down the 99 steps
I wish we had more time to visit places :) We'll definitely come back to the Philippines soon.
Dinner :)
I'll post more about the resort next time.
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