A TASTE OF PARADISE: QUEEN CITY OF THE SOUTH (CEBU, PHILIPPINES)
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Last September 2016, my college friends and I went to Cebu for our group port tour. Cebu City is the capital of Cebu in the Philippines and it is dubbed as “Queen City of the South” because apart from the fact that it is the home of more than 80% of the country’s inter-island shipping companies, it is also the main hub of international flights into the country (outside Metro Manila) and the center of commerce, trade and industry in Visayas and Mindanao.
We booked round trip tickets from Manila to Cebu for 4 days and 3 nights and we were also the ones who made our own itinerary for the whole trip. We chose Cebu because this particular place has plenty of wonderful things to offer and we haven’t been there, so why not? We allocated our first two days for our port tour and the rest for our adventures.
We stayed at Shangri-La’s Mactan Resort and Spa, Cebu, for 4 days and 3 nights. I decided to explore the place right after we checked in because it’s so beautiful and every corner is indeed instagrammable. A short walk along the beach front leads to an underwater adventure where you encounter diverse species of fish, clams, and coral on a snorkeling tour.
We allocated our first two days in Cebu for the port tour because we believe that "ACADS BEFORE LAKADS" and this is to make sure that everything's done before we go to adventures. Here are some photos of our port tour in Cebu.
We have successfully finished everything after two whole days in Port of Cebu. It was really tiring but fulfilling. Big thanks to the Deputy Collector for Operations and Assessment, Atty. Romero, and CCBI President - Cebu, Mr. Jeff Bajao, for accommodating us.
It's Day 3 and it's adventure time! We woke up early for our Oslob adventure and left the hotel at 5am since Oslob is almost 3-hour away from Mactan. We rented a van going to Oslob that's why we were able to continue our sleep.
We included Oslob in our itinerary because we want to experience the Whale Shark Watching Adventure and I am so delighted that we did because I have gotten the opportunity to see the amazing Whale Shark up-close even though I did not get the chance to have a decent photo with that cutie because I was anxious and scared.
The water is so fishy that's why we took a bath right after the encounter with the Whale Shark. After 30 minutes, we rented a boat going to Sumilon Island.
Sumilon Island is a small island in the southern Cebu. To be honest, it is one of the most beautiful islands I have ever seen. One must include this in his itinerary when visiting Cebu.
These Koreans caught my attention because they were kinda rowdy but super cute while shooting a video blog (I guess?). You could really see and feel how happy they are to be on this beautiful island.
After that amazing island hopping to Sumilon Island and awesome encounter with the Whale Shark, we opted to visit the nearby tourist spots like Cuartel, Immaculate Concepcion Church and Baluarte.
Our Cebu adventure wouldn't be complete without visiting Simala Church. It is a castle-like church located in Marian Hills of upper Lindogon, Simala, Sibonga, Cebu. Devotees flock the shrine believing that their prayer requests would be granted.
This church is so wonderful and really looks like a castle. I honestly feel like I am in another country. After I took a few shots, we joined the line heading to the Statue of the blessed Virgin Mary.
So that's our Cebu adventure! It was extremely tiring BUT worth it! We're planning to go back this year to explore and visit the places that we've missed. Thank you for reading my blog! I hope gained something even a little. Anyway, I made a short video blog about this trip! Click here to watch!
DREAM BIG . WORK HARD . STAY HUMBLE .
Photos were taken by yours truly
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