Trip to Cebu

I had my first out-of-the-metro getaway from January 14 to 17. It was a memorable family trip, and I think it's best to list the down the reasons why.

1. It's my first time to attend a novena mass for the celebrated Sinulog Festival;
2. My boyfriend had the chance to bond with my family apart from his usual Sunday visits at home;
3. My first cousin San-san finally tied the knot with the love of her life;
4. I also fulfilled my silent longing to see Moalboal's white beach; and
5. After almost a decade, I got the chance to see some of my relatives, mostly in mint condition.

Hence, my eagerness to blog about this trip.

 January 14, 2010

We took the 8 a.m. flight via Cebu Pacific. Mind you, my family was already at the NAIA-3 terminal two (2) hours before the flight. Yep, I'm blessed with obsessive-compulsive (OC) parents. Hahaha! My boyfriend arrived thirty minutes later since he's from Makati.

My brother Popo is the most scaredy-cat during airplane take-offs. He has been travelling with my parents since he was a kid, and up until now, he still gets ghost-white whenever there's an air turbulence and during take-offs. I think he got this unfounded fear of flying from watching too much action films.

We stayed at Carcar Travellers Inn in Valladolid, Carcar City, a two-hour ride from Cebu City. We opted to stay there as my aunt's house is predictably full of relatives who will be attending my cousin's wedding.

The picture on the right typifies a "nosebleed" moment. My boyfriend hails from Leyte and he can only understand basic Cebuano terms.

After lunch at my aunt's house, my boyfriend and I headed to Cebu City to roam around or "suroy-suroy". We hitched a ride with cousin San-san and his fiance Jerwin to the city. Below are my pics at the Magellan's Cross, a famous landmark of the Queen City of the South.

Inday was here.

My amen pose.

"KANDOL, bai!"

Cebu locals who are peddling candles near the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño (Church of the Holy Child), touted to be the oldest church in the Philippines, usually pronounced their merchandise as "kandol". It's uniquely Cebuano! It feels like home to me.

At this point, rain began to pour. We attended the 2:30 PM mass/novena which was held in the Pilgrim Center. The latter is sort of an extension of the Basilica because hundreds of devotees are expected to attend the week-long celebration of Sinulog. The "Batobalani sa Gugma" (Magnet of Love) song was sung accompanied by swaying of hands by the devotees who were, mind y'all, soaked up.

After the mass, we went to SM City Cebu armed with a big appetite. We ate at Cowrie Grill, a Filipino-themed resto.