Cebu

On the shore of Mactan, history feels close enough to touch. This is the exact place where the Battle of Mactan happened.

At first the Mactan Shrine feels like an ordinary park. There are trees, flowers, bamboo sheds, and wooden tribal statues. Then the memorial tower rises from the pavement, and the ground changes meaning. This is believed to be the spot where the great explorer fell.

Do not miss the huge mural of the Battle of Mactan. It shows the clash between the men of Lapu-Lapu and the men of Magellan at the water line. At the end of the park stands the giant monument of Datu Lapu-Lapu, facing the sea as if he still guards it. This beach is where the foreign troops came ashore.

I stood at the water and looked out. Calm water, a little marsh, a wooden platform by the shore. Then the weight of the place hit me. This is where it happened. The mural came back into my mind, and my skin prickled.

Here is what the record holds. On 27 April 1521, Datu Lapu-Lapu, the chief of Mactan, met the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan in the shallow water. Magellan was a Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain. He was killed, and his force was driven back. Filipinos remember this as the first recorded stand against foreign rule. The Mactan Shrine, also called the Liberty Shrine, stands today in Punta Engano, Lapu-Lapu City. It holds the bronze statue of Lapu-Lapu and a monument to Magellan.

This place is filled with courage and love of country. It is a reminder to never give up, even against a stronger force.

Magellan's Cross is still one of the most visited landmarks in Cebu. Cebuanos and travelers come to pay their respect, because it stands for the arrival of the Christian faith in the islands. To stand before it is a humbling experience.

The cross marks the year 1521, when the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan planted a wooden cross in Cebu. It is tied to the baptism of Rajah Humabon, his wife, and hundreds of their people. The site plaque gives the date as 21 April 1521, though historians place the first baptism a week earlier, on 14 April. Either way, this is where Christianity in the Philippines began.

The cross you see today sits inside a stone kiosk beside the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino. It is a hollow tindalo-wood cross that protects the original. The outer cross was added in the 1830s, because devotees kept chipping away pieces of the wood, which they believed held miraculous power.

If you visit the old center of Cebu City, this small kiosk is the heart of it.

Cebu carries the title Queen City of the South. It is the heart of Central Visayas and the place where western civilization and Christianity first took root in the country. To honor that history, a great monument stands in the old Parian district.

The Heritage of Cebu Monument was conceived by the multi-awarded sculptor Eduardo Castrillo. Work began in July 1997, and it was inaugurated on 8 December 2000, backed by the late Senator Marcelo Fernan and private donors.

The tableau is built from concrete, bronze, brass, and steel. It shows the key moments of Cebu history: the arrival of Magellan, the Battle of Mactan, the baptism of Rajah Humabon and his people, a procession of the Santo Nino, and scenes of Spanish-era religious and civic life. Figures such as President Sergio Osmena and the old Parian church also appear.

Standing on the original Plaza Parian, the monument gathers centuries of Cebuano history into one place.

A cathedra is the raised throne of a bishop. In the early Christian basilica it was the bishop's seat, the sign of his authority. The word gives us the term cathedral.

The cathedra of Cebu sits inside the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. This is the seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Cebu, dedicated to Saint Vitalis and the Immaculate Conception.

A place of worship was first set up here in 1565, after Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived. One point needs to be clear. The year 1565 marks the founding of the parish, not the building you see today. The present stone cathedral was raised over the following centuries and completed only in the early 1900s, then rebuilt after damage in the Second World War. Cebu became a diocese in 1595 and a full archdiocese in 1934.

In 2021 the Philippines marked 500 Years of Christianity, counted from 1521. Cebu, where that story began, stood at the center of the celebration.

There is a proverb, all roads lead to Rome. In Cebu City people say, all jeepneys lead to Colon. No matter which jeepney you ride, it will bring you to Colon or somewhere near it.

Colon Street is marked as the oldest street in the Philippines. By tradition it is credited to the Spaniards who came with Legazpi in 1565, and it was named after Cristobal Colon, the Spanish name for Christopher Columbus. One thing should be said plainly. The oldest street claim is disputed, and some historians question whether it truly predates other Spanish-era streets. Still, an obelisk at its northern end carries a marker from the National Historical Commission proclaiming it the oldest, in English, Filipino, and Cebuano.

The northern end of Colon meets Parian, once the district of wealthy Chinese-Filipino merchants. The street has seen better days, with crowding and petty crime, yet it remains a National Historical Landmark woven into centuries of Cebuano life.

A tip for visitors. Make Colon your landmark. If you ever feel lost in the old city, find your way back to Colon, because all jeepneys lead there.

Plaza Sugbu is the public square at the very heart of old Cebu City. It links the Cebu City Hall with the kiosk of Magellan's Cross, right beside the Basilica del Santo Nino.

The plaza was shaped in its present form in 2008, part of a project to clean up and beautify the historic downtown. It once carried the name Plaza Rizal. You may see the name written as Plaza Sugbo or Plaza Sugbu. Both are used.

Small as it is, the plaza sits where the whole story of Cebu comes together. Within a few steps stand the cross, the basilica, and the seat of city government. To cross Plaza Sugbu is to walk through the founding ground of the city.

A warm welcome to the beautiful Bantayan Island, in Santa Fe, northern Cebu.

I first traveled to Bantayan in 2021, to rest and to enjoy the natural beauty here. It remains one of the best beaches in the Philippines.

Work can drain the life out of us. Deadlines, hard clients, traffic, and the noise of the city all pile up. Sometimes you need to stop and breathe before the stress wins. Bantayan is the place for that.

The island is known for its powdery white sand, its sandbars, and its calm, clear water. The view alone is enough to melt the tension you carry. Bantayan sits in the north of Cebu and is shared by three towns: Santa Fe in the south, with the best beaches, Bantayan town in the center, with its old church, and Madridejos in the north, a fishing village.

Getting there takes a little planning. From Cebu City, ride a bus for about three to four hours to Hagnaya Port in San Remigio. From Hagnaya, take the ferry to Santa Fe, which is around one to one and a half hours. Check the schedule before you go.

Relax, refresh, recharge. Bantayan gives you the room to do all three.

Your Cebu trip is not complete until you have swum beside a butanding, the whale shark, even if the gentle giant turns its back on you.

Come early. Leave before dawn to beat the traffic and reach Tan-awan in Oslob while the crowd is small. Arrive after six in the morning and the lines are already long. The orientation begins early, and groups are sent out in batches.

Follow the rules in the water. Keep your distance from the whale sharks and stay near the boat. Sometimes a butanding drifts close on its own, and that is enough to take your breath away.

One honest note. The Oslob activity is popular but controversial. Since around 2011, local operators have hand-fed the whale sharks with small shrimp to keep them near the shore every day. Marine scientists warn that this changes the natural behavior and migration of the animals, teaches them to link boats with food, and raises the risk of injury. It is worth knowing this before you decide to join.

Cebu is full of adventures. Daghang salamat, many thanks.

Maayong adlaw from Cebu, good day to you.

Canyoneering was the most extreme thing I did in the Queen City of the South, and the highlight of my whole trip. It is wild, but it is fun.

The route runs through the mountains. It usually starts upstream in Alegria, along the Kanlaob River, and ends downstream at Kawasan Falls in Badian. Along the way you hike, swim, raft, climb, and leap from ledges into deep pools. Some of the jumps are high, so you need courage.

Kawasan itself is a set of turquoise waterfalls fed by mineral springs, tucked into a green gorge about two and a half hours from the city. The color of the water alone is worth the trip.

What you need most is nerve. Bring it, and you will enjoy every minute.

If you still dream of a perfect getaway, head to Carnaza Island in Daanbantayan, at the far north of Cebu. This is the place to disconnect from the internet and escape the noise of the city.

Come prepared. Carnaza has long had only limited power, usually from about seven in the morning to ten at night, so bring a flashlight and a power bank. Mobile signal is weak, which is part of the point. The island runs largely on solar power and fishing, though wider electrification is now on the way.

At night, under a clear sky, you can lie on the fine white sand, watch the stars, and listen to the waves. It is a simple reminder of how blessed we are to witness such beauty.

Enjoy kaayo, gyud, truly enjoy it.

Cebu holds many places worth seeing, and the Temple of Leah is one of them. The first time I visited, I felt goosebumps. A dream come true.

The temple stands on a hill in Barangay Busay, above Cebu City. It was built by the businessman and engineer Teodorico Adarna as a tribute to his wife of fifty-four years, Leah Villa Albino-Adarna. Grand columns, stone lions, and a tall statue of Leah give it the look of a Roman temple. People call it the Taj Mahal of Cebu, a monument of love. Construction began around 2012, and it opened to the public in 2015.

When you see the temple and feel the cool mountain air, you understand the feeling behind it. This is the love of Teodorico for Leah, built in stone for everyone to see.

When we travel, we do not only enjoy the sights. We enjoy the food and the pasalubong, the gifts we bring home. In Cebu, one of the best reasons to visit is danggit.

Danggit is dried, salted rabbitfish, split flat and sun-dried. It is a classic Cebuano breakfast, served crisp with rice and vinegar. You can buy dried fish in many parts of Cebu, but locals point you to the Taboan Public Market. It can be hard to find if you do not know the city, but you will know you are close once you catch the smell of the fish.

At Taboan you can buy danggit, pusit, which is dried squid, fish tocino, and much more. Prices have climbed with demand, starting around 800 pesos a kilo. The famous dried mangoes and the crisp otap biscuits are sold here too, ready as pasalubong.

Lami kaayo, very delicious.