Cebu [Again!] Photo Diary

Note: This Cebu trip was from November 3-5. I have so many backlogsssss.

Once again we found ourselves in the beautiful queen city of south to have a second go in Oslob. We were rewarded with a wonderful weather this time.

Chicharon stop at Carcar, home of the original chicharon.

These trees provided shade from the grueling sun. I had a great time gazing at their almost yellow leaves.

Whale sharks encounter version 2.0. We might have an underwater camera ready but the water current wasn't coordinating. It was too strong hence, water was murky. :(

Nevertheless, we still enjoyed our 30-minute rendezvous with the gentle giants. They are still adorable.

JC's dad dropped us in Argao to have a taste of their famous Torta (not the eggplant).

Then at the Marian Church of Simala located in Sibonga, Cebu. Apparently, many devotees flock this church to pay homage to the miraculous Virgin Mary. The architecture was grand and pretty awesome, the turrets alone make you feel like you're in Barcelona or somewhere in Spain, not that I've been there already.

We arrived in the middle of the afternoon in what we felt as the hour when the sun was at its angriest point. It was ridiculously hot it was utter madness. But that didn't stop the devotees and tourists from coming in - young and old alike - so who are we to complain?

Besides, we get to stay in here for a day.

Lunch is a feast.

Staying in Catmon will always be a delight. I at least get to have a taste of "the life" even for some measly hours.

Dropped by Skills & Bones store to score some new shirts, unfortunately for the Cheese there are no more available sizes for him. So I just took this photo instead. I want that Di Ingon Nato sticker too!

Cebu trips will never be complete without dropping by our favorite Ayala resto that serves affordable steaks: Casa Verde! Although, we notice that each year prices seem to be getting steeper. Oh no, Casa Verde has gone mainstream! lol.

For a such a short visit it sure was fun and relaxing at the same time. I just love Cebu. 

Lastly, I just had to take a quick snapshot of our plane before we took off for Manila. It's more fun in the Philippines!

Southern Cebu Roadtrip

Note: This is just a continuation of this post.

The good thing about knowing someone in Cebu (or any other place) is that you don't get stuck in doing touristy stuff over and over again. Or commuting. Even though our swag multicab is not the most glamorous ride in the world (and it comes with awful lot of disadvantages) at least we got to our destinations for free and we had the best view.

We left Mandaue a little before 5 in the morning. Our agenda that day: swimming with whale sharks. IF there were any. See, I'm not really sure if we'll see them because basing from my researches, the latest blog that I read was from 3 months ago. They could be out of the Visayan water for all I know so we went on a hunch here.

The sun isn't out yet

But lo and behold.

When we arrived in Oslob town, JC's dad immediately turned left at the first beach resort we saw where people are already queuing to catch the next boat out onto the sea. From where I was standing, I can see the boats in neat little lines not far from the shore probably having a wonderful time spotting some butanding!

This is their rate which is I think is standard in all resorts. Left one is for locals, right one are for foreigners. Huge difference!

I committed a major booboo in this trip by forgetting to pack a boardshorts. So dedma na sa sangkalibutan but I wore a bikini while swimming with whale sharks, hindi naman sila natakot sakin, I think.

After a short breakfast, we paid for our fees and then hopped into our I'ts more fun in the Philippines boat with two manong, one sitting in front and the other one at the rear.

First stop: a short briefing about do's and don'ts in whale sharks encounter. Absolutely no touching. No swimming in front or directly behind the whale shark. Keep a distance of 3 feet (or was it meters? sheeeet I forgot!). Basta yun! No flash photography. No worries there because we don't have an underwater camera anyway and I refuse to pay 500 pesos worth of camera rent. Babalik na lang ako uy! I know, such losers. As for the swimming, I'm proud to say that even though the temptation of touching them was shoved right into my face, I didn't give in. I didn't touch them.

So this is the only photo I got of a butanding in my camera. The rest was taken from Lyn's camera.

In the photo below, JC looked so happy and scared at the same time. But that's normal in the first few minutes. The guide said that our 30 minutes of whale shark encounter begins when we see our first butanding so it was a mad dash to get into the water because you know, 30 minutes is like 3 minutes when you're having too much fun.

The many butanding that we saw are pretty small, almost like babyish in size. You can easily recognize the difference of a Donsol butanding to an Oslob butanding (google it!). But 10-20 feet sized mammal is still massive! You can't really help but be scared at first even though I always tell (and know) myself that these creatures will never eat/harm human, that they are the gentlest creature ever.

So yeah, size can be really daunting. But after the initial scare, the rush of excitement and childlike happiness eventually replaced the mini scare. And that bastard panghihinayang at the corner of my brain for not documenting this precious moment? I momentarily forgot about it. The good thing about not having a camera with you is that you get to soak in and enjoy the experience more without having to worry of that perfect shot worthy to be your next Facebook profile photo. Regrets came back when it was all over haha.

There will always be next time. The whale sharks of Oslob won't go anywhere, they are (GOOD NEWS) there all year round (except that one time when there was an earthquake, the whale sharks have gone MIA, I asked our guide). So I will come back na lang, in NOVEMBER 3-5 :))

After the 30-minute whale shark encounter we were back ashore. I had a quick shower and we were off again. JC's dad continued driving down south - Cebu's southernmost - where a perfect view of Dumaguete was waiting for us. Le sigh. We stopped at a few towns here and there and who would've thought we'll be back in Moalboal shoreline once again?

Naulanan lang kami ng bongga dito but I have good memories of Moalboal from 3 years ago it would not dampen my mood.

An hour more from Moalboal we finally stopped in Barili and had our lunch in Mantayupan Falls, picnic-style!

Mantayupan Falls is Cebu's tallest falls. I'm not sure if because it's a Sunday hence throngs of people picnicking (and swimming) or if it's a normal thing.

Then we were back on the road again. Molave Milk Station was our last pit stop for the day. We each had an ice cream made from carabaos and cows' milk. Tama ba yung wordplay?

Another more hour and we're back to the city. We just had to drop by here:

Too bad it was closed despite the store hours posted on the door. Maybe because it was a Sunday? I don't know. So a slightly disappointed Cheese must come back tomorrow.

Up next, Ayala Center Cebu food trip post!

Back in Cebu!

It's been a long while since I was in Cebu so I was pretty excited for this break away from the office VBs. Our flight (via Airphil Express) went smoothly, no delays wow! We landed at exactly 8am in Mactan International Airport where JC's dad was waiting for us. We went to his brand new house in Mandaue City which reminded me a lot of  JC's aunt place in NorthTown, just smaller. 

A sneak peak.

We had these for breakfast. Fresh na fresh!

After breakfast we hung out at JC's dad office (trucking business hehe) while waiting for Lyn to get her hair done. But first, we dropped by here and bought a kilo of lechon for our lunch later.

When all 3 of us got too bored out of our wits, we decided to follow Lyn and wait for her at Pacific Mall. We sat/walked at the food court and bought some fruits in the grocery. JC and I even managed to play a game of hoops in Worlds of Fun. hwoo.


Finally hair got fixed and we were on the road to Balamban. It was my first time in that area. Balamban is like Cebu's version of Tagaytay/Baguio. It's cool and full of greeneries.

We dropped by his Aunt's yet another vacation house. Construction was still going on but you can already make out that this'll be one very cool vacation house once it's finished. Oh to be rich and famous.

There's a trend of furniture used in each of their many houses: woods and this from photo below, whatever that material is. Rattan? Buri? Basta. those furniture made by Cobonpue, they have that! No surprise there, the guy came from Cebu.

I love the design of these table and chairs!

The pond is still under construction...

Look! Heart-shaped pond. Cheesy! hahaha

I love this bamboo tree. So huge! It looks so calming.

After our late lunch here, we hopped back into the car then proceeded to our real purpose of coming to Balamban: zipline! 

We went to Adventure Cafe which boasts as the first Resto Adventure in the Philippines. Pretty neat! Besides, fee is only 150 pesos. Very affordable.

We're going on the other side. Exciting!

Here's JC and I after our harnesses have been strapped, donning Black Diamond helmets (ang soshal!).

I always get scared pre-ride, be they extreme theme rides, wall climbing or ziplines kaya grabe ang paalala ko kay Kuya na wag muna nya ko itulak hangga't hindi pa ko handa feeling ko kasi tatraydurin nya ko hahaha. Once I got over past that anxiety attack, adrenaline rush started to kick in and the time of my life ensued, well, more or less 30 seconds of it.

Here are the videos JC took of our ride :))

On our way back to the city, we stopped by Marlito's Pink House to buy veggies and fruits. Mang Marlito is gay (thus the pink house) but he has a wife and children and gives huge discounts to suking mamimili. Win!

Lots of freshly picked tomatoes.

The guyabano that JC's dad bought from Mang Marlito was made into guyabano shake when we got home and I LOVED it so much I wish I could have it everyday.

We also bought sweet corn from Manong Marlito which was so good that even after eating rice, shrimps and lechon I ate another half serving of sweet corn. What is PG?

Great first day in Cebu!

Cebu Valentine

Valentine's day has never been a big deal for me. Pero siguro before I admit may pagka-Bitter Ocampo lang din akong konti sa mga taong ang sasaya lang tuwing Vday not because they have jowas but because they have chocolates and/or stuff given to them by their jowas hahaha. Labo.

This was the Cheese and I's very first out-of-town Vday celebration (na di naman pasok sa mismong 14 haha flop), chillax at sobrang pampered in Cebu, wala akong masabi. Kahit may away on the side, oh well, love conquers all CHOS. In my case, a hungry tummy with no money conquered it all. Aarte pa ko e wala kong pera that time.

I don't get the flower-giving hullaballoos every 14th of February but if that's your thing hey who am I to judge you, ika nga, walang basagan ng trip! Personally, I never saw the practicality of of giving and receiving one. Bigyan mo na lang ako eraser or chocnut mas matutuwa pa ko haha.

And yes, sinadya kong magpost the day after para kunwari hindi cheesy LOL. Belated happy commercialism er Valentine's day everyone. Give love not just on Christmas and Valentine's days, dapat araw-araw may chocolate para good mood palagi ayiii!

Can't Get Enough Of Cebu

Last June 10-June 13, we spent some 3 oh-so-fun days in the Queen City of South. One can never get enough of Cebu, you just keep on coming back. Maybe it's the beautiful beaches, cheap-oh-so-yummy food, the lechon or even the Cebuanos who won't answer you in Tagalog even if you can't understand any Bisaya in your life (I do a little haha).

But whatever it is that Cebu has inflicted on me, I will surely come back for more. Like now na? Heehee.


At least when we were there, we were still blessed with sunny days, it's only at night that it rains really hard. But it was tolerable.

Aaaah. What could anyone say about Cebu's lechon? Winner to the max. It's not everyday you get to eat one for a very affordable price! Usually, we only have lechon here in Manila if there's a banquet. Okay maybe not a banquet, say wedding. Or graduation party. Or christening. You know those special ocassions only whereas in Cebu, even the ordinary Manongs and Manangs can eat it anytime of the day.


And I'm real glad that I spent those three days with the three most amazing persons I know. Let's go baaaaack guys! :D

Where I've Been Lately

Nadismaya ko sa kaliitan nya. Kala ko super laki. Ayun.

Wonderful, wonderful creature..


Ayan na ang mukhang nagmamaktol. Blame the sweaty-icky-injured feet.

Fist underwater pikachur together! *grins*

Vacations should always involve hammocks and sandy beaches while sipping on a fresh buko juice. Haaaay. Gusto ko ulit ng dagat, kulang pa ang kanegnegan!