Trip to Cebu - Day 2

Our second day in Cebu was sort of uneventful. We went to my relatives' place in Lahug in the morning up until noon before going to Mactan Shrine. We intentionally skipped Magellan's Cross knowing that it's in a crowded place, according to my research.

A pose at Magellan's Shrine

Mactan Shrine is located in Mactan Island, Cebu and is dedicated in honor of Lapu-Lapu, Ferdinand Magellan, and the Battle of Mactan. The shrine was erected on the supposed spot where the battle took place. (source: http://explorephilippines.org/destination/mactan-shrine)

The monument of Lapu-Lapu

Although there were lots of vendors selling souvenir items (which was common in tourist spots), the shrine was organised and clean. I could see that the locals are really taking good care of the place. You would find monument dedicated to Magellan and another monument dedicated to Lapu-Lapu.

After looking at the whole place and taking some photos, we went to our next destination, which was in Cordova, Cebu to visit another relative. We had a sumptuous dinner after a short meet and greet and headed home. I was personally hoping our third day would be the fun I was looking for.

Trip to Cebu - 09/2011 - Day 1

Cebu has always been part of my bucket list for places to visit in the Philippines. And it was not because I was thrilled to explore the city, but because of the neighboring islands Malapascua and Bantayan. Not to mention Bohol is also very accessible from Cebu City.

It was one of those regular internet sessions when I stumbled upon the airfare sale of Cebu Pacific Air and was able to book a flight for 2 from Manila to Cebu for me and hubby, and a flight for 6 from Davao to Cebu for my family. We paid a total of more or less Php 6,000.00 for all 8 of us, two-way. It was indeed a great deal!

This was our first out of town trip after El Nido. Too bad for me, my camera broke down at the airport while we were waiting for boarding. I could not stand the thought of me travelling without my digital camera. It would be a waste of time not to capture and document the places we planned to visit. :( Good thing that my sister brought hers. :)

We arrived in Cebu City around noon while my family are estimated to arrive early in the evening. We immediately looked for a place to spend the night with, which was not easy because we did not make any reservations. After hours of searching for a decent place, we finally found Apple Tree Suites. We paid for Php 950.00 for a night for an air-conditioned room with a queen bed, which was not bad at all considering it's very close to Osmeña Circle.

Dinner with family and relatives

Time went by swiftly and before we knew it, my family just landed. We had them pick us up from Apple Tree Suites and proceeded to have dinner with my family and relatives living in Cebu. We had barbeque. It was not fancy, but it was fun. And we called it a day!

Backpost: Loleng's Mountain Resort

November 2010 - I and then boyfriend went home from Manila to Davao for vacation and to make our engagement formal to both our families. After the meeting, we also spent time with our own families. They went to Mergrande Beach Resort (but unfortunately their photos were deleted by accident) and we went to Loleng's Mountain Resort.

Doves in the park

Loleng's Mountain Resort is located in Eden, Bayabas, Toril, Davao City. According to their website, lolengs.com, the resort is 3, 000 feet above sea level and is 95% man-made with over 100, 000 pine trees spread throughout the 80-hectare land.

We rented a multicab going there and left around 7am. Though it was a cemented road going to the resort, the multicab had difficulty because of the elevation. The view was also very pleasant to the eyes.

The Lagoon

We paid a Php 50.00 entrance fee to have access to their open park and chapel. There's also a lagoon where you can rent a small boat, but it was not available while we were there. There were doves in the park and I could see that the place was well-maintained. It was clean and peaceful.

They also have a small pool whose water came from a nature spring. To swim in the pool, you have to pay another Php 50.00. The water was very cold and refreshing. It would be very nice to dip in their pool during a very hot day.

The Pool

Loleng's Mountain Resort also has a convention center and some cottages for visitors wishing to stay overnight. All in all, it was a nice experience for a family gathering.

Trip to El Nido, Palawan - Day 4

Still tired from the previous day's island hopping, we decided to just rest and explore the rest of the town of El Nido. We started the day late. It was almost noon when we left La Casa Teresa. We had lunch at El Nido Boutique, tried their yummy and fresh homemade pizza and bought some souvenirs after that.

El Nido Boutique's fresh pizza

After walking a couple of blocks, we decided to rent a motorcycle and headed north. The bike rental store was so kind to give us a map to a nice beach in the north. We were also told that we'll pass by a small waterfalls on our way there.

Clean beach of El Nido town

El Nido's office of the government

We carefully looked at each of the road signs to make sure we won't miss the falls. And from the jump-off point, we walked for almost an hour before we reached the falls. It was not so great as it was really just a small waterfalls. Plus the fact that it was summer, so it was almost dried up as well. After some photo-ops, we decided to leave.

The waterfalls

After around 30 minutes, we finally found the beach. It has long and wide shoreline. The sand was cream in color, but almost white. It was very peaceful as no other tourists were there. If you are a good swimmer, I think you would also enjoy the beach. If we could only stay there a little bit longer, but we needed to go back as it was past 4PM.

The long and peaceful El Nido beach up north

It may have been our last day in El Nido, but it was also very memorable. We left early morning the following day for Puerto Princesa and left for Manila. If given a chance, I would love to go back with my family. We also thank the staff of La Casa Teresa for a wonderful accommodation.

w/La Casa Teresa staff