Good Morning Mactan Island! (Part 1 of my Cebu Day Tour)

We had a very early second day in Cebu. I was so excited that I was not able to get a proper sleep and I end up waking a little bit earlier than planned. But knowing how kupad I am in preparing, G.p end up a bit pissed as I had to rush back to our hotel room twice because I forgot something. :-P

Taxis are everywhere in Cebu. If you ever ask a local how to go to a specific place, they’ll simply tell you to hail a cab.

We reached the South entrance of the Ayala Mall at exactly 9AM. But because of some unfortunate events, we end up having a very early stroll at the mall.

Photo session while waiting for the mall to open. :)

Black Scoop Neck Dress from the US | Green Beaded Bracelets | Black and Gold Bangles | Huge round ring made of wood

Abaca Sandals, thrifted (Php150) | Bayong from EGG

I’m always on my phone! Yay! Doing some business while on vacay and yet I never fail to pose! Me already!

Since we had 1 hour to spare, we had breakfast at Seattle’s Best. We really wanted to go to Starbucks but it’s quite far so we just settled ourselves here. I am not much hungry and G.p eats like a cockroach so we just got Chocolate Donut with crushed almonds and a Javachip Javakula to cool us off. G.p didn’t like the donut much but I love the Javakula.

We went back to the Turista Desk at exactly 10AM and settled on the couch provided on their reception. We didn’t have to wait long as Kristina, the Cebu Trip Tour guide, arrived on time. Wow! She greeted us with a warm smile and introduced herself. We then headed to our van to meet the other tourist that will be joining us on the tour. We have the Australians, the Norwegians and of course, us, the Manila Girls! Feeling Turista talaga!

The moment everyone has settled, Kristina’s Tour Guide mode automatically starts. She then went on and on explaining everything there is to know about Cebu City and Cebu in general. She turned on the radio for us to hear a Cebuano DJ greet us. As in we’re all being greeted in Cebu!! In a local Cebu radio station. How cool is that?

Kristina also gave us lots of FYI about the buildings and the places in Cebu. She even have lots of Showbiz info. This building that we passed by according to her is a hospital/school owned by the Larazabals, Donna Cruz’ husband. Whoa!

Mactan Island is separate from the mainland Cebu, but they are connected by this multi-million bridge built during the Ramos administration.

That other bridge is the old and smaller Mactan Bridge built during the Marcos administration. :) See? That’s a bit of history now. Our driver mentioned the cost of each bridge but I forgot to jot it down. hehe..

Our first stop is the Mactan Shrine in Mactan Island, Lapu-Lapu City. G.p and I are uber fond of the Norwegian kid so I took this stolen shot. Guys, meet the Norwegians! They are from Oslo, Norway but the father is Spanish while the mother is Vietnamese. Their son, Jonathan, speaks Norwegian, English and Spanish to boot. Not to mention he’s uber cute!! Adorable!

Oh! I heard this bags and wallets calling me so I can’t help but check them out. :-P Shoppingera much? Kristina and G.p had to drag me away from these love.

I got my souvenirs from this shop. My friends are all telling me how nice the bags in Cebu are so I got mini shoulder bags for only Php 50 each. Key chains cost Php 10. I also got wallets made from coconut shell for only Php 100/3pcs.

Finally, our first stop. Magellan’s Shrine. The spot was believed to be the exact area where Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu during the battle of Mactan hundreds of years ago. I’m so lame in history so I would suggest you just Google about it. :-P

While on this very shore, hundreds of years ago, the great battle happened. It was weird knowing that the very spot I’m standing holds great history.

Cebu City is very sunshiny. So you’ll see me with my purple umbrella at all times. :-)

Also on the Mactan Shrine is the Lapu-Lapu Monument. These monument serves as a tribute to Philippines’ first hero. The strong warrior who defeated the great Magellan. See? It takes a Filipino to kill one of the greatest voyager in history. Although this monument reminds me so much of Aljur and his Machete looks. hahaha… I wonder if Lapu-Lapu really looks like this, with the abs and all. :-P

I don’t know what these are but I guess it’s part of the Mactan-Battle-hundreds-of-years-ago-look. As according to Kristina, every year, the Cebuanos are re-enacting the Battle of Mactan with famous celebrities playing Magellan and Lapu-Lapu. For the past two years, its Manny Pacquiao as Lapu-Lapu and Dennis Trillo as Magellan. Big-time!

I specifically ask G.p to take photos of me with the foreign tourist. Para sosyal! Here, you’ll see the Australians.

Here’s another view of the Magellan Shrine. I guess each side holds different names of the some great voyagers. Not really sure. Don’t quote me on that! Haha..

    

Here you’ll see the Australians posing on the plaque where they said Magellan breathe his last. (naks! dramatic?) They also have a wonderful painting of the Battle of Mactan as their background.

Cebu is also known for their guitars and Mactan Island has lots of guitar factories. We went to one of the biggest and the best guitar factory in Cebu, Allegre Guitars.

We we’re greeted by Manong tour guide who explains everything there is to know about guitars. The type of woods used. The different designs INSIDE a guitar which cause the difference in sound. He told us that it takes 6 years just to dry the woods to be used in guitar making to ensure that there is no moisture left. That no nails are used in making guitars so they have to glue the woods together and tie them securely. Whoa! No wonder guitars are that expensive.

Manong doing his “speech”.

The different designs INSIDE the guitars.

Factory guys making guitars.

Brianna posing with this big guitar. I don’t know what it’s called. Maybe a cello? haha..

G.p and the very gwapo Jonathan with the Ukuleles as their background.

Their souvenir shop. G.p got me a guitar bookmark for Php 60. A bit pricey but it’s expected since tourist are always visiting them. They also have key chains for Php 25-40 but if you’re a thrift buyer like me, I suggest you don’t buy them from here as you can get them for only Php 10.

After the guitar factory, we then headed back to Cebu City to have our lunch. But now, we passed by the old bridge. See? We were able to have a quick tour of the Mactan Islands in roughly around 2hrs. Not bad at all.

If you want to try Cebu Trip Tours you may visit their Facebook page here. They offer Cebu City-Mactan tour for only Php1200 per pax including lunch. Not bad really! And they have the best tour guides ever. Will blog about them soon. :)

Cebu Philippines Travel