South of Cebu

Last Sunday, my parents and I went down south of Cebu for our monthly visit to the miraculous Mama Mary at Simala Cebu but we weren't able to go up the church because of the long line of people even at an early morning hour so, we decided to go down south to its neighbouring town. And here are a few photos of our adventures. 

Carcar City, Cebu

Carcar City Cebu is home to handmade leather shoes and crafted slippers and of course the famous Pork Chicharon. My mom and I always end up hitting their shoe expo space to check out cute slippers and crafted shoes at a very low price. 

Shoe - slipper prices ranges from 90 to 380 pesos :) My favourites are their espadrilles with knitted/crocheted materials :)

 

Apart from Pork Chicharon, Carcar City is also known for its Ampao or Rice Crispy - Filipino style. A pack of 5 Ampao cost around 100 pesos. For a freshly cooked Chicharon (Mat Mat is my favourite brand), 1/4 would cost around 200 pesos. You can buy all these treats at the central rotunda in Carcar City :)

Sibonga Cebu

The Miraculous Church of Mama Mary in Simala, Sibonga Cebu. On regular days and Sundays the line going to the image is normal and the place is not crowded but on special days, the line could reach up to the outside gates. 

This is a view from the other side fronting the church. This is the area, where you can do the way of the cross. The centre dome is home to the blessed miraculous image of Mama Mary and a museum of the different Mama Mary's all over the world and the gowns that she have worn on special occasions. The small cottages on the bottom are for visitors who wants to take some rest, do some picnics and just take shades from the sun. There's also a small fountain like on the centre of the park below :)

This is my favourite part after lining and going up to the blessed image. Lighting of candles and offering my prayers. The view from this wing is spectacular :)

This was just part of the long queues last Sunday. The visitors were on high because of Mama Mary's birthday celebration. A friend told me that, people would actually stay overnight for a vigil and when the clock strikes 12 midnight of the 8th of September, all the lights are turned off and a fireworks lights up the sky to greet Mama Mary a happy birthday. Maybe one day, I'll try experiencing it too.

From city proper to Simala, it will take about 2 hours by road depending on traffic.

Argao Cebu

Argao Cebu is home to the famous Torta and Torta cookies. The latter is a personal favourite which I can indulged an entire pack with one sitting :)

Here's a photo of Argao's torta and cookies. Their torta treats is made from coconut wine "tuba" which makes it extra special but it doesn't make you drunk. The cookies are to die for. A box of 12 for the freshly baked tortas is priced at 450 while the cookies are sold at 90 per pack. Tortas can last for one week while the cookies last for one month if kept sealed and refrigerated.

Took this photo just outside of Carmen's (the famous torta makers in Argao). You will surely not missed their food place because it is just along the street. It's a good venue for a quick stop over for refreshments, food and rest.

Dalaguete Cebu

Next town is Dalaguete Cebu, where traditional vintage spanish era buildings still exists.

My shameless solo photo at their port. I think the beach - sea side of this town is just perfectly lovely. See how the skies meets with the sea in a round circular way.

I would have loved to explore more but we were only passing for a quick pit stop there. Maybe next time, I can check the old vibes on the place.

Alcoy Cebu

Another shameless selfie :D Look at the skies on this photo, they're all beautiful. I didn't see any specialty shops on this town, so I cannot tell you what their special treats are from this town.

Boljoon Cebu

Welcome to Boljoon Cebu! This area was affected by typhoon Yolanda last year but they have recovered from it and is looking fantastically serene and calm now.

Their stone vintage church. What I love about the provinces of Cebu, is that they are so rich with heritage structures from the Spanish era. I hope, the government and citizens will do their best to help protect and preserve this for the next generation to see.

I took this photo on our way home. The rock is the area where I took the first photo of welcoming in Boljoon and this (from where I standing taking this photo) was the back view of the pic from above :)

Oslob Cebu

Have always heard and saw stories through photos of people flocking in at Oslob Cebu to watch the famous Whale Sharks - the friendly giants as they're called but never had the courage to wake up early for a 5 in the morning road trip going there but finally, was able to do just that last Sunday. I didn't get to swim with the Butandings because I had my monthly period but I would definitely go back on summer to try it. Not anytime soon though cos the monsoon water is scary :D

Old church in Oslob Cebu and my shameless selfie. On the other side is this small chapel. This structures were built during the Spanish colonisation of the country. It is also facing the open sea. A wide open park is just seconds minutes away from where I took this photos.

Adjacent to the church is this Cuartel which means quarters or chambers. I think, this is where the Spanish priest sleeps and stuff. Not really sure, I forgot to read the marker on the front. But looking at it, gives you chills and awe feelings because the structure obviously survived centuries of calamities and stuff. It kind of reminded me of the Roman coliseum. Really beautiful for photo sessions in here.

This is an open sea area and it will be impossible to take this photo during high tide. I was lucky enough to be able to go down and take some snaps because it was super low tide. Check out the photo of that I took of my dad before going down and from where I stood.

The water level would actually go up to that stairs :)

Finally whale shark "butanding" watching :) Yey! I forgot to take a photo of the resort were we decided to stay for a few hours to rest. The name is Brumini Resort. You can have the option to pay the entrance fee of 30 pesos and they will take you to the whale shark viewing point to ride the boats to watch and swim with the butandings. Whale shark viewing is rate at 300 pesos per person. Now, if you want someone to take a photo of you under water, you could pay for 550 pesos and the personnel from the resort will take your photo - that if you don't have a waterproof camera. I think it's best to bring your own digital waterproof camera, so you can snap all you want. 

There they are. I may not have been able to swim with them but I was lucky enough that they or we moved closer to them giving me a chance to see how they look when being fed. I think it would have been awesome to swim with them. They're so cute and so huge that I want them for a pet - the way I want an elephant for a pet. But of course they belonged to the seas. It was truly a wonderful experience.  I am looking forward to visiting in the summer for next year.  The waves were actually a little crazy that day but it was worth it.

Overall, it was an awesome quick adventure. Took us 5 hours to drive to Oslob Cebu with pit stops on the way but so wonderful to have finally experience down south of Cebu - the place were I call home. Going on this road trip, made me realised that I am forever grateful that Cebu has embraced me and I am forever proud to call my self "bisaya" "bisdak" "cebuana". 

For more infos about Brumini Resorts, call them at +639184450084 +639339652200 +63325146623