Cebu in a day!

Dakbayan sa Sugbu! 

That's how you say it in Cebuano. Christened as the Queen City of the South, it is the second most significant metropolitan city in the Philippines and is an important center for trade, commerce and industry in the Visayas and Mindanao areas. It is the capital city of the metropolitan area of Metro Cebu... and is famous for the Sinulog Festival.

In my less-than-48-hours stay in the big city, I played tourist and revisited attractions I've been to before and places I've seen as a first-timer.

Magellan's Cross

Koreans! Lots of 'em. It was like more than half of the people in that tiny building were chinky-eyed Koreans. Oh, well.. K-Invasion of the Philippines, remember? Haha.. So much for that. This Christian cross above, was planted by Ferdinand Magellan when he first set foot in the country, Cebu being the oldest Spanish settlement. It is right beside Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño. The one displayed is not the original cross and a sign just below it says that the real one is encased inside to protect it from wear and tear... most specially from tourists/visitors who take a bit of the cross for souvenirs.

And of course, I din't attempt to chip off some souvenir. ☻

Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño

The first church was constructed in 1565 and was made of nipa and wood on the spot where the image of the Sto. Niño (the Holy Child Jesus), kept in a wooden box, was said to be left by the Magellan group and was later found by Spanish explorers who came after him. Lots of people all over the country flock to this minor basilica located just across the City Hall, as the Sto. Niño is believed to be miraculous, healing diseases and such. 

So, expect long queues if you wanna come face to face with the Sto. Niño!

Fuerza de San Pedro

Located within the area now called Plaza Independencia, Fort San Pedro was built as a military defense structure by the Spanish government in Cebu. Triangular in shape, two sides are facing the sea while one is facing land. It is presently under the care of the City government as a historical park and has a museum that houses well preserved Spanish artifacts. 

Enjoy the feel of the place and pretend you're not in the Philippines! Haha..

Plaza Independencia

Formerly known as Plaza Libertad - before it was Maria Cristina then Plaza Mayor then Plaza Armas, Plaza Independencia is a favorite picnic ground for families in Cebu, or so they say. It is conveniently located between Fort San Pedro and the old Provincial Government building. It is the city's most historical plaza and was built in honor of then (said) founder of Cebu, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi. 

Who came after Magellan, right? 

Taoist Temple

Sitting atop a hill 300 meters above sea level, this temple was constructed in 1972 and is open to non-worshippers unlike the neighboring Phu Sian temple. The compound also has a chapel, a library, a souvenir shop and a wishing well (that doesn't really look like a well..it's more like a pond actually). We arrived at the entrance of the exclusive Beverly hills subdivision via habal-habal and decided to walk all the way up to the temple's main entrance. And there were still 81 steps waiting 'til the top of the temple. 

It wasn't very exhausting. O.O

Lapu-Lapu Shrine

From the Cebu city center, we took 2 jeepney rides (or was it three? lol) to Mactan island to visit Lapu-Lapu Shrine in Lapu-Lapu city.. There wasn't much to see actually but I just wanna visit the place. And there it was, 66 ft of bronze glistening under the scorching sun. 

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Magellan's Shrine

And right where Lapu-Lapu was standing tall and mighty, a memorial tower was also erected in honor of  the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. Rising 30 meters high, the structure was constructed where Magellan was said to have died... in the hands of the mighty datu, just a few steps away. 

So, that's it for Cebu. There are still a lot of places worthy to visit in this bustling Visayan city, but if I visited all of 'em right away.. what are next-times for? 

Anyway, here's a little spice-things-up question...

Magellan was killed by the mighty datu Lapu-Lapu. That's a fact. But the question is..

Who killed Lapu-Lapu? Who?