"The time you enjoy wasting is a time not wasted" - John Lennon
It was March this year and people were crazy about several airlines' seat sale (including me!). Well, who would want to miss this chance of booking cheap fares? So yes, I ended up booking me and my mother a flight bound to Cebu. Everything went by so fast and the next thing I knew we were about to board the plane already.
I did my research prior to flying to Cebu - where to stay and whatnots, so we did spend our first nights in the town of Samboan. First reason, was that it was near Oslob where the whale-watching site is located. Second is that I was advised by a colleague that traffic could really get bad in the city. And I must say I did the right thing.
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| Beachfront at Samboan, Cebu |
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| Carinderia Hopping |
We started touring around the city of Samboan in the afternoon. Cebu is said to be famous with their natural waterfalls. I've seen clips on the internet about "canyoneering" and I thought that it was really interesting. But since the town from where we were was quite far from Kawasan Falls (famous canyoneering site), we just decided to visit other waterfalls around the area.
We were able to speak with a local who agreed to take us to a waterfalls in Samboan - but the struggle was indeed real when we found out that we will be riding a single motorbike known as the "habal-habal". What other choice do I have? It's now or never, I said to myself. It was crazy and thrilling to ride our way up the mountains, across the roads and survive the scorching heat of the sun for about an hour just to reach our destination. But what's crazier is how I actually got my mother into this! 😃
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| Majestic view from the mountain |
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| Brrrrr. Cold water! |
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| What a beauty! |
The next day, we left early for Oslob to experience the main highlight of our Cebu Trip - Whale watching. We took a ride going to Oslob. As we arrived, several tourists were already there as they say that whales are more visible during the morning. We did a little briefing about the do's & dont's and rode the boat that would take us to where the whales were. Swimmers and non-swimmers need not to worry as it is really safe to go down the boat because you will surely float & boatmen/lifeguards are on watch as well.
At first, the whales were all out of sight, until the boatmen started throwing food which I believed to be alamang. Poof! We were surprised as they were swimming all around us. It was a bit scary how gigantic these creatures are.
I remember what the boatman told us, "Mam, 'wag ka mag-alala wala yan ngipin. Di ka nyan kakagatin. Lulunukin ka lang" (Ma'am, don't be afraid for they have no teeth to bite you, they will swallow you instead.) How reassuring, right?
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| Smells fishy |
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| After several attempts of getting the right shot. |
We spent the good 30 minutes enjoying this unique encounter with these gentle giants. The experience was really one for the books! We returned to our hotel & swam at the beach just in front of the hotel we were staying in.
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| Sunset by the beach |
The next day we had to depart early for Cebu City. Mostly we tour around Cebu via Habal-habal again to get rid of the traffic. We visited Temple of Leah, a mausoleum made by Mr. Teodorico Adarna for his late wife Leah Adarna to show his undying love for her. The edifice actually resembles those Greek Temples. We also visited the Magellan's Cross and Basilica Minor Del Sto Nino.
Of course, who would want to miss Cebu's specialty? So we went all our way to IT Park's Zubuchon to try their Lechon and made our way to visit our Rakso Branch there before calling it a day.
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| Lechon Cebu |
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| Rakso Cebu Team |
We took our flight back to Manila the next day. As I recalled the trip that we had, I was able to learn the A,B,C's of life.
Adventure. This trip that we took out of impulse was a one big adventure. It was our first time in Cebu, We got out of our comfort zones, arrived at the airport carrying things I have only searched up through google & tried things we haven't done before.
Bravery. We followed directions and trusted strangers to take us to places we haven't set our feet upon.
Cherish and taking the Chance. I was glad my mother did not backed out on me on this trip, that she enjoyed everything about it & that I am with her on this adventure. These things and moments I will surely cherish. I realized how we should not delay our happiness and whenever there is a chance to share this happiness to our parents or loved ones, we should take it for they deserve it. Take them to beautiful places and let them try delicious food. For life is too short to be anything but happy.
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