Anticipation and planning for an adventure is often times the most exciting moments in life. Prior to embarking on a year long adventure requires at least a small amount of planning. That planning sparks emotions of excitement and wonder. Jake had researched and outlined several family outings for our stay in Cebu. Read on for five days of adventure you can do with children in Cebu
Public transportation, everywhere in the Philippines, is very accessible and fairly easy to navigate. The fares are inexpensive as well. Taxis and Jeepneys is Cebu’s main mode of public transportation. As long as you are not staying far from the city, as we are, you will have an easy time getting a taxi. We are near SM Seaside; it is considered far compared to the city center. There are many developments in progress by SM Seaside and it won’t be considered far for too many more years. Within the city you can also find tricycles and motorcycles for hire.
Visiting old churches, which are plentiful here, is an interesting way to spend a few afternoons. We visited Basilica Minore Del Santo Nino church. We got there just as mass was ending. Mass was held in the plaza the afternoon we stopped by. A hundred or more colorful umbrellas were popped up to protect worshippers from the sweltering heat of the day. It was a beautiful sight. Basilica Minore Del Santo Nino church is a magnificent stone and cement structure with a grand chapel. Surrounding the chapel is a large area for lighting candles. Candles can be bought for a donation. A museum is available to visit; it houses many old artifacts from the beginning of the establishment of the church. There are candle peddlers surrounding the church grounds. These women are dressed bright yellow skirts; the effects of the blazing sun and hard life is evident in their wrinkled skin. Their frail hands hold out candles to anyone who passes by.
Nearby is the famous Magellan’s Cross. The actual cross is encased in wood to prevent people from taking pieces of wood from the original cross. Candle peddlers blanketed this area as well. This cross was planted by Ferdinand Magellan when he landed in Cebu in the year 1521. Just across the street from the cross you can get a picture at the I (heart) Cebu sign.
If you continue walking down the street towards the trees, you will come to Fort San Pedro. It was built in the 1500’s. This fort is one of the smallest forts I have seen. It is built in the shape of a triangle. When you see the fort today you would think it odd that a fort is in the center of the city. Back in the 1500’s, this fort was on the shores of the ocean. Man redirected the ocean and have now built the city over where the ocean used to meet land. Tage loved the canons. You can walk around the fort at your leisure. It took 200 years for the fort to be complete. A plaque outside and inside the fort tell of the many purposes the fort has been used for during its lifetime. A school and a prison are just a couple of institutions the fort has housed.
Museo Sugbo is a must stop if you are a history buff or if you are interested in the history of Cebu and the Philippines in general. The museum has a nominal entrance fee. We learned loads of information and decided this covered the children’s history lessons for a week. Tage and Claire were the least interested in the museum, but they did gain some education in exhibits that interested them. A tour guide (free) taught us for two hours. If you have small children, ask for the Cliff’s Notes version or walk through the museum on your own. Here you will see ancient weapons, gold teeth from excavations, historical documents from the Spaniards who founded the Philippines, and so much more than there is room to write about. The museum is set up in 12 separate rooms; each depicts a different era of the Philippines. The museum was a prison until 2013. It is hard to picture prisoners living here just a few years previous. The tour guide will also tell you some prison history as you move through different areas of the museum. Even though we were there longer than our children’s attention span, it was worth the time.
SM Seaside is one of the top 10 malls in the world. It is five floors of shops, restaurants, and entertainment. Here you can go bowling, ice skating, and even take your pick of two movie theaters. If you are looking for exercise out of the pollution of the city, this is your go-to place. Here you will recognize many brands from America or other developed countries. Being fresh from our home it was fun to see something that resembled America.
Cebu also has other religious institutions to visit. We took some quick pictures at the Cebu Temple that belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, of which we are members. From there we walked a short distance and caught a couple of motorcycles to go to the Taoist Temple at the top of a hill. This stop requires uphill walking and stair climbing. Walking up the hill from where the motorcycle drops you off, you can see the Chinese compound that lives at the base of the temple. The taoist temple has strict rules about photography in the rooms of the temple where the altars are. You can go in them though; there are about five, each with different statues that are housed in each. There are a lot of great photo opportunities as the surroundings are beautiful. At the opposite end of the compound you can see a Buddhist temple. That temple is not open to visitors. It is great to visit so many religions worship in such a small area.
Rainforest Park is an attraction tucked away in the most unassuming location. At the end of a typical street and next to 7-11 is Rainforest Park. For a moderate entrance fee, you can see some odd and some not so odd creatures. A few aquariums housed different kinds of fish. One aquarium had alligator fish, a scary looking sea creature. If you are brave enough, get a photo with a python around your neck. We all got our picture taken, but I can’t say it was my favorite thing. There are a few other animals outside of the aviary that you can view. The aviary houses a number of different birds. Nigel is the bird they allow you to hold on your arm. A peacock and rabbits also run wild in the enclosure. Just be aware that if Nigel gets loose the caretakers will go to all lengths to get the bird back in its cage. When this happens, the pigeons and other loose birds get scared and fly all over. You can guess where this is going. Jake got a rude surprise all over his shirt and backpack. That was the end of the aviary experience
. The children can have fun feeding the monkeys bananas. The monkeys kept the kids attention for a long time. There is also a ropes course you can pay for; Tage was too small and for sake of keeping the peace, we did not purchase that attraction.
If you are not tired of seeing churches at this point, or if there is one religious sight I would recommend, Similan Shrine is it. The shrine looks similar to a palace. The massive and stacked walkways leading to the chapel are impressive. The center garden is grand with it’s waterfall (it wasn’t on when we were there), green grass with MAMA MARY carved into it, and pools for water to flow into. Flags of red, yellow, blue, and white are strung from all points of the corner towers to the main chapel. Make sure you are wearing the proper attire when you go to show respect. This is a Shrine to Mama Mary who they say appeared here. Inside you will see a whole corridor filled with different depictions of Mama Mary. You can also take your shoes off and fall into the long line waiting to see the main Mama Mary statue that they say brings healing. There is beautiful stained glass all around the chapel as well. It really is a shrine to Mama Mary. The road leading to the shrine has plenty of Mama Mary souvenirs to look through as well. Getting there by bus is possible, but getting home by bus will be a pain. We hired a taxi for Php2,000. It was worth the extra money because he waited for us and took us back to our residence.
We had to erase a few destinations from our itinerary because that is life with children. These places are also worthy of checking out, but we did not visit them. They are: Mantayupan Falls, Mainit Hot Spring, Cebu Heritage Monument, and Crocolandia.
Five days in Cebu, Philippines was enough to get the flavor of the culture there. It really is a non-stop city with plenty to see.
Is a Philippines adventure on your bucket list?