A shot I took as we get back to Cebu City from Mactan Island. It was a very risky shot - extending my hand and my head outside the window of the jeepney just to take pictures, but risky as it was, it was very fun and well worth it.

This is the design at the sides of the Marcelo Fernan Bridge. A friend of mine liked this shot because of its leading lines. On my part, there was really no composition to this, I was just like my camera - point and shoot.

*** Jenn ***

After eating at Lola Eat’s in Talamban, we decided to rent a jeepney to take us to Mactan Island so we could have a taste of Cebu’s waters as well. It was basically our only free time in Cebu because the next two days will be devoted to the SFC International Conference and the third day will be the day some of us will be flying back to Manila while some would go on their own side trips.

Travelling nearly two hours, the driver first took us to Tambuli Resort. However, the staff said that the entrance fee would be 350 pesos each (approx. 4.75USD), and we could only stay in the resort until 6PM. Although we were all tourists and that we all brought money to spend in the province, we wanted to get more value for our money. 350 pesos for nearly three hours of dipping certainly didn’t ring a nice tune in our ears, so we asked the driver to take us somewhere cheaper. If he could take us to a free beach, all the better.

The gates of the Mactan Blue Reef Island Resort didn’t really look nice, but inside was a different story. Entrance fee for the resort was only 50 pesos each (nearly 1USD), and we could stay until 10PM. Well, we didn’t need that much time in the resort, we just want to take a dip, so we grabbed it.

I wasn’t able to ask for a leaflet or a brochure for the resort, so I will just let the pictures speak for themselves. There’s a shore area in the resort for the people who cannot really swim, and under the cottages were several hammocks for people who just wanted to get lazy without really getting wet. It’s natural sea water, and aside from swimming and dipping, people can also rent a boat or a jetski.

It was a fun, fun time being with my SFC siblings… of course, aside from enjoying the water, we also get to talk about ourselves, the community and all sorts of topics. And of course, when there is a camera, expect pictures to be captured. Here are just some of my favorites:

SFC NA-2 delegates.

The Girls - me, Dorris, Shae, and Luchie.

I was taking scenic pictures, and as I walk back, I noticed some of them were inside the ring (it’s a metal ring connected in chains - just like the one in men’s gymnastic apparatus), so I asked for them to pose. It was difficult getting the shot, but I still liked the outcome.

Another case of framing. This was Malou’s idea, which proved to be a hit. From left to right - Gigi, Malou, Shae, Mae, Joy, Me, and Djoanne.

A little past 5PM, we all set up to leave the resort for Gigi and Mae still had to attend the choir practice. The chorale where they belonged will sing at the masses held in the conferences, and they can’t be late for that. As for the three of us (Malou, brother, and I), we will just probably stay at the hotel.

A friend of mine said before I went to Cebu, “Don’t forget to dip your toes into the waters of Cebu.” I am glad I didn’t forget.

Mactan Blue Reef Island Resort
Tongo Marigondon, Mactan Island
Cebu, Philippines
(+6332) 4923209 / (+6332) 4923217
bluereefislandresort@yahoo.com

*** Jenn ***

Upon waking up the next day, I received a call from one of our SFC sisters asking if we would like to join them in visiting the Gawad Kalinga Village in Brgy. Talamban. We didn’t have any plans for the day, and GK has been part of the community, so we were more than happy to see the village.

We all converged at the lobby of the hotel, then we ate breakfast at Jollibee. From there we walked along Colon Street to get a jeep ride all the way to Talamban. It took us nearly one hour, but it had been a great ride considering that we were able to see different facets of Cebu City. It was unfortunate that I wasn’t able to take some drive-by shots, but we all agreed that Cebu City was like the whole Metro Manila packed into one city.

The village was located in a remote area, and the only way to reach it was taking a habal-habal (motorcycle) ride. Each motorcycle can accommodate two passengers, and one must pay 10 pesos for the ride. It was a very exciting and a new experience for me. Quite scary, it was really great!

From this…

To this…

To this.

The Gawad Kalinga Budlaan Village started in May 2006. Through the help of generous people and companies who shared in some of their money, efforts, and man power, some 260 houses were built to give shelter to the poor people. Since the CFC Singles for Christ held its International Conference in Cebu City for 2009, it was just appropriate for the members to come together and help build more houses in the village.

There was a program when we got to the village, and there was no schedule for build (although some members were doing some construction here and there), so after helping in a few errands, we took pictures:

And… would I forget taking some miscellaneous shots?

This girl lives in the village. She got so interested with the shades, so she was borrowing some from the members.

A mother feeding her daughter. I took this as we leave the village to eat lunch.

Looking down on a zinnia flower.

One family in the village invited us to eat breakfast in their house, but we were just way too many, that we graciously decline the offer. It is really a Filipino trait to be helpful and hospitable, but we know that they needed the food more than us.

Going out of the village, we took the habal-habal again, and the driver who drove me out refuses to accept my payment. At first I was thinking maybe because I was just 1 passenger riding his habal-habal, but I found out from my SFC siblings who rode on the same motorcycle that he also refused to take their fare. We found out he lived in the village and was just graciously giving back the help that the community gave him and his family, but as sweet as it may be, gas prices that time was way too high, that we insisted to give our fare and just asked him to buy some food for his family.

I was not able to participate in the GK Build, it had been a very wonderful experience. Seeing people work hand-in-hand in eliminating poverty in the country has just been overwhelming.

To know more of Gawad Kalinga, you can check their website.

*** Jenn ***

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

The airport was in Mactan, so going to Cebu City, we had to take the taxi or hire a car service. We seriously had no clue how much taxi fares were, so we decided to hire a car because it had a fixed price. Brother told the ticketing officer to take us to La Guardia Hotel near Colon Street, and all of us were set to go. I stayed in the front seat so I could get a great view of Cebu. Of course, my camera’s ready to take some drive by shots!

Changing the lights in the post. I wanted to take different shots of this scene, but the driver was driving quite fast, so this was the only picture I have of it.

Entering Mandaue City via Marcelo B. Fernan bridge. According to Wikipedia:

Marcelo Fernan Bridge is an extradosed cable-stayed bridge located in Metro Cebu, Cebu in the Philippines. It spans across Mactan Channel connecting Cebu Island to Mactan Island.

Marcelo Fernan Bridge was opened in August 1999 to decongest the traffic from the older Mactan-Mandaue Bridge. The bridge has a total length of 1237 meters (4058.40 feet) with a center span of 185 meters (606.96 feet). The bridge is one of the widest and longest bridge span in the Philippines. The bridge was constructed with the help of the Japanese Government.It was named after Senator Marcelo Fernan, a political figure from Cebu City.

Brother was hoping we could take pictures of the bridge from the base, but the driver didn’t want to, so we had to be contented with this. =)

Along the road was a wall with different paintings and graffiti, and I was lucky that as I pressed the shutter, it captured this part of the wall!

There was a problem with the travel - turned out the ticketing officer told the driver to take us to La Guardia in Lahug, when we were supposed to be going near Colon Street. It was a bit funny that my brother (with a map of Cebu City at hand) was guiding the driver which road to take us. Hmmm… it was our first time in Cebu, and we were guiding the driver where to take us? But all’s well that ended well. We reached the hotel at around 3:30PM, and after refreshing ourselves, we went out to eat as we still haven’t had our lunch.

Malou wanted to eat Lechon Cebu (roasted pig, Cebu style). She has been craving for pork ever since she got back - she’s working in an Arab country where pork wasn’t allowed. The staff of the hotel just told us to go to Robinson’s Place (a mall), and try if we can find lechon there.

After eating, we went out to roam and take pictures:

Taken from an overpass. This is the Fuente Osmena Blvd.

Cebu is known for their guitars, and this musical instrument can be bought just about anywhere - even on the streets!

At the heart of the boulevard is the Fuente Osmena Circle. No one will really miss it because there was a fountain in the middle of it… and first time tourists meant checking it out! Here are some pictures:

Literally meaning, “Osmena’s Fountain,” this was built in honor of “Grand Old Man,” Sergio Osmena Sr. who served as the second President of the Philippine Commonwealth. This park has been a witness to many of Cebu’s significant gatherings, including the Sinulog Festival, which was held every January.

The tallest building in the third picture was the Crown Regency Hotel, where tourist can go to if they want to do some sky walking. We weren’t able to try it because we were on a budget and we found it a bit expensive. But our friends who arrived earlier that day tried it and said it was great. Actually, while the three of us were in the park, our friends were doing the sky walking!

Drinking water was available in the hotel, but we need to call for a staff to fill our pitcher, so after roaming around the park, we went to the grocery and headed back to the hotel. No more dinner for us - but brother and I did go out to check the scenes of Colon Street (the oldest street in the Philippines) at night. At 9PM I was just way too tired and sleepy, I fell asleep while watching the television! Our friends had a little party (just chit chats over junk foods) in one of the rooms, but I wasn’t able to attend that anymore, brother didn’t bother to wake me up anymore.

*** Jenn ***

We consider ourselves lucky to be able to book a flight to Cebu for the CFC Singles for Christ International Conference. Lucky because we were able to avail of their promo - our flight to Cebu only cost us 788 pesos all in (except the terminal fee, of course), and even luckier are we that even if the promo is only for people who own credit card, our SFC sister Andrelee helped us in booking the flight. Booking for three people (brother, his friend, and I) wasn’t an easy thing to do (since Andre and I were communicating through YM), but in the end it was all good.

The very first plane trip I had was Manila - Tagbilaran (Bohol) and it was a noon flight. I told myself I would never fly at high noon again because it was hard bearing with the heat, but we still booked the noon flight for this one. Reasons? I already forgot.

The Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) was the first airline in Asia, being established 68 years ago. They have two hubs, one in Manila (NAIA Terminal 2) and one in Mactan-Cebu. Aside from the nineteen destinations in the Philippines, the airline also flies to twenty-four destinations in South-East Asia, East Asia, Australia, Canada, and United States.

Obviously, I seated by the window because of only one thing: I wanted to take sky pictures! Unlike laptops and cell phones, digital cameras are allowed to be used during the flight, and because the flight last about an hour, I basically had an hour to take pictures.

Compared to the other big airline company here in the Philippines, I could say that it was more pleasurable to fly with PAL. The seats are more comfortable, they have little monitors showing some programs to entertain the passengers, and the temperature inside the plane was much cooler. However, they don’t do games, they don’t sell some corporate merchandise, and there was nothing to read during the flight. But, if I will be given a choice, I would still consider flying to PAL, because the terminal was more accessible compared to Terminal 3.

We reached Mactan-Cebu International Airport just in time. During the flight, we were wondering if there were also some SFC people who took an early flight like we did, and we were very surprised when a lady approached my brother. Turned out, they already met during an SFC International Conference in the past, and the lady has recognized my brother (my brother has been in the Catholic community for seven years now). Another nice thing about this flight was that the staffs were very friendly enough to let us in the cockpit and have pictures with the pilots. Brother was the one who talked to them - he told that it was his first flight (which is true), and we just found ourselves inside the cockpit. So great!

From Mactan, we hired a car to take us to the hotel were we reserved a room. That story and more tomorrow.

*** Jenn ***

February 18 was the day my brother and I, along with brother’s friend Marilou flew to Cebu City for the CFC Singles For Christ International Conference. The conference was actually scheduled 20 - 22 February, but because my brother and I wanted to see more of the place, we decided to book the flights way much earlier. Actually, because it was an International Conference, so many people will be flying to Cebu, and seats were limited. Believe it or not, we booked the flight as early as Decemeber last year, and we were supposed to take the 19 February flight, but all seats were already taken that day. We simply had no choice but to get the 18 February flight. It was just fine, come to think of it, because our SFC siblings from the same chapter also flew to Cebu on that day, but they took the 4AM flight… we took the 1PM flight.

We booked through Philippine Airlines, which meant we will be checking in at the Terminal 2 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Works best for us, because we could take a bus from outside of our village to the airport. However, we were traveling from 8AM - 12NN as we were stuck in traffic as soon as we entered EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue). When we reached the airport, the Philippine Airlines staffs were already making a final call for the 1PM flight. Whew! I think we just made it in time!

The security weren’t really strict when it comes to taking photographs. It was pretty much a photo frenzy for everyone, and since it was my first time in this terminal (I took my very first plane ride in NAIA Terminal 3), I did snapped some pictures.

NAIA-2, or the Centennial Terminal, is located on the old MIA road, which started its operations in 1999. It is called the Centennial Terminal in celebration of the 100th Year of the Philippine Independence (the construction of this terminal in 1998, the centennial year of the Philippine Independence). This terminal is home to the flag carrier, the Philippine Airlines and is used for their domestic and international flights.

And because this is a Watery Wednesday post, here’s a water shot I took from the airport:

This little area can be seen upon checking in. I think almost all of the passengers have a picture from this area. =) It took us a little few minutes before we boarded the plane. An extensive story about the Philippine Airlines flight to Cebu will be written tomorrow.

Parting Shot:

An aerial view of the NAIA-2 as the plane took off.

*** Jenn ***

Like what I said in my last post, after taking pictures of the Pasig River, brother and I walked towards Lawton where we would take the bus going home. We have been taking pictures of the main Post Office Building and the Liwasang Bonifacio whenever we have the chance to, but my brother I should also take pictures of the columns in the Post Office Building. Well, it was indeed my first time to get as close as I can to the building (which is also my favorite Philippine Building), so why not?

Hoping my cell phone battery won’t die on me, here are the pictures I took of the Manila Central Post Office Building:

This building, being the main office of the Philippine Postal Corporation, houses the country’s main mail sorting business. The building was designed by Filipino architect Juan Marcos de Guzman Arellano and was built in 1926. It was severely damaged during the World War II, but was rebuilt in 1946, preserving the original design.

Fronting the building was the Liwasang Bonifacio:

Built as a tribute to the great son of Manila, Andres Bonifacio, who led the Katipunan during the Spanish Regime.

With that last shot, my cell phone’s battery died. No problem, I think I was able to capture enough moments. Anyway, this won’t be the last time I’d drop by this place, so expect more pictures from Lawton soon.

*** Jenn ***

From Manila Cathedral, brother and I took the jeepney going to Lawton where we would take the bus home. As the jeepney cruised, brother took notice of the river, and asked if I would like to take pictures. Since we’re already there, I saw no reason why, so off we went.

Taken from Wikipedia:

The Pasig River (called Ilog Pasig in Filipino) is a river in the Philippines and connects Laguna de Bay (via the Napindan Channel) into Manila Bay. It stretches for 25 kilometres (15.5 mi) and divides Metro Manila into two. Its major tributaries are the Marikina River and San Juan River.

The Pasig River is technically a tidal estuary in that the flow direction depends upon the water level difference between Manila Bay and Laguna de Bay. During the dry season, the water level in Laguna de Bay is low and the flow direction of the Pasig River depends on the tides. During the wet season, when the water level of Laguna de Bay is high, flow is normally from Laguna de Bay towards Manila Bay.

The Pasig River used to be an important transport route in Spanish Manila. However, due to negligence and industrial development, the river has become very polluted and is considered dead (unable to sustain life) by ecologists.

The Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) was established to oversee rehabilitation efforts for the river. Supporting the PRRC are private sector organizations i.e. Clean and Green Foundation, Inc. who implemented the Piso para sa Pasig (Filipino: A peso for the Pasig) campaign.

I am not sure of the exact location of these pictures, but I was able to see “Escolta” just across, so I am guessing it’s the name of the place. =) I am looking forward to come back to this place to take more pictures as I only had my cell phone that time, which was also running low on battery. My brother was inviting me to go to Binondo (Chinatown) since it’s pretty much walking distance if we really wanted to walk, but I told him I didn’t want to “waste” my first visit in Binondo with a draining cell phone as my camera, so after the few shots taken, we walked to Lawton.

I am actually optimistic that the River would be resurrected. Recalling a past ferry boat ride along the river when I was about 14 years old, the river nowadays was much cleaner and more pleasant to the nose. But, as long as there were people living in shanties along the river, the vision of seeing the river breathe life would be difficult. But I am keeping my hopes up. I am sure all will be well.

*** Jenn ***

It had been a few weeks since my sister started her internship at a shipping company. She basically lived inside the ship, and chances for her to go out was very minimal, although there were times the ship would dock in different ports in Visayas and Mindanao. When the ship docked in Manila North Harbor, she sent us a text message if we could visit her and deliver her some important items like laundry soap and other personal items.

Brother and I visited her and waited until the ship left for Bacolod in Negros Occidental before we left the harbor, and since it was already lunch time, we decided to go back to Intramuros to eat and also so I could take pictures of Manila Cathedral for my Project 365.

Recalling from memory, there were seven cathedrals situated in Intramuros, but only two survived the test of time - the Manila Cathedral and the San Agustin Church. This church was elevated to the rank of Basilica Minore in 1981 by Pope John Paul II, and is officially named Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

The second picture shows the two most popular mode of transportation in Intramuros - the jeepney and the kalesa (horse drawn carriage). You can see pictures from this cathedral at my old post here.

The Plaza Roma - which is just right in front of the Manila Cathedral was once called “Plaza Mayor” during the Spanish Regime, and was called “Plaza McKinley” during the American Regime. In 1960, following a reciprocal agreement between the Vatican and the Philippine government, it became Plaza de Roma, or Plaza Roma (a Piazza Manila was built in Rome). This plaza was once witness to raucous bull fights and other public events until it was converted to a garden in 1797. The bronze statue was of King Carlos IV of Spain was installed in 1824 as a tribute for having sent the first smallpox vaccine to the Philippines.

Some pictures from the area:

“Freezing” the water from the fountain in Plaza Roma, overlooking the Manila Cathedral.

Located at the side of the cathedral was the Ayuntamiento - where once seat of City Council of Manila was located. Sadly, the building was destroyed in the Battle of Manila in 1945. Nowadays, the government is making the place host to “Wow Philippines,” an exposition of some of Philippines’ goods.

All the pictures in this post were taken using my cell phone - at that time, our digital camera was with sister as she needed to document her internship, and I still haven’t bought my current camera.

*** Jenn ***

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

After sister and I took pictures by the globe, we decided to go look for that Dinos Alive thing, since we were already there. We just took pictures outside because we don’t have enough money for the tickets. Actually, we were just happy to be outside, take pictures of the iguanas. =)

Sister said there’s a church near SM Mall of Asia, and since it was still quite early, we thought of passing by it as well, to maximize the time we had in the area. It was near the SMX Convention Center, and when we arrived, the church was still closed. We were a bit exhausted from walking, so we sat in the benches outside the SMX Center just to catch our breath and massage our legs and feet. It was a great thing we relaxed a bit, for the church was opened a little past 4PM. At least we were able to do what we wanted to do!

Pictures:

The facade.

The altar.

A shot of the interiors from the altar.

Schedule of services.

According to the church’s website, this church as well as the Pope John Paul II Youth Center (located just outside the church) was a fulfillment of the late Pope’s dream to have a center for the young people as he expressed during the World Youth Day celebration in 1995. The Shrine and the Youth Center is a fitting monument to the unprecedented attendance to the Holy Father’s Eucharistic Celebration at the Luneta Park, wherein more than six million people from all walks of life, from different corners of the world gathered, to join the said celebration. In the Pope’s message to the young people in attendance, he highlighted that Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life.

It was also a project of former Archbishop of Manila, the late Jaime Cardinal Sin. (Source: http://www.shrineofjesus.org/about.html)

After saying some prayers, sister and I went back to the SM Mall of Asia Bay Area, but still took some pictures on our way out:

A beautiful window decor made of wood and capiz shells. See the globe? That’s how far we walked!

In a “reflective mood.” =)

The next time I go back here, I will really try to hear the mass and visit the JPII Youth Center.

*** Jenn ***