Poor Man's Tour of Cebu

Sister Anderson takes Photo of tour group




Colorful Jeepney - common mode of transportation

Gloria and Sister Lee at Flower Mart

Bob with foot on Cannon at Fort San Pedro

Huge sculpture of History of Cebu

Saturday, December 17, 2005

We had a wonderful day. Patriarch Benedicto and his daughter, Sister Lee, took us and President and Sister Anderson on a “Poor man’s tour of Cebu.” We rode a jeepney from the Mission Office to the older part of the city. Getting on the Jeepney was a challenge, especially for Bob. You step up a high step and then have to duck – Bob had to almost bend in half to get in without hitting his head. It was a bumpy, interesting and very cheap (about 9 pesos each = 18 cents). Downtown we went to the big outdoor market – Carbon market. Bob took pictures of the flower mart. I bought a heavy plastic shopping bag to carry my fruits and vegetables home from our local market. (My Robinson’s bag that I had brought with me broke this morning when I went for vegetables before our tour began.) We looked at very interesting rattan decorations, hats, etc. and then went to the pearl section. I will be going back there!

We then walked a few blocks to Fort San Pedro – built by the Spanish about 1565 – very thick old walls. It is well-taken care of and interesting to see. (And, for my sake, clean restrooms. That is one thing about the Philippines – every where we go, the restrooms are very, very clean.)

Then we rode a horse-drawn conveyance – again Bob had to watch his head or he would bump it on the wooden top – and we went to see Magellen’s cross. It is supposed to be on the site where Ferdinand Magellan planted the first cross in the Philippines. They have built a cupola over the site with interesting murals painted on the ceiling. The original cross has been encased in a larger wooden cross to protect it. We walked from there to the oldest Church in the Philippines – again well preserved. We saw their famous “Santa Nino” – a boy doll, brought by the Spanish in the early 1600’s and miraculously preserved when the Church caught fire and everything inside burned. It is taken out once a year – dressed in very elaborate clothing – and paraded through the streets in early January as part of a big Santa Nino celebration.

It was time for lunch and Patriarch Benedicto took us to a restaurant that didn’t look like much from the outside, but inside was fine and we had a good lunch of chicken nuggets – we would call them – and sweet and sour sauce and French fries.

After lunch we walked to see the stela marking the oldest street in the Philippines – Colon street – and then walked a few more blocks to see a large outdoor sculpture honoring the history of the Philippines. It was my favorite of the day. The artist used metal, stone, rock architecture, tile and plants to show Magellan and his boat, the local hero Lapu-Lapu and his men, the Spanish friars, etc. Bob took some good photos of it.

We then caught a Jeepney home. Bob was one of the last to climb aboard, and as he did, people on the benches on either side, put one hand up on the ceiling of the vehicle – so that if he bumped his head, he would hit their hand and not the hard wooden ceiling. Of course, he didn’t notice because he was bent over so far to try to fit it, but the rest of us did and were grateful for the kindness we find here.