This would be our contribution to the group. As much as possible, we won’t be using the word OC (since it has been overused here already) and we would detail our rating so it could serve you as a guide. Our verdict is based on how we coordinated with them (from start to finish) and it shouldn’t be a sole basis whether you book this certain supplier or not (different strokes for different folks). Here is how we would be rating our wedding team.
Photos were taken by me using my delirious camera XD.
Legend:
5 and Up: Oh Yeah! Swabeng-Swabeh!!! (Book them while still available)
4 - 4.99: Swabeng-Swabeh!!! (Very Good)
3 – 3.99: Swabeh!!! (Quite Ok)
2 – 2.99: Swabeh Lang!!! (Needs Improvement)
0 – 1.99: Hindi Swabeh!!! (Now you know)
Cebu Tour Guide: My wife's boss' friend's son. Sorry both of us forgot his name.
Address: Mactan, Cebu
Contact: Sorry. we don't have his contact
Cost: Free courtesy of my wife’s boss’ friend's son who is also Cebu-based.
Inclusions: Day tour in Cebu while waiting for our 6:00pm flight back to Manila
Verdict: Oh Yeah! Swabeng-Swabeh!!!
Wedding Kwento: After taking a short dip by the pool and by the beach of Cebu, We need to be up and ready for our flight back in Manila. Instead of my wife's boss' friend who picked us up, it was his son who stepped down the vehicle and picked us up. Instead of going straight to Mactan Airport, he offered to give us a quick tour within the city of Cebu.
To start with, we got to Mactan Shrine first. Inspired by his success in bringing Christianity to the people of Cebu, Ferdinand Magellan crossed the narrow channel to Mactan Island in an effort to spread the Catholic faith. Whilst still wading to the shore, he was killed by island chieftain Lapu Lapu leading his army of men during the battle for supremacy and freedom on April 27, 1521. Magellan's body was never recovered and in 1866 a marker was erected as a monument to this great explorer, marking the spot that Magellan was slain.
To start with, we got to Mactan Shrine first. Inspired by his success in bringing Christianity to the people of Cebu, Ferdinand Magellan crossed the narrow channel to Mactan Island in an effort to spread the Catholic faith. Whilst still wading to the shore, he was killed by island chieftain Lapu Lapu leading his army of men during the battle for supremacy and freedom on April 27, 1521. Magellan's body was never recovered and in 1866 a marker was erected as a monument to this great explorer, marking the spot that Magellan was slain.
There is a great deal spoken with regards to the Hero of the Philippines, Chief Lapu Lapu, much of it surrounded in myth and Mactan Shrine imagelegend. However this is a nice place to visit the grounds are very well kept and you can have a great seafood meal in one of the several fish restaurants next to the shrine. Why not check out the shell vendors just outside the shrine and marvel at the exquisite designs made purely from shells.
Shrine of Lapu-Lapu
Our next stop was at Basilica de Sto Nino. The church was built by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi and Fr. Andres Urdaneta on the site where the image of Santo Niño was found in 1565. The church was however destroyed by fire on November 1, 1568 and was subsequently rebuilt in 1602 under the administration of Juan Albaran and was rehabilitated in 1740.
Shot near the Altar
I made sure to get some little of its history
Then we went to another church nearby which was the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. The Cathedral dates back to 1591 and started of as a barn like structure made of wood, bamboo and nipa. It was the seat of the diocese which included the whole Visayas, Northern Mindanao and the Marianas Islands. During the 1890s with Bishop Juan Gorordo serving as Chaplin, the Cathedral was finally completed, being consecrated on June 24th, 1909.
Taken from a different perspective
The Church was too wide for my kit lens that I have to shot it from a different angle. Also when I tried to take some inside shots of the church, there was an ongoing funeral mass so I decided to take a shot of the altar from outside.
Taken from outside
Then we passed by the famous Magellan Cross. When Magellan traveled from Spain to the Philippines in 1521, he brought with him in a wooden cross. This cross was planted at a place called Sugbu, now Cebu, to symbolize the colonization of the country on behalf of King Philip II of Spain.
Magellan's Cross Edited
To preserve the cross the original has been encased Building Housing Magellan's Cross - Image by John Van Dasler an outer layer of tindalo wood, mounted on a concrete pedestal, and housed in a tile-roofed kiosk. The roof of the kiosk is adorned with a painting depicting the landing of Magellan in Cebu and the planting of the original cross on the shore.
My usual info-shot
Magellan's Cross
We had our lunch late in the afternoon as we got to stop by to a local market to buy some pasalubong for our folks back home. We got some danggit, otap, mangoes among others that made our bags really stuffed.
Our host decided that we have our lunch at Ayala Center in Cebu. I forgot the name of the restaurant where we had our lunch but nevertheless, we got really full. XD
It feels like we were in Greenbelt 3 with its surroundings but with a different twist. Cebuanos are really lucky to have a mall like this.
After our late lunch, we head off to Mactan Airport as we bid our new friend goodbye. I hope we could visit Cebu again to enjoy the place and take better photos. ^_^
Realization: Taking a half-day tour of Cebu isn't that bad. Besides its free and we enjoyed every minute of it XD. It's really nice that my wife has a lot of contacts. If we only had a few more days, we could have toured more ^_^
Recommended for: Its hard to tell because eh did it just for us.
Other Suppliers Considered (Given the same amount of time for preparations): None.
If we started our preparations last Dec 2007, we could have gotten: None.
