Yes folks –
you heard it right. We flew all the way to the Queen City of the South from
Davao in the Land of Promise. We made Cebu the entry point to the groups’
journey to other wonderful places in the Visayas.
It isn’t
every day that high school classmates get to bond together and go to areas
outside of their hometown. But, we did, all eight of us (7 ladies +1 gent). Our
flight to Cebu was on Sept. 12th and the journey ended on the 18th.
Because we are suckers for promos, we were able to chance upon a promo flight
as early as March of the same year. It was literally six months of waiting!
Gosh!
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The early birds, Eva Vallecera,
Cecille Ledesma & Lucille Fornolles |
Day 1
Nothing could
ever stop us, come hell or high water. Though we went in two batches, yet,
circumstances failed to break us apart. Why in two batches? You see, our chosen
time of departure couldn’t accommodate us all since promo seats are limited
only.
So, what happened was, three ladies went ahead in the morning, while the
rest of the group took the night flight. It was only around 10:00 PM on that
unforgettable day when we next saw each other again, this time in our hotel room.
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| Together again at the hotel |
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| Raring to go |
Day 2
We wasted no
time in visiting exciting places in Cebu and toured the city as well. First
stop was Sirao Flower Garden in mountain Barangay Busay, also dubbed as Little
Amsterdam, since they had an assortment of breath-taking flowers blooming in
different periods of the year. There were ample blooms enough to serve as
background to our selfies and groufies.
Next stop
was the Roman architecture-inspired Temple of Leah which was undergoing renovation
at that time, since some portion of the place incurred damages from a strong
earthquake some years back.
Third stop
was the oh-so-charming-ever Taoist Temple in Beverly Hills. It’s good to see
the place well-maintained after all these years. It still continues to attract
tourists since it opened some decades ago. All these three attractions offered
magnificent views of Cebu City from various angles.
From the
mountains, we proceeded towards Cebu’s newest mall - SM Seaside, said to be the
biggest and the most glamorous of the malls in the Visayas and Mindanao, and in
addition, the third biggest mall in the country.
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| Me and my kids at one of the restos inside SM Seaside |
Finally, the
group headed south – to Cebu’s Castle Church – the Monastery of the Holy
Eucharist, which also houses the miraculous Shrine of Simala in Sibonga. But,
before that, we made a stop at Carcar’s shoe arcade where the girls bought some
cheap footwear for pasalubong. And the excitement mounted as the van driver
directed us to the pasalubong center in Carcar. There, we had a buying frenzy,
as if there was no tomorrow. We were tempted to buy its world-famous chicharon,
masareal, ampao, otap, rosquillos, among others.
I led the
team to Ronda, my hometown where they were billeted at a local hotel while I
stayed with family. It was the last time we were together since all throughout
the vacation, I was with family while they continued their Visayan tour.
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| Pics taken in Ronda |
Day 3-5 – Dumaguete/Siquijor
On their way
to Dumaguete, the group made a stop at Kawasan Falls in Badian and took
pictures. After Dumaguete, they also went to see the lovely town of Siquijor and
went back to Dumaguete for their lodging.
Day 6-7 –
Bohol/Cebu
Day
7 – Home Sweet Home
In closing, I'd like to thank the son of classmate Chito Buat (US-based) who tended to our booking needs through his travel agency; classmate Roy Ruiz ((Canada-based) who sponsored our Suroy Sugbu; classmate Lucille Fornolles for the use of her credit card to purchase our tickets; Joy Fornolles, Lucille's hubby, for fetching us up from Davao International Airport; Cecille Ledesma for providing the venue for our group meetings.
Likewise, grateful for my Ogario family in Ronda, Cebu for our good and delicious times together, especially with Alex and Zephora Blanke (Adelaide-based) who warmly received us at home.
Lastly, to my BFF Elvie Manus way, way back from our PLAN International days, thanks for accommodating me and Shalom, my daughter in their lovely home in Mactan and for touring us in Lapulapu City - 10 000 Roses, Virgen de Regla Shrine, Pueblo Verde, and more.
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| Me & my best friend Elvie |
Time will pass and so will people,places and events. But the memories will linger in our hearts forever. Buti pa ang memories may forever...
Here's more of those sweet memories...
