Magical Philippines - Part 5

While sampling some of the finest beaches on the island of Palauw, we ventured a little further than most tourists would to Tagcawayan Big Beach, and came across a beautiful beach that was frequented entirely by locals, not a foreign tourist in sight save ourselves.

It was here that we met two amazing guys that had chanced upon the same beach as us. They were local Philippine's from Cebu Island and their friendliness was contagious. In almost no time we were sharing our snacks and drinks and talking about travelling. Mark and Hurley love to travel, almost as much as we do and they were full of suggestions. When we mentioned that we were planning to go to Cebu, they immediately invited us to contact them when we arrived in Cebu and said that they would show us around.

As fate would have it, we ran into the travelling duo at the airport in Puerto Princessa and we cemented the arrangement to meet in Cebu.

Cebu city is the second largest city in the Philippines and a central node for the Cebuano culture and way of life. Pork crackling is a speciality on Cebu Island and they claim to have the best pork crackling in the world.

The Island has some fascinating history and one of the most influential and fascinating stories centres around how Cebu became the home of Monsignor Santa Nino. This is the representation of Jesus Christ as a child, and he is revered all over the Island with a fervour and passion that can only be respected and admired. While we were there, the Island was building up for the Sinulog festival, one of the biggest religious festivals on the Island, which runs from around 11th of January to the 21st. It was so exciting, unfortunately we were due to leave just before the festival started so we were going to miss out, but the enthusiasm of preparing their streets and cities for this festival was a marvel to see.

Kilometres of bunting and flags and signs everywhere, the parade and ensuing carnival market was going to be epic, we could tell. This festival happens every year and if you're planning a trip to the Philippines, then going there around this time will guarantee you a spectacle fitting for the world stage.

Anyway, true to their word, our friends Mark and Hurley messaged us to say welcome and said that they would pick us up at our hotel and show us around their city of Cebu.

First up was lunch at a really unpretentious restaurant called Cafe George, a cross section of the upper middle class community shared our lunch experience, and it was fabulous. Then we went on a guided tour of the City, our friends were really proud of their city and they drove us through the state-of-the-art first world skyscraper filled Technology Centre of Cebu town and on to the Minor Basilica del Santa Nino, that houses the Icon of Monsignor Santa Nino. It was awe inspiring to the point of gooseflesh and tear welled eyeballs.

It was the last day of 2018 and we had no plans for the New Year's celebration, however Mark and Hurley were incredible, dinner was at a new venue for all of us, high up on a hilltop, overlooking the sprawling city, a colourful array of lights and sounds.

Then on to another new restaurant that had set up a special evening with food, wine, drinks and live entertainment for us to bring in the New Year with a celebration fit for royalty.

All the while as we were driving Hurley was on his phone arranging a car for us to rent as we had plans to head south on Cebu Island, an open plan adventure lay ahead in the first days of 2019. The New Year burst upon us with fireworks and a fog so thick we couldn't see the city lights anymore.

The following morning our car was delivered to our hotel room and armed with a long list of notes of places to see and places to stay, a veritable tour guide of South Cebu Island, we headed into the frenetic bustling traffic and aimed our little Toyota southwards.

As the city scape dwindled and turned into rural settlement, we both noticed something quite different about Cebu, there seemed to be a little more structure to the dwellings, a slight but noticeable change in the care taken. There was less litter and more foliage, it was quite beautiful, the sea views accompanied us on our journey south in search of our next temporary home from which to explore.

And the opportunities to explore are abundant on Cebu Island. Swimming with whale sharks is very popular, almost too popular for our liking but everybody we saw was having a blast. Then there's canyoneering, an adventure hike through the canyons and waterways of the island, not for the feint hearted but definitely worth doing once in your life.

There are an abundant number of waterfalls to hike to and swim in the mineral rich waters, white sand beaches with inviting, cool, turquoise water. Next week we will share some of the adventures we had and characters we met on our journey, be sure to read on.