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Cebu City … Again!

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We took the catamaran back to Cebu in the morning, checked back into Cebu R Hotel, had a snack and arranged a taxi to take us out of the city northwards, into the hills.

The Tops Lookout gives a great view over Cebu City and we could see Bohol and even Balicasag in the distance.

Our next stop was The Terrazas De Flores Botanical Garden where footpaths leading between terraced flower gardens gave us a chance for a bit of a photo op amongst the blooms!

The Sinulog Festival is one of the most famous festivals in the Philippines, attracting millions of visitors each year. At the center is the Grand Parade which attracts dancers with vivid costumes and choreographed routines from all over the country and takes place on the 3rd Sunday in January.

The festival celebrates the the statue of baby Jesus called the Santo Niño de Cebú, which was handed to the Rajah of Cebu by the explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. This was one of the most important events in the Catholic history of the country and the word Sinulog refers to the flowing movements of the dancers who act out the scenes of this Spanish encounter.

While that is still a week away, there are other events and smaller parades leading up to the main event and the roads near the hotel will be closed tomorrow so we’ve had to ditch our plan to look round the historical centre … only seeing the capitol building just beside the hotel.

Instead, Since Joanna needs to be at the airport by 4pm, we’ve decided to hang out at the SM Mall, one of Cebu’s most popular shopping malls. Built like a maze with several sections and four floors of shops and restaurants, nothing could be further from the ramshackle shops and booths made of concrete block, unpainted wood and corrugated iron we had seen elsewhere.

Sinulog is a big thing with lots of shops selling dress up items such as feathers and Tshirts that could be personalised with fringes and beading. Joanna’s off to a festival in Sydney next month with a couple of friends and bought feathered ear cuffs and headdresses for them to wear!

One of the popular lechon or roast pork chains called Zubuchon also offered veggie choices, so we went for lunch and I had a special with crispy lechon, rice, soup and papaya pickle called atchara.

It was time to say our farewells, and put Joanna in a taxi to the airport. We’ve all had a great time and it was good to spend so much time together … but no need to be too sad, as Joanna will be coming to England in May so that’s hardly any time at all!

Chris and I made our way back to the hotel, hoping to catch the end of the parade, but it was finished. I did find these pics online of the mass at the Basilica del Santo Nino on Friday and the first parade, but am quite pleased not to be caught up with all those crowds.

This is the Xmas tree at Fuente Osmeña Circle … obviously no concerns here about decorations after 12th night, they are still everywhere …

… a copy of the Santo Niño de Cebú amongst the traffic …

… and a few more jeepneys.

The staff at the hotel have looked after us beautifully and a craft afternoon had been in session, making decorations for the festival. They insisted Chris show off his new T-shirt in front of the lift!

Tomorrow we move on, southwards, by bus …

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Panglao … Simply Chilling!

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An easy journey here, just across a causeway!

After a couple of days in a town it was lovely to relax round the pool at Alona Swiss, owned by a Swiss-Italian chap called Raphael who began as a dive instructor and loved Panglao too much to leave!

There are just around 15 rooms and we had a spacious bungalow with all mod cons and a terrace outside with a small kitchenette we didn’t use, but it was useful for the fridge and the water dispenser.

In 1970, a movie called Esteban was filmed here when the beach was just a beach. When Filipinos came to visit the famous movie location, it was named Alona Beach after the starring actress Alona Alegre who was fondly remembered by the locals. Just ten years ago it was still a sleepy place favoured by divers, but has recently become quite commercialised, although most buildings are no more than 3 storeys and the tallest structure in town is the MacDonalds sign!

We were just a 10 minute walk to the restaurants, shops and main beach … close enough for convenience … far enough away that we couldn’t hear the nightlife!

Here are some views of Alona Beach over our stay …

Unfortunately, as we arrived, Joanna came down with a cold, so we spent a really relaxing couple of days on Dumaluan Beach, a far more sleepy spot that was backed by a couple of resorts and palm trees with powdery white sand and shallow sparkling blue water.

We’ve eaten in several spots including another Buzzz Cafe, run by Bohol Bee Farm, and a couple of the bbq places along the front. Chris has managed veggie stir fries and a couple of pizzas!

There have also been sundowners, once in town …

… and again at Equation Bar on Danao Beach …

… and while it was too cloudy to see the sun actually set, the light was fab and we got some great pics.

As you will see we’ve had mixed weather, mainly sunny but some cloud, especially later and a few drops of rain but it has always been warm, and if the sun had shone all the time, it would have been jolly hot!

On our last day, Joanna was feeling much better so Raphael organised a boat trip to Balicasag Island which is surrounded with coral protected by a marine park. The morning dawned a bit grey but we just hoped it would brighten. It was low tide, so we crossed the rocks to reach our bangka, spotting little starfish in the shallow water.

Once aboard, a pole was used to push us into deeper water before starting the deafening engine.

The crossing took an hour and the spray combined with drizzle … but we reasoned we would be even wetter once in the sea! By the time we arrived the rain had stopped and the sun was trying hard to come out.

From here on you will just have to imagine as we left all our gear safely in the dry and complete with masks, flippers and life vests, we boarded a much smaller bangka, the size of a canoe. Our guide paddled us out to the reef and we entered the water. The snorkelling was easy as we could just hold on to the outriggers of the boat. Our guide had fitted a large round wooden paddle to his foot, and used this to propel the boat along so we could watch a number of huge turtles eating grass on the seabed. They seemed totally oblivious to us floating above. I had been quite apprehensive as to how we would get back in the boat without steps, but the guide braced himself against the boat and we stepped up onto his thigh to get aboard! Next he paddled round to a different spot and this time there was coral with fish of all colours and sizes swimming between. We stayed in the water watching for ages, but eventually we all started feeling a bit chilly so we got out. We all agreed it was the best snorkelling experience we had ever had as we had never seen turtles like that before and the fish and coral were stunning. Chris is seriously thinking about a Go-Pro for next time!

On the way back we stopped at Virgin Island, apparently now called Isola Di Francesco, which has a long exposed sand bar at one end and a religious garden at the other with a collection of rather kitch Catholic statues.

Whale watching had been another possibility, to see huge whale sharks but I read some negative comments and we pleased we had decided against it when we saw this …

Finally, here are just a few miscellaneous snaps including Xmas decorations made from plastic bottles and my turn on the back of the tricycle …

On our last evening we had cocktails and dinner and packed the cases … tomorrow we return to Cebu.

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Bohol … Jeepney to Antequera!

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Determined to try out all transport options, next day we headed to the local market and bus station to catch a jeepney. Originally converted from US military jeeps after WWII and decorated with bright colours and chrome ornaments, these minibuses are the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. We knew they were crowded, mainly as the routes and fares are fixed, but the driver wants to maximise his income so waits till it is full to leave. Joanna fancied the kitch one, but the slightly more modern one was next in line …

Filipino full is very full! In addition to the benches either side, additional stools are placed in the central aisle to load more people in. Ours reached 23, then two lads held on behind! During our 30 minute ride to Antequera, a couple of people got off and a couple more got on so at 25 pesos per person, the driver would have made about £10, half of which goes in costs and he keeps the other half!

We had come to visit the Sunday market and there was the usual mixture of household goods and clothes and a lot of food.

The choice of different types of rice, which we had already seen growing in paddy fields beside the roads, was mind boggling with at least 20 varieties together with meat, fish, veg and even tobacco.

We bought some snacks, the best of which were these hot spring rolls filled with camote or sweet potato.

Next we took a very splendidly decorated family tricycle to Mag-aso Falls.

197 steps led to a waterfall and bathing pond …

… and after a few moments of indecision, I decided since I’d gone prepared to swim, I would! Joanna was a little slower to get with the programme, but another lady had arrived and she got brave and came in too. The water was chilly but lovely and it was very similar to swimming in the Cenotes in Mexico.

We walked back to town, had an ice cream, then caught the jeepney back. There was one waiting for the last few people so it could go, and rather than wait what might be an hour for another, Joanna and I took our positions on the central stool and Chris hung on at the back! A few passengers got off halfway, so Joanna and I got promoted to the bench which was handy as my bum was quite numb! Chris refused to join the crush and remembered being a squaddie on a landrover!

Returning early, there was time for pampering so Joanna and I went to a place recommended by the hotel and had an hour’s full body massage while Chris went for a wander round town with his camera.

Our last couple of evenings were spent at Geraldo’s family restaurant, popular with locals for celebrations and we must have heard Happy Birthday sung at least 6 times! We tried various stews including fish kare kare with peanut sauce, chow pat chin with and without prawns, an aubergine omelette and uni kinampay which is a special purple yam only grown on Bohol.

We passed this building on the way back … not quite the Registan in Samarkand … but still pretty!

The staff here have looked after us beautifully and cooked fabulous omelettes for breakfast …

… but tomorrow we move onwards to Panglao Island …

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Bohol … Tarsiers and Chocolate Hills!

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The catamaran took a couple of hours and the crossing was smooth. The weather was a little overcast and warm but there was nothing much to see out of the grubby windows. On arrival, there was astonishment all round as our three suitcases were strapped to the back of a tricycle for our 10 minute ride to the hotel. There was a seat for two on one side and Joanna hopped up behind the driver!

Once we had checked in to our good sized room Vest Grand Suites …

… our priority was lunch so we hailed a tricycle to the centre of town and tried out the Garden Cafe which is run by the Bohol Deaf Society with the proceeds used to educate local deaf children and the cafe itself used to train deaf students. I should mention here that our mixed dietary requirements (Chris veggie, no fish, but will eat dairy and eggs – Joanna, no meat, no dairy but will eat eggs and fish) could prove challenging in a country where the national dish is lechon or roast pork! The salads were unavailable but we had bowls of chop suey which hit the spot but we ordered far too much food as the portions were huge. The useful sign language guide in the menu meant we all managed to thank our servers.

Afterwards, we took a turn round Plaza Rizal in the centre of town and named for Jose Rizal, a national hero who inspired independence from the Spanish, but more about him later.

On one side is the Capitol Building …

… and on the other the elegant San Jose Cathedral initially built in 1767 but destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1855. It also suffered damage in the 2013 Bohol earthquake which caused serious damage across the Visayas and killed 222 people.

Inside, the altar is very elaborate and we had obviously visited during confession.

Many of the paintings are very local in style, including this one remembering the earthquake.

We walked back to our hotel, taking snaps of the busy town filled with colourful jeepneys and tricycles, most with a bible verse on the back!

We had dinner in a cafe run by Bohol Bee Farm, using homemade and organic ingredients and with choice for all.

Next day, the hotel arranged a car to take us on the Countryside Tour, taking in all the attractions of Bohol. We began at the Philippine Tarsier Sanctuary where they protect what is left of the native population of this tiny saucer-eyed primate. Tarsiers have been around for 45 million years are are closest related to lemurs and bush-babies. They are just 10-15cm and live alone in small territories in this protected 134-hectare area of wilderness. Each day, the volunteers ‘spot’ their positions so that they can guide visitors quietly and in very small groups to get a glimpse. A high school student on work experience showed us round and we were very lucky to see tarsiers awake as they are nocturnal.

Our next stop was the other main tourist attraction on the island, The Chocolate Hills. There are as many as 1776 conical limestone hills spread over 50sqkm and covered in grass which turns brown in the dry season and gives them their name. They are similar to the karst hills we saw in the Vinales valley in Cuba called mogotes. We climbed 211 steps to the viewing platform and waited till the sun lit up the hills.

And yes readers, we were there!

The next stop, crazily, was so we could have our picture taken in the middle of the road! This 2km stretch of stretch of densely planted mahogany trees known as the Manmade Forest was planted by university students over 50 years ago to replace trees lost from widespread slash and burn farming. Luckily, traffic slows on approach, knowing there are likely to be visitors taking that essential selfie!

The Sevilla Twin Hanging Bridge was first erected so enable locals to transport farm and livestock across the Sevilla River, but along the way evolved into an attraction for visitors. It has a traditional deck of intricately my woven bamboo slats, although the rope suspension has been replaced with steel cables! We crossed to the other side, browsed the souvenirs and returned to the car.

We joined other visitors on a Loboc River cruise which travelled slowly upstream as we had a tasty buffet lunch with a variety of local specialities to try, while being entertained by a small band.

Once we had finished, we reached a floating platform where a show of massed ukuleles and dancing was put on by a community group, who encouraged visitors to join in!

As we approached the rather uninspiring Tontonan Falls …

… we noticed people zip- wiring above us, and as boat turned and returned to the dock we decided to enquire about having a go. It was just a few kms back up the road and Joanna and I decided to go for the 2-zip special, side by side. Without go-pros it would have been silly to take a camera, so we relied on Chris to capture the moment from below. IT WAS AMAZING! The scariest part was assuming a horizontal position in the harness … and trusting that you would stop in time at the other end … I shut my eyes for that bit. In the middle it was fabulous, swooping like birds over the river and seeing far more of the waterfalls than we had seen on the boat. Our event photographer said it was all over so fast … and this is the best snap, but I was too busy looking at the view!

We made a brief stop at the Xzootic Animal Park where we saw butterflies and pythons, but it only gets a mention as we took a couple of nice pics of Joanna!

The road back took us along the coast road and we stopped at Baclayon Church, which was founded in 1596, and is the oldest Christian settlement in Bohol. It was all but destroyed during the 2013 earthquake, so much has been restored.

Church design in the Philippines is a fusion of native Spanish designs and a uniquely Oriental style. It also was adapted to cope with natural disasters including fires and earthquakes, creating a style sometimes referred to as Earthquake Baroque. This was characterised by sturdy proportions with thick, heavily buttressed side walls and upper structures made with lighter materials. Bell towers are also usually lower and stouter and all these characteristics can be seen here. Also, like many churches, the walls are made of coral stone.

Our final stop was the site of the Sandugo or Blood Compact between Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi and Datu Sikatuna, the chieftain of Bohol, who sealed their friendly agreement by cutting their arms and letting few drops of blood to mix with the wine which they drank together. It is considered the first treaty of friendship between the Spaniards and Filipinos and is celebrated every July.

Tomorrow, rather than the luxury of an air conditioned car, we are going to try out something a little more local …

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Cebu City … Fleetingly!

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Our flight left Brisbane at 11.10 and we finally checked in to our hotel in Cebu at 10.00 at night. It had been a long day but we grabbed beers and snacks at the 7-Eleven on the corner then got drenched on our way back in a downpour.

By 10.00 next morning we were off to the ferry port …

… and were saying goodbye to Cebu already as we caught the catamaran to Bohol …

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Chris & Elaine’s Ferry Round the Philippines 2020

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Having spent a great Christmas and New Year in Brisbane with the family, it seemed a little too soon to be heading back to the chill of England, so we decided to stop off in The Philippines for the rest of January!

There are 7,641 islands which make up the archipelago of The Philippines and we will be visiting just 7, all part of the central group called the Visayas.

We are slightly apprehensive as Typhoon Phanfone swept across the Visayas region on Christmas Day causing considerable destruction and killing 47 people but fortunately Cebu missed the worst of the damage. The typhoon season generally runs from June to November and while they can occur at any time, we hoped not to experience one and we will soon see if this affects our trip.

Joanna is coming to Cebu with us and will be spending a few days on Bohol and Panglao before returning to Sydney, while we continue to Negros, Siquijor, Pacijan and Poros.

The Philippines, named after King Philip of Spain, spent over 300 years as a Spanish colony. They are still 90% Christian but also made up of a dozen ethnicities and some 19 recognised regional languages.

There will be lots of sand and sea, a number of ferries and buses … and for me at least since I am in the company of non-meat eaters, the national dish of lechon or roast pork!

Journal Posts

Cebu City … Fleetingly!

Bohol … Tarsiers and Chocolate Hills!

Bohol … Jeepney to Antequera!

Panglao … Simply Chilling!

Cebu City … Again!

Cebu … Our Day in the Mountains!

Cebu … Samboan – Portrait of a Filipino Town

Siquijor … Stunning Sunsets!

The Camotes Islands … and their Churches

Cebu City … Once More!

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Chrissy in Brissy

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We’ve had a great time celebrating the holidays together.

On Christmas Day, despite being overcast, we drove just north of Brisbane to Pelican Park in Clontarf and opened our stockings on the beach.

We all had some fab gifts including a Joanna getting her Australian Passport and the girls having matching Disco Bead bracelets.

Later, we cooked up a spread of dishes to cater for all including salmon, ham and veggie tarts with a variety of salads.

The sun came out briefly after a huge downpour and later we played Dobble, Uno and Rummikub.

We drove to Noosa on Boxing Day and as we got closer, the day got sunnier! We spent the next three days here …

… spending some time on the beach ….

… and hanging out with the Hodder clan.

We also hired a paddle board for an hour and took turns. Joanna had her own board in Sydney but it was the first time for Chris and me. We both had a little trouble to start with and I even fell off and dropped the paddle and Joanna came to my rescue although when I realised I was not out of my depth and could stand on the bottom all was fine!

By the end we both managed to stand for quite a while – definitely something we will do again!

We explored Tambourine Mountain, set in the green hinterland where there are several national parks protecting rainforest and waterfalls. We took a walking track to Curtis Falls … spotting bats on the way and getting amazing ice cream in the cafe afterwards.

We’ve visited the Botanical Gardens at Mount Coot-tha before, but it’s a good place for a stroll and we even spotted wildlife, including a possum trapped in the cafe, causing chaos.

Poinciana trees are in bloom all over the city which has been a surprise as they weren’t flowering last trip and here is a huge one here making a bit of a show …

… and another along Kedron Brook where we walked on several mornings.

We cooked up another spread for New Year’s Eve including Jan’s Coronation chicken, frittata and a whole roasted cauliflower and celebrated the arrival of the new decade with party poppers and champagne.

On New Year’s Day we opted not to spend 1.5hrs in the traffic each way to the beach and instead chilled at home which was fab … sun, pool, board games and a few beers!

We’ve had a great time here but unfortunately all good things come to an end and it is now time to leave … our next destination, The Philippines.

Chris & Elaine Go Downunder for Christmas 2019

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Once again we leave the possibility of a white Christmas behind in favour of a warm festive holiday with family.

We are looking forward to meeting Joanna in Brisbane airport on Sunday morning and we will all be spending Christmas in Brisbane with Jan, John, Jack and Jade. We then have a few days planned in Noosa to meet up with our cousins before returning to Brisbane for New Year.

We’ll post some pics in due course but the focus is definitely on family time rather than sightseeing.

There will be a stop on the way home though, so look out for Chris & Elaine’s Ferry Round the Philippines 2020 in January!

Meanwhile, a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

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BBC Bristol …

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On our last morning we checked out, leaving our bag to collect later, stopped for breakfast at Wapping Wharf then walked up through the city to BBC Bristol for a tour.

We looked round reception and could see the kind of programmes made here like Antiques Roadshow, Gardeners World and Countryfile. Their pride and joy is the Natural History Unit which have made all the best known wildlife programmes from Life on Earth to Seven Worlds, One Planet that will be shown this autumn. The technical developments during this time have been immense, enabling the camera to get closer and closer to the action, nowadays often using drones to disturb the animals as little as possible. BBC Bristol also make the local news programme Points West and our tour showed us the BBC Wildlife Garden where the weather is filmed and the main news studio – both behind the scenes, and in front of the camera!

Afterwards, we had a go recording our own radio play with special sound effects including rubber gloves for bats, a bicycle pump for a champagne cork …

… and then filming a news and sport bulletin with a weather slot which certainly helped us see there is a lot more to this tv lark than meets the eye!

Walking back, we popped into the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, really just to see Banksy’s Paint-Pot Angel, but it was out on loan … so we’ll have to see that next time. Once inside though, we took a turn round their Pre-Raphaelites and really liked this one …

… saw this view of the bridge …

… and this replica of the first plane built in Bristol – the Bristol Boxkite.

The tower of the Wills Memorial Building dominates the city and is considered one of the last great Gothic buildings to be built in England. It is part of the University of Bristol and we just looked inside the entrance hall …

… then headed passed the Cathedral and we were done.

We had watched the quiches and salads being prepared while we ate our breakfast this morning and returned to Mokoko to try them out!

Chatting over lunch, we thought we would probably be back sometime, after all there’s definitely more to see, it would be nice to see the city with a little more sunshine and there are lots more restaurants to try!

On that happy note, the ferry took us back to Temple Meads and our train home.

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Lots of Banksy …

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Today is our wedding anniversary, and we picked Bristol so we could celebrate with a boat trip. There are a pair of ferries who have a figure of eight route round the harbour and we really fancied having Grommit at the helm but he was going the wrong way … maybe later!

We passed wharf buildings converted into apartments …

… under Bristol Bridge …

… and an interesting new pedestrian bridge …

… until we could see Cheese Lane Shot Tower. William Watts invented the tower process for making lead shot whereby molten lead was dropped into cold water below. The original tower was built in 1782 and used until demolished for road widening in 1968. It was rebuilt the following year in this modern design and continued to be used to make lead shot till 1980. It can now be hired as a penthouse boardroom!

We got off at Castle Park which contains St Peter’s church, bombed in the Blitz and left as a monument …

… then followed a route through the city, picking off the main attractions starting with St Nicolas Market …

We exited the market in Corn Street where the C18th Corn Exchange was built to house the merchants who were blocking the streets. They settled their debts on the four flat-topped brass pillars called Nails – hence the expression to ‘pay on the nail’.

The clock above the entrance has two minute hands, the red hand shows Bristol Time and just over ten minutes ahead is the black hand showing Railway Time (or GMT) used before time was standardised across the UK to accomodate railway schedules in 1852.

Everards Printing Works has a colourful Art Noveau facade with Carrara-ware tiles and murals of Johannesburg Gutenberg and William Morris, the fathers of modern printing, separated by the Spirit of Literature and presided over by a woman holding a lamp and mirror representing light and truth … it just needs a little tlc so I hope somebody restores it.

We then headed down Nelson Street to see remaining street art from the See No Evil festival in 2011-12. There is a huge amount of information online about who painted what, but here are just some images.

New Room was built by John Wesley in 1743, initially as meeting room but also used as a soup kitchen, a school, a dispensary and the first Methodist chapel.

Next stop is the neighbourhood of Stokes Croft, where the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft promote art in the community.

It seems quite a rundown area and the aroma of pot and drying spray paint was definitely in the air as we checked out some of the of street art …

… including a couple of Banksy’s – The Mild Mild West and The Rose Trap …

… and Well Hung Lover nearer the city centre.

The city have several free museums including Red Lodge which was once a C16th merchants house and later England’s first girls reform school with a splendid Tudor Oak Room …

… and The Georgian House, former home of local sugar merchant John Pitney with faithfully restored rooms and the story of the family’s dealings in the West Indies. Their slave Pero was commemorated by the Pero bridge in 1999.

Back at the harbour, Grommit was ready to take us round the other side of the harbour.

We passed the reconstruction of the Matthew, the ship in which the Italian navigator Giovanni Caboto or John Cabot, sailed west from Bristol in 1497 in search of Asia. Instead he found North America, landing on the banks of what he named Newfoundland, which he claimed for England.

We continued to Nova Scotia Point …

… before returning to the SS Great Britain and got off.

We went in search of Banksy’s take on Vermeer. It’s a good job Google Maps has a note of these or we would never have found it tucked between a couple of dock buildings … Girl with the Pierced Eardrum …

… and finally, a rather squashed Mickey reminding us of Rose Trap earlier

With such a multi-cultural heritage in Bristol, we’ve managed to revisit all our favourite cuisines in one short break, and tonight was no different with Souk Kitchen decorated with bold colours and flickering candles and offering a fusion of Middle Eastern flavours. Yum!

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