Cebu City and Camotes Islands

I first visited Cebu in June last year. Then I stayed at Mandaue City, but this time I stayed right in the middle of town in Cebu City on Colon Street. It is quite a different experience. This is the University that my god-son is attending in Cebu City. Many of their colleges and schools are located near the city centre.

You can also find monuments all around. Below are some of the more interesting monuments in Cebu City.

I found this building quite unusual. It stood out from the rest of the buildings on that road, and I like the colour scheme too.

This is the Provincial Capitol Building. It is like a city hall where the provincial government is located within, and it looks like a replica of the US White House. On the grounds there is a statue of Lapu-Lapu (considered to be a Filipino hero) and Sergio Osmena (former Governor of Cebu who became the 4th President of the Philippines).

Then there is the Independence Plaza and next to that is the Fort of San Pedro.

Within walking distance from the Independence Plaza is the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral where I attended morning mass on Sunday where they celebrated the 81st birthday of the Archbishop of Cebu City.

Taking a bus north to Danao took about an hour. There we boarded a motorized banca for a 3 hour boat ride to the Camotes Islands. Unfortunately, it was raining quite heavily throughout the day, so we did not really get a chance to explore the island and the resorts.

It was quite an experience sitting on a hard wooden bench on a rocking boat for over 3 hours. Upon arrival, we transferred to Poro port on 2 motorcycles, riding in the rain and getting soaking wet. Then it was time to take the ferry back to Danao.  All-in-all we travelled 6 hours on the Pacific Ocean.