Cebu is NOT all about lechon. There’s the coveted, sought-after Chicharon from Carcar too! đ Kidding aside, Cebu has much to offer. In between the lechons and the chicharons, its natural wonders and rich history make it a must-destination.
Oh, how we indulged ourselves! More so after a NO-TUKI-SIGHTING day in Oslob. Imagine having to wake up at 3am to leave at 4am, cruising the next 3 hours down to Southern Cebu to meet the gentle whale sharks. F.R.U.S.T.R.A.T.I.O.N. Those giants stood us up!
Not like us to let this frustration ruin our day, we made good use of our time (and money spent on the hired van) to make a few interesting stopovers on our drive back to Cebu City.
Boljoon. Our first stop heading back to the city from Oslob driving along the coast. One of the oldest towns in the Philippines. Strategically located, facing Bohol Strait some 100 kilometers south of Cebu City. The church of Nuestra Señora Patrocinio de Maria, built in 1599 making it the oldest remaining stone church in Cebu, is very well preserved. The Museum adjoining the Church is a pleasant surprise.
If I have not read earlier blogs on Boljoon, I would have easily dismissed it as another sleepy town. As we passed this seaside municipality, a huge limestone and granite rock caught our attention — allegedly a cavity formed by the collapse of a mountain range. These natural wonders never fail to amaze me — truly an unplanned composition of water and wind. It is likely that Boljoon may have derived its name from “nabulho”, meaning “collapsed”.
I took the stairs and was floored by the vista of the Boljoon Church courtyard framed by mountains. Wow. You don’t get this view every day. Somehow the vista transported me to those times of the frailes. A truly colonial feel. I can almost visualize the frailes doing their paseos in the courtyard or venturing out of the church premises for a grand view of the sea. More than that, the Parish Museum has much to offer – from church vestments, well-preserved parish records and manuscripts dating as far back as the 17th century, to various religious artifacts and archaeological finds. Among these archaeological finds are Japanese porcelain and other artifacts. Since the church compound also has its own burial grounds, skeletons were also unearthed. What all these excavation finds reveal can fill many pages of a book, telling of a rich heritage of an otherwise “sleepy, seaside town”. We never bothered before, but these discoveries now beg our attention. It’s all up to us to make, and cherish, that connection to our past.
lifeisacelebration 