Cebu – Mactan Philippines Tour

Our first stop was the shrine of LapuLapu on Mactan Island – a small island connected to the larger island of Cebu by 2 historic bridges.   The story of LapuLapu is classic – local hero defeats enemy force having superior numbers and weapons who are invading his homeland.  On 27 April, 1521, three Spanish warships under the leadership of Ferdinand de Magellan approached Cebu Island.  The Spanish were unprepared for the shallow coastal waters of the island and had to disembark from their landing vessels and wade to the beach in their heavy armor.  The natives under Chief LapuLapu aided by their familiarity  with the coast fought with skill and determination.  Magellan was killed during the battle and the Spanish force retreated and continued on to Spain.  So LapuLapu is credited with being the first Filipino chief to successfully resist European aggression.

  The statue of LapuLapu was majestic. 

The bay was empty and peaceful at low tide.

  The memorial tablet was simple 

and the mural shed some historical light

 on the armaments and challenges

 of both sides.

 Near the exit, of course, were booths selling native crafts.

The second stop was Allegre Guitars – a shop in the “guitar district” a niche industry sufficierntly in demand that patrons are required to fly in from all over the world to pick up their custom-made instrument to avoid potential damage in shipping.  Exotic woods from all over the world line one wall of the shop and they are glad to explain in detail the characteristics and advantages of each – from the maple, cedar, and spruce of Canada, rosewood of India, to the many native woods of the Philippines including black ebony, mahogany, acacia, langka (jackfruit), etc..  

Next are the workrooms where the wood is patiently and skillfully cut, shaped, and glued by hand, and then treated and finished in carefully controlled “safe” rooms.  

They make not only beautiful guitars, but also a variety of other stringed instruments including the unique cocolilly – a local instrument whose back is made from a cluster of three coconut shells.

Next stop was the Taoist Temple built in 1964 by Cebu’s substantial Chinese community.  It is located literally in the Beverly Hills Subdivision of Cebu City.  The faithful enter the temple at the lower level and climb the 81 stairs representative of the 81 chapters of the Taoism scriptures to light joss sticks and have their fortunes told. The rest of us enter at the upper level across an entrance which is a replica of a portion of the ”Great Wall of China”.  

We were allowed to photograph the lawns, outside of buildings and statues, 

but not the inside of chapels, shrines, or gods. 

My immediate favorite was a huge and hugely charming dragon statue.

 We also went up to a small second level with a statue representative of the Taoist proverb: “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Next we drove past the Cebu Provincial Capital (which is nicknamed the “White House”, but more closely resembles the U.S. Capital Building) and ex-governor Sergio Osmena’s house. 

We drove down to Colon Street, the oldest street in Cebu, which is named after Cristobel Colon (aka Christopher Columbus.) 

Next stop was the “Heritage of Cebu Monument”.  This is a very imposing monument of concrete, bronze, brass, and steel by National Artist Eduardo Castrillo.  

It is a fascinating tableau of different significant and symbolic events in the history of Cebu.  It depicts some significant structures such as the Basilica del Santo Niño, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the Saint John the Baptist Church, the Magellan’s Cross, and a Spanish Galleon. 

 Scenes depicted include the Battle of Mactan between Lapu-Lapu and Ferdinand Magellan,

 a Santo Niño procession, a Roman Catholic mass, and the first Christian baptism.  

  Some persons depicted include late president Sergio Osmena Sr., Blessed Pedro Calungsod—the first Filipino to become a Catholic saint, and representational figures from major colonial eras including Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic traders.

It is interesting that much of the history of Cebu & Mactan Islands as they represent it refers to their multi-cultural colonial history and the conversion of the majority of the people to Chrisitianity.

There is a little more of our tour to post plus some up-dating, but that will be included in the next post.