Growing up along the coastal municipality of Leyte, everyday of my childhood years, was spent mischievously playing along the wide seashore without complaining about any pinch of life's worries at all back then. And at the end of every game, when all of us are tired,(and have our knees slightly bruised sometimes) I and my childhood friends, used to sit at a beach while waiting for the magestic sunset to paint the sky gold. We were entertained by the different formations of clouds we got to see every day. And while looking at the sunset and clouds, my eyes always wandered to have a glimpse of our neighboring provinces, which is very visible from where we are - Bohol and Cebu. Back then, I always wonder if it would be great to visit Cebu one day (which I prefer to visit among the two).
I was able to first set foot in Cebu when I was 12 years old. My Papa's work required him to be assigned to Cebu at that time. Funny as it may seem, as a child then, I could not explain how happy I was, like a puppy jumping for joy when it saw it coming home after a long day of waiting 😊. It was a three-day visit to the city, and I had so much fun that up to these days, that blissful memory of that "child" still lingers in me that I will forever cherish.
The beautiful province of Cebu - to me is the nearest yet so far. When I graduated from college, I found the opportunity to work in Manila. And that's when I started carving out time to travel once in a while despite my busy schedule. I have been to many beaches and mountains in either the Southern or Northern part of Luzon. But still, for me, nothing compares to visiting Cebu. It is still number one on my list.
So after years of working and saving money - and traveling to different provinces in between, I was finally able to say:
"Hello Cebu! It's good to be back!"
It may seem so much on sugar coating but this place' vibe has given me sparkles of joy jumping in every inch of me compared to any places I have traveled before. There's this unexplainable light of excitement that illuminated in the dark corner of my adventurous soul discretely screaming at the top of my lungs saying:
"After the longest time, I am finally here!! "
Strange and funny as it may seem, Cebu felt like my second home. Maybe it's because I grew up staring at it from a distance so I considered it a remarkable part of my childhood.
Pardon for that long dramatic intro, it's just the easiest way I think there is, though it still won't sum up all the things I wanted to say, on how much this place has stolen an enormous portion of my heart.
From Hilongos port, we rode a regular passenger vessel which took us 5 hours to reach Cebu, City.
I was with my friends and sister. Of course, the experience would be much funnier with them. They are the type of adventure-seeker individual so from the city, we ended up going northbound to Danasan Eco-Adventure Park in Danao, City. With a twinge of adrenaline rush kicking in, we knew that this place is the perfect getaway.
We were dropped by at Danao Public Market and from there, we rode a motorcycle also commonly called as "habal-habal" in our Visayan language. It was one hour of a dusty and bumpy road trip. Nevertheless, the travel alone going to our destination, Danasan was all worth it.
The stunning view of the mountainside on our way made us stop for a while to snap pictures of the beautiful place.
My friend is always good at making a pose.
We felt the warm welcome of the eco-park when we got there. It was shady weather on that day so we prayed so hard that it won't rain so our adventure would not be ruined. And we were so glad that the weather has nicely cooperated. It did not rain, thank God heard of pleading. We were not exposed to the scorching heat of the sun either.
They offered lots of extreme adventures but we only tried one activity. I guess it isn't even considered extreme. We rode the zipline. Yes, the classic zipline is commonly offered in any adventure park. It wasn't my first time trying it but for my manghud (younger sister), it was her first time because she was afraid to try it before (in our hometown). This time she wanted to try for her to conquer her fears.
All set with our safety gears and let the fun begin!
My sister told me that she was kinda nervous at first but we were glad we did it at the same time so it somehow calmed her knowing I was beside her. And as we were on its 440-meter-long ride, the awesome view of the lush green mountain was so rewarding that she forgot that she was shaking in fear at first.
On the other side, horses were waiting for us to bring us back uphill. It was our first time experiencing horseback riding.
My sister and I were supposed to ride on one horse but she suddenly changed her mind. She wanted to ride the horse alone to fully experience it so she was transferred to another horse.
It was indeed a great experience but we were just contented strolling around the park the rest of the day while looking at other guests enjoying the extreme activities.
They also have here the ATV ride but I guess my adrenaline was not that fully charged so I did not dare to try it and so did my friends.
They also have this extreme vehicle for an off-road adventure experience but taking a picture with it was all we did. 😅
On our way to the city, my friends and I were all fueled with happiness. Somehow a bucket list has already been brought to reality.
Before going home, we did not miss the chance to have a quick relaxing stroll around Plaza Independencia and a historical visit to Fort San Pedro.
My sister is fascinated with visiting museums so this place is making her heart full. And seeing her happy is making my heart full as well.
And last but not the least, we went to Basilica del Santo Niño and also the Magellan's Cross to utter some prayer, more on being grateful to Him.
As we bid Cebu farewell, I made this promise that I will keep on coming back to Cebu (with my fingers crossed). There's just something with you that I will always love coming back to. You embraced my heart with happiness and I will never get enough of you.
Daghan kaayong Salamat Sugbo sa init nga pagdawat! (Thank you very much Cebu for the warm welcome!)
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