We were up nice and early so that we could catch the van to the airport. The route took us close to the Maasan River, we were surprised as this was not the route that the maps had taken us when we went past the airport on the way to Del Carman. We were not surprised by the 20php per person leaving “tax” we had to pay when we arrived at the airport. The plane was late in getting to the airport. This was ok as we had organised food and water, so we chilled, ate and watched the adds on the three television screens that we we could see around us. Our favourite add was for the bullet proof, bomb proof Nissan, apparently Mindanao can be a dangerous place. 

Breakfast With Andy

The flight back to Cebu was straight forward apart from one small bit of turbulence. Andy was at the airport waiting for us, he had hired a van for us. The van took us to breakfast at a little road side place that was right next to a tyre vulcanising place. We tried a variety of different foods including jackfruit and a squid dish, otherwise the food consisted of rice, eggs, chorizo and other similar types of food. 

Lapulapu

After breakfast we made our way over to the Lapulapu statue. This was the location of the first significant battle with the Spanish. The Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan had erected a cross in Cebu city and had a mass, he then went down to Lapulapu, named after the warrior who killed him. Lapulapu and his men greeted the Spanish with a side of death and sent them packing. This would buy the Philippines another 44 years of Spanish free existence. After checking out the various monuments and statues we made our way over to the Spanish fort in Cebu. 

Fort San Pedro

This was the first fort built by the Spanish and their first point of success on the islands. They used the fort to stage their expansion across the Philippines. Out the front of the fort we found a coconut vender, these guys are everywhere in Cebu City. We had a couple of glasses of refreshing coconut water before exploring the fort.

Magellan’s Cross

We made our way over to see Magellan’s cross. This is where Magellan had his first mass. The catholics then built a church on the site, similar to South America, the Spanish faith has long outlived the Spanish rule. Around the church was the first point that we were really concerned about our gear and safety. There were hawkers and beggars everywhere. Having said that there were no fees to go into the church and take a look. At this point I have to admit, if you have seen one church, you have seen them all. I have come to the conclusion that churches are not really my thing. After the church we wandered over to a taoist temple. I have never really looked into Taoism, but they had a flow chart of how their moon blocks worked. You light some incense, take two blocks, pray and ask questions, you drop the blocks and get an answer, or don’t get an answer. Having looked at it, you could probably simplify the process with a coin. 

The unit

After the Taost temple we went to the unit, but it wasn’t ready yet. We made our way back to a supermarket that is down the road. We collected some food so that we could cook dinner. We then returned to the unit and this time it was available. We unpacked our gear and took a rest. The unit was in a gated compound. All of the units are two story dwellings, this one had four bedrooms all with double beds. The owner is an artist, so the place is full of paintings. They are on all the walls including the bathroom walls. There was a massive table in the dining room that was set up in a French style with wine glasses, napkins, knives, forks, spoons, plates and bowls. 

The night Market

After a rest and some dinner, we went for a walk to do some exploring. This is when we discovered the night food market. We saw Scotty on the way and he said that the market was so big he had gotten lost in it. We wandered up and down the isles of fried baked and blended foods. The market had a stage set up in the middle of it all where a band was cranking out music using the local dialogue. We picked up a blended banana and mango smoothie and then continued on our way. We walked around the It park and checked out the sights and sounds of the local businesses and people going about their lives. We found another small food market a few streets away, it also had a stage set up for live music, but on this night there was no band playing. This is where we found chef Blake’s halo halo stall. We decided that we would come back another night to check it out.