Here’s how we spent the Holy Week in Cebu.

March 24

Welcome to Cebu!

Our day started at midnight, when we went to Baliwag Bus Terminal. The first trip was at 1:00 a.m., and since I was to carry Sprout anyway, we did not get a separate seat for her. We slept for most of the trip, and arrived at the bus terminal at Cubao in just 3 hours. Then, we took a Grab car to NAIA Terminal 3, and was at the airport at exactly 5:00 a.m.

At the airport, Sprout was really cooperative. She had no tantrums. She was curious, but she didn’t make the check-in and boarding hard at all. Everything went by smoothly for the next, well, 5 hours. Yep, our flight was at 10:00 a.m.

Wondering what we did at the airport? Well, we breastfed, slept, walked, went to the restroom, and ate over and over again. At 8:00 a.m., we decided to go to the boarding gates. There was a slight delay, which we didn’t care about since we were already waiting for too long.

The flight was uneventful. Sprout was sleeping the entire time. Francis and I slept, too. Before we knew it, we were landing at Mactan-Cebu International Airport.

My cousin Kuya James fetched us from the airport. We stopped for a while at SM Seaside for lunch. We treated him for lunch at the Food Court and I bought Sbarro because we didn’t bring pasalubong from Nueva Ecija.

Upon arrival at Daddylo’s house at the City of Naga (mama’s hometown), we took a bath and fell fast asleep. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful.

March 25

Our first full day here was spent in the City of Naga. This is my mama’s hometown. I used to come here for vacations when I was a kid. The last time I visited was during my grandmother’s burial but everything now is pleasantly different from what I remember.

We were supposed to go around the city for the whole day. Unfortunately, Francis had an impromptu talk for a seminar back in our division so we were almost just at home. My cousin RR accompanied me and Sprout to Savemore to buy slippers and some snacks.

Francis’s stint at the seminar lasted around 2:00 p.m. and of course he needed to rest. We ordered Jollibee via this app called Maxim and watched Home Alone on Netflix.

That afternoon, we went to the plaza. Sprout was very happy at the playground. Francis and I kept raving about it, wishing there was something like this back in San Jose City.

Then, we went around the Boardwalk. It’s so beautiful! Sprout was overjoyed at the huge space and the ocean. (Too bad she just likes to look at the sea…)

After our walk, we had a street food dinner back at the plaza. Francis finally got to eat puso, which is just plain rice wrapped coconut leaves woven into a heart-shape. We had them with barbecue, isaw, and some tempura.

After our simple dinner, we went back to Boardwalk to walk some more then have matcha. Unfortunately, their matcha was too sweet for our liking. We rode a tricycle home, took showers, and ended our day there.

Total: PhP 2,290.00

March 26

It’s Argao day!

One of my personal goals for this trip was to visit Argao. Last year, I wrote a story for Gawad Teodora Alonso inspired by one of the most well-known delicacies from this part of Cebu, La Torta De Argao (simply called “torta”). When I was younger, I didn’t really enjoy it, but I remember mama always bringing it home for pasalubong. For this trip, I wanted to pay homage to my inspiration.

Our day started with a tricycle ride to Casa Mira, where were to fetch the car that we hired earlier via Facebook. After settling the payments and IDs, we were off to Francis’s first drive outside Luzon. As usual, Sprout feel asleep shortly after.

She woke up just as we reached St. Michael the Archangel Church, which was also our first church for our Visita Iglesia. It is an Augustinian Church built during the Spanish colonial period.

There was an upcoming funeral mass when we came, so we couldn’t stay for long. After finishing our prayers, we left for our next stop: St. Tomas de Villanueva Church in Brgy. Talaga. It was supposed to be an old church, too, but it looks very modern.

Then, we spent lunch at Mahayahay Beach. It’s a public beach, so it’s not really tourist-y. We bought food and drinks on the way. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to swim a lot. First, it was sooooo hot (given it’s lunch time). Second, Sprout is still scared of the ocean. I say, more trips to the beach?

We were very fortunate to meet the owner of Jessie’s Homemade Torta, Ms. Jessie Magallones herself. She sold us her tableya ice candy, and dang were they the yummiest. Sprout finished hers and happily commented it tasted like my mama’s champorado. Lami jud!

While eating their ice candies – I didn’t have one because Sprout ate my share, too – Ms. Jessie told us the story of her business. She started making and selling torta in order to help her then-government employee husband with the finances. Like me, she also has just one child.

What makes her torta stand out among all the delicious tortas in Argao? Tradition, she said. While other bakers have started selling “special” (flavored) versions of the famous Argao cake, she keeps everything just like how she made it from the beginning. She did’t care if other stores claimed theirs were better or “the original” – all she wanted was to make traditional torta.

(Ms. Jessie doesn’t gatekeep her torta recipe. She allows students to hold immersions and tours in her dirty kitchen, and the tutorial is found on YouTube.)

Before we left her humble store, Ms. Jessie showed us her image of St. Salome, which would be joining the procession for Good Friday.

After our insightful and inspiring visit to Jessie’s homemade, we dropped by Guilang’s Tableya to get pasalubong.

Then, we went back to Naga, stopping once in Carcar to buy *expensive* chicharon at Mat-Mat.

I really loved this day! Argao is very rich, culture-wise. I will definitely come back.

Here’s a really short video of our really short day trip to Argao:

TOTAL: PhP 6,929.00

March 27

It’s my mama’s birthday!

This day, my aunts treated us to a trip to Cebu Ocean Park. It’s not really part of our itinerary since we’re not fond of animals in captivity, but we indulged for Sprout. But first, we went to my Auntie Ruth’s office at the city hall. She’s the city’s information officer.

Auntie Ruth herself gave us a tour of the museum. I was so envious! I kept remembering this was what we wanted for San Jose City back in 2017. Unfortunately, that did not materialize, but anyway. Naga Museum is awesome!

I will try to make a video of our mini-tour, but for now, here are some snaps:

Parte’belle

For lunch, we went to the Minglanilla branch of Parte’belle. This is a famous homegrown restaurant, known especially for SUTUKIL. (The term is a mish-mash of the local terms for three different ways of cooking meat and seafood: sugba, tuwa, and kilaw.)

The place was not packed when we came in, which was after lunch already. But as a testament to how Parte’belle is, they had run out of rice. So, we settled with corn grits, which was sooooo filling. We had liempo for the grilled (sugba) component, fish soup (tuwa), and of course the yummiest ceviche (kinilaw). We were so full when we left.

Cebu Ocean Park

The main event for this day was our visit to Cebu Ocean Park. Personally, Francis and I do not approve aquariums and zoos – being former vegans. But it was a treat for our daughter from her grandmothers and we were in no place to refuse.

It was super hot and the place was packed. Sprout loved the aquarium the most, I think. Honestly, she almost got lost because she was too engrossed with the fishes and it was packed and dark.

Aside from marine animals, they also have birds and reptiles, just like Manila Ocean Park.

March 28

Holy Thursday. Obviously, my family in Cebu is hardcore Catholic, so we participated in the tradition of Visita Iglesia. For non-Catholic or non-Filipino readers, Visita Iglesia is a tradition of visiting and praying in seven (7) different Roman Catholic churches.

My aunts believed that there was going to be heavy traffic towards Cebu south, so we took the route to the north instead. We stopped in churches in Naga, Minglanilla, and Cebu City.

Our last church was, of course, Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño de Cebu. It was Francis’s first time here – in Cebu, actually – and I am happy that he got to experience going to this important event with us. (I do not have lots of pictures because it was a prayerful and solemn moment. Also, I honestly didn’t get to finish my Visita Iglesia because Sprout fell asleep.)

This was our last full day with my family.

March 29

Because the aunts decided that we needed to already be near the airport for our early morning flight on the 30th, we left Naga on March 29. Today, Francis and Sprout also had puto maya and sikwate with ripe mangoes for breakfast for the first time. There were two types of puto maya served: white and red. Francis loved both!

(Back in the day, my mommylo would cook puto maya for us. But the aunts say they can’t replicate her recipe, so they just buy the rice cakes from the market.)

Before lunch, we departed Naga. It was bittersweet, just like the tableya we just had. It’s sad that we have to leave daddylo and RR already. I originally thought one week with them was too long… but not all. One week was not enough.

In Cebu City, we checked in into a cheap hotel for the night. Good thing they allowed early check in. It was also Sprout’s first time seeing a lamp shade and a telephone – hahaha! We ordered a bunch of food via FoodPanda for dinner – laksa, if I remember correctly – which was super yummy.

March 30

Our flight back to reality was at 7:00 in the morning, so we left the hotel at 4:00 a.m. To be honest, I felt heartbroken, but also actually excited to go back home. I wasn’t able to take lots of pictures of the last days of our week because, well, I was taking lots of videos! So, sorry for this one.

And with that, Sprout’s first flight and her and Francis’s first time in the province of my mama was over. It was incredible. It was made even more memorable because Sprout got to meet my last living grandparent, and it was the Holy Week. I hope to experience more of these vacations with my little family.

That’s all. Bye!