Philippine holiday part 4 (CEBU)

Thursday, 13 August 2005. We flew to Cebu to see Philippa (David's sister) and to visit Ivy's relatives. The trip included Ivy's mother's first flight in an aeroplane. When we landed, David asked her what she thought of it: `It makes your ears feel wierd!' (We were flying in an ancient (1967) DC-9 of Cebu Pacific, obviously the pressurisation is getting a bit feeble). Philippa met us at the airport and took us back to her house for a lovely lunch of beef stew (yum yum!). Then we went to the Basilica del Santo Nino, a venerable building dating back from the Spanish colonial days. We were all impressed by the carvings, paintings and especially the altar-piece, but David also liked the bats roosting on the ceiling! We then saw the Magellan Cross, and went to Fort St Pedro, the former Spanish era fort built to protect their latest trading outpost. So, a good cultural-historical start to this half of our holiday.

The Statue of the Miraculous child (Santo Nino) was made by Flemish craftsmen and brought to Cebu by the Spanish in the 16th century. In 1565 the Basilica del Santo Nino was built specifically to house the statue, which is said to have miraculous properties. The statue is carefully protected inside a glass case in a side aisle of the Basilica.

The aisle of the Basilica. Built by Miguel Lopez de Legaspi in 1565, it was subsequently burnt down and rebuilt in 1602. Miraculously, the statue, despite being made of wood, survived the blaze.

The Altar and the decorative ceiling

Lighting the candles

Outside the cathedral, there were loads of vendors selling different stuff such as candles, water, balloons, etc.

Magellan's Cross was the cross originally planted in Cebu by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, prior to his being killed by Lapu-Lapu of Mactan. The original cross has been encased in a new wooden cross for protection, and is on display close to the Basilica del Santo Nino.

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Fort San Pedro was the original defensive position set out by Legaspi in 1565. Over the centuries the fortifications were enhanced as it became increasingly important in the fight against Muslim insurgents - a fight which continues today, as the MILF and Abu Sayyaf attest. As the city grew outside the fort, and particularly with the growth of the harbour, the fort declined in importance, although it was used as a fort as recently as the Japanese occupation, and briefly thereafter as an army camp. Today, the sturdy walls house an attractive garden and some pleasant views over the city. There are still a few old cannon on display - fortunately, no longer in working order.

While we were there, some art students from the university were taking advantage of the fort to practice their landscape painting. It is a very suitable subject.