south to cebu

The flight from Boracay to Cebu City went smoothly on Sunday. I had to island hop back onto the Panay mainland (Caticlan), but this didn't take long. If I'd known how close the airport was to the shore when I arrived I'd have walked over, but I didn't so I got a motorbike and sidecar to the terminal. This amounted to a thirty second drive, and a hard bang on the head. The sidecar had a low tin roof and we hit a deep pothole at speed. 'Watch your head sir,' the driver said after the event.

The flight down was pleasant. The aeroplane was small and there were only about eight passengers on board. You could see the captain sat up at the front doing the flying and fiddling with the controls. Because the plane had propellers, as opposed to jet engines, it made an old fashioned plane-like sound as we flew. It was mid-afternoon, and a clear day, so I was able to gaze down out of the window as we flew over Panay, Negros, and finally Cebu. My eyes were peeled for another volcano but I didn't spot one.

I got a taxi from the airport, and soon discovered the taxi driver was a Pet Shop Boys fan. Their greatest hits blasted out on his CD player as we drove into the city proper. 'You always wanted a lover... I only wanted a job... I've always worked for my living... How am I gonna get through?' We had a chat about the Philippino film industry as we went. He took me to the Pacific Pension on Osmena Boulevard, 'the place to come in Cebu - for safety, comfort, and convenience.' At least so says their business card. It's a good little hotel, and they have a restaurant with some interesting local dishes, which is terrific because there seems to be a general dearth of restaurants around the city.

Cebu is quite a significant place: Ferdinand Magellan landed here when he first 'discovered' the Philippines in 1519, making this the place the beginning point of all the numerous foreign influences which have subsequently shaped Philippino history. Cebu City is the second largest city in the Philippines with a population of seven hundred and twenty thousand.

I've been doing a bit of sightseeing of course. Have walked down to the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino, built in 1740, which contains the Santo Nino Statuette. The Santo Nino Statuette is the oldest and most important religious relic in the Philippines. It's a small doll dressed in red, supposed to be an image of Jesus as a child, which was given by Ferdinand Magellan to Queen Juana of Cebu in 1521 when she was Baptised a Catholic. A very significant event in national history as it marks the beginning of Christianity and Catholicism in the Philippines. This was the moment when it began to take. I can't say I found the doll particularly pretty. It's head looked like that of a modern plastic doll. As I looked at it I wondered whether the eyes would close if you tilted the head back?

I've also been to Cebu Cathedral, a similarly pretty Spanish-style church to the Basilica, and to Fort San Pedro, a small triangular fort built by the Spaniards in 1565 as a defence against pirates. I liked Fort San Pedro rather more than Fort Santiago in Manila. It's more pretty - perhaps because it's so small, perhaps because the gardens inside are so well kept and colourful. Some blind singers sang as I wandered the ramparts.

My time in the Philippines is almost over. It's flown by, but I feel I've seen what I wanted to see, and done what I wanted to do, so I'm ready to move on. I hope Malaysia (next stop) has a more interesting visa stamp waiting for me than the Philippino immigration officers did: my only disappointment since arrival in the archipeligo. Bit more sightseeing today and tomorrow, and then I fly over to Kuala Lumpur.