We returned to Cebu City from Tagbilaran by ferry. My husband immediately took me to Magellan’s Cross. He meant to see it on the way to Tagbilaran but I was too tired for that. Now, he was not going to miss it.
Ferdinand Magellan ordered to install the Cross when he arrived with his ships in Cebu in March 1521. King of Cebu, his Queen, and children together with 800 of their subjects were baptized on this spot. The original cross is believed to be inside another wooden cross for protection because some people attributed healing powers to the cross and chipped away pieces of it. Others simply took them as souvenirs.
The nearby Cebu Cathedral started as a barn in the 17th century. The first church was built on the spot where a Spanish soldier found an image of Jesus in one of the houses. Eventually, it grew into a large complex most of which was destroyed by the Allied bombings during the WWII. The Cathedral was rebuilt after the war and the complex extended.
We had a quick lunch at McDonalds which is always a solution when it is hard to find a clean place to eat and took the ferry to the city of Lapu-Lapu on Mactan Island.
Lapu-Lapu was one of the two rulers of the indigenous people of Mactan. He resisted Spanish colonization of the island and for that, he is regarded as a national hero. The other ruler, Zula, gave tribute to the Spanish king.
The famous Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines in the service of Spain. Lapu-Lapu repeatedly refused Magellan’s offers to obey the Spanish king. Zula suggested to Magellan to go to Mactan and to force Lapu-Lapu to comply with his orders. On April 27, 1521, Magellan attacked Lapu-Lapu’s forces. He and his soldiers were heavily armored to impress the natives.
“Outnumbered and encumbered by their armor, Magellan’s forces were quickly overwhelmed. Magellan and several of his men were killed, and the rest escaped to the waiting ships.”
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapu-Lapu
Thus, Magellan met his untimely death on Mactan. His body did not survive; Lapu-Lapu kept it as a trophy in spite of a generous ransom offered to him for Magellan’s remains.
We took a taxi to the hotel, Islands Stay. After the sleepless night before and still plagued by my allergy, I was really looking forward to a long shower and good rest before leaving the Philippines on the following day.
The hotel lobby was painted cheerful orange. The receptionist apologized for the noise due to renovation and assured us that it would be all quiet after work hours. We said that we did not mind noise during the day.
The room was the size of a closet; it had no window. In fact, it had nothing but a double bed, a small bedside table, and wall-mounted TV. The bathroom was moldy; the sink leaked on the floor; the air-conditioner smelled and rattled. My hopes for a restful night were gone. On top of that, hotel’s WiFi did not work.
My husband, too, was dispirited. We went to check other rooms. All of them were inside cubicles with no street windows, probably because of the polluted air and traffic noise. Some had a window that opened into the hallway between the rooms.
“It is no big deal. We are here just for one night. I understand your frustration but let’s go see the Lapu-Lapu Shrine before it becomes dark,” said my husband.
He wanted to get there by jeepney, public transport in the Philippines that is used by the locals. Jeepneys are usually second-hand trucks redesigned to carry passengers. If you want to read more about jeepneys please click here.
We flagged down a jeepney that was going to the Shrine in which we had to sit squeezed between the Filipinos and their grocery bags. The locals eyed us curiously probably unable to understand why foreigners would travel like this.
To honor the brave chief Lapu-Lapu who fought against the Spaniards, a 20-meter statue was erected on the island. The City Government annually holds an event on April 27 to commemorate the victory reenacting the battle between Magellan’s army and Lapu-Lapu’s tribe.
Despite the Lapu-Lapu’s resistance, the Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for 300 years. In 1898 after the Spanish-American war, Spain ceded the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States for $20 million. American rule lasted until the World War II when Japan invaded the Philippines. The country gained its independence in 1946.
When we returned to our room, I honestly tried to adjust to its conditions but my allergy worsened. The throat and nose were so swollen that I could hardly breathe. My travels taught me to cope with lots of things but breathing is essential for life. When my husband left to buy water, I went downstairs and explained the situation to the receptionist.
“No problem,” she said, “You can have a different room.” By the time my husband returned with water, I already moved our belongings to a much cleaner room that did not smell of mold, had quiet A/C and even a window in the bathroom.
By morning, we both were well rested and my allergy was almost gone. We went to the airport together but from there, my husband and I were taking separate routes. He was flying home in Colorado via Osaka, Japan. I was staying in Asia for another week. My flight was to Seoul, South Korea.
My husband was first to leave and I wanted to see him off. A security guard stopped me at the terminal entrance. I was not allowed to enter because my flight was from another terminal. I tried to explain that I had a valid ticket and it did not matter from which terminal I entered the airport. The guard did not let me in anyway. That did not make sense to me. When the guard was not looking, I slipped behind his back through the door.
My husband left; I went to my terminal and sat there by the gate. Two men were eating lunch not far from me. “You look lost,” one of them said to me. I was not lost but I was glad to have a conversation with them to pass time. It turned out that we had a lot in common. They were Australians from Melbourne, retired and traveled most of their time just for the fun of it. All that applies to me too. I lived in Melbourne for 9 years, an Australian citizen, and a retired traveler.
The men said that it was their fourth trip to the Philippines. I recalled the Italian from the in-flight magazine who chose to retire there after visiting 120 countries and thought again that the Philippines is definitely not my dream retirement place.
