Okay, I am fully awake, so definitely I am not dreaming. I really am going to Cebu! In fact, I was even surprised when I left this morning at 4:30 am and there wasn’t much traffic at all along EDSA and so I got to Papa’s house at 6:30 am (talk about excited!!!). We left for the airport a few minutes later and boarded the plane before ten am. We reached Cebu airport an hour later and my cuzin was very quite surprised when he saw me walking down towards the car beside my dad. Well, he’s not the only one, that’s for sure! At the airport, I was met with surprised but truly welcoming hugs from cousins, who also just arrived (but were on a different flight).
Our first stop is at an Uncle’s house in Mandaue City, formerly Lola’s house and the place I spent numerous summer vacations when I was younger. I was quite surprised to see that the place has definitely changed a lot! If I recall correctly, the last time I was here was during a PLCPD presscon/event in 2006 and at that time, the main house (Lola’s old home) had already been torn down to make way for a more modern bungalow. But their old house, situated at the right side of the compound, remained the same and it was there where I stayed for a night during that PLCPD trip to Cebu (in the former boys room).
The old house was also renovated to open up more space – the third bedroom was removed and became the receiving area while the other two bedrooms were renovated to accommodate more visitors. The kitchen remained in roughly the same place but had modern amenities replacing the conventional ones. The door to the main house was also changed. In fact, the entire wall was removed to become sliding glass doors making the place more bright and airy, truly a great improvement from their once dark and gloomy house.
After, unloading our bags in the room we went out to have lunch at another Uncle’s house next door. But unlike in olden times, when we can use the backdoor to easily get to their kitchen, I found that it had already been sealed off with a fence so we had to go out on the street to get to their house. It was OK since the good food that greeted us there more than made up for the short trip under the hot sun. I missed the original humba from Cebu moreso the one especially cooked by Auntie Yolly!
Oh God, I not only missed her homecooking, I missed her too and I felt she felt the same way in the way she hugged me tightly. I asked about her health and said sorry for not being able to come home for Uncle Dong’s funeral. She asked about my Mom (in a whisper, of course) and we all shared the good food that she prepared for our arrival –humba, chicken inasal, and arroz valenciana . Marichi, another cousin, was there (of course!) and she too was surprised to see me in Cebu coz she was the one who replied to my FB post that I wanted to go home and see Borbon! Afterwards, I went up to surprise Janice at the second floor of Uncle Dong’s house (their house was also renovated BTW, courtesy of Kuya Kooks!)
We rested a bit after our sumptuous meal then by 2pm, we decided to leave to check in at our resort – the Alegre Hotel. It was a one and a half hour drive going there and I am truly glad to have come with this vacation with my dad because otherwise, I would not have been able to visit a very pretty place like this! Just check out the gorgeous pics of the resort! I wish someday I would be able to take my children here as it is just so perfectly relaxing! I also wish we wouldn’t just be sleeping here since considering the schedule that we currently have, after our breakfast tomorrow we will be immediately leaving for Borbon and so we won’t have the time to explore the place and truly enjoy all the amenities they have to offer. Oh well, maybe we could still find the time in the next few days.
At around 6:30, after we rested a bit and had our fill taking pictures of our pretty cabana, we left once again for Borbon. At long last, after so many years I will finally get to see Borbon! My uncle’s retirement resort! But of course, I wasn’t able to take much pictures since it was already night-time and there isn’t really much to see, maybe tomorrow I would be able to appreciate everything that the place had to offer. Suffice it to say that we just spent the rest of the evening there - just chatting with the cuzins – they drank beer and MP lites, I just had coffee otherwise, I would be nodding off already since it was way past my bedtime of ten o’clock! We went home to Alegre resort at 11:30, so happy with the first day I spent back here in Cebu. I am sure tomorrow would be an even more fun day because it is D DAY! Sound asleep at 12:30 after texting the hubby and the kids goodnight!
DAY 2 (Sunday, May 6)
I was surprised to wake up at 6am this morning to find Papa already awake. When I slept last night he was still browsing in his laptop and he said he was finding it difficult to sleep (namamahay, so to speak). After we took our baths, we left to eat a buffet breakfast at the Pavilion – it was near the pool and was quite a picturesque place to eat. But sad to say though coz the view can’t make up for their lackluster food – well, it wasn’t really bad, but it wasn’t also good either and judging by the price of their buffet, I guess they should have offered something quite good. Well, here are some pics of what we ate.
We left the resort at around 9:30 and dropped by a nearby church to hear mass first before proceeding to Borbon. The mass ended at around 11 am, and when we got to Borbon there were already so many people milling about the grounds in different colored shirts. There was noisy music blaring in the background and the guests were being greeted by the young ones and made to answer some questions in a data sheet (to trace their lineage/ family tree). I immediately saw some people I recognize – the yellow-shirted ones from Lolo Paul’s clan, and so I went over to them to pay my respects. I also went over to kiss the hands of the other elders (orange-shirted ones from Tita Baby’s side of the family, the red ones who live next door to us in Mandaue city and the dark and light blue shirted relatives – FB acquaintances)
The first thing I did after acknowledging most of the relatives present was find a quiet nook with an electric fan or air conditioning because it was getting so freaking hot already. After a while, I got up and did my job – take photos and videos for Papa. I took snapshots after snap shots of various people (some I don’t even know) but they gamely smiled for the camera and when one of the oldies of the Marianita clan would be present (like Auntie B or some other aunt) they would introduce me to the rest of the group as Mesiong Jr’s daughter. Finally, the festivities began and everything started with a short prayer to the Lord, thanking him for the opportunity to bond together as a family and for the food we shall soon partake.
I do not really know what the arrangements were for the food – whether the families individually brought their own or they just contributed some money to a centralized committee and it is that committee that bought the food that we all shared but suffice it to say I was surprised that food was quite aplenty, even the drinks were overflowing. And of course, the Cebu festivities would be incomplete without the perennial fave – the lechon! I reckon there were about three whole pigs slaughtered just for this event! Everyone was satiated after a while, and some even found their own quiet resting places to catch a quick siesta after the furor had died down.
After the people have eaten their fill of the sumptuous food spread before us, the games began! Of course, I did everything I could to wiggle out of joining – like I’m too old for that game or that I’m the official videographer (but of course!) and so I contented myself just filming and watching and laughing at the antics of the gamers. Well, we tried our best but I guess our best wasn’t just good enough so we didn’t really win much of the games. Suffice it to say that we all had fun and it was a great bonding moment for us cuzins and also for those of us who do not really see each other regularly.
With the games finished, the group then settled down on the grass to listen to some band music, the band was brought by a group of relatives (the white shirts) since one of the band members belong to their clan, oooh, I just wish my brother was here and Dian too so they could show their talents! By then, it was already about 4 pm and so the groups gathered around for some group picture-taking and we each had our turn at the tarp. The pic-taking was quite a raucous affair but fun!
In all, I guess everyone had fun and went home to their respective places feeling quite happy and satisfied at how the reunion went. We stayed on with a few other clans for dinner and the sky lanterns/prayer-wishes for the departed souls portion. After eating and of course, more drinking, the group strayed on to do their fave past-time – singing! With a bit of dancing! I was even surprised to see Oboy and Mama C singing and dancing – first-time really! It was so much fun! Decided not to go home at the resort and instead stayed on at Borbon with the cousins all night! Can’t even recall if I got to sleep at all because I don’t know where I slept!Some others I saw slept in tents or just laid on the wooden benches that were all over the place.
DAY 3 (Monday, May 7)
Today is our last day at Alegre resort so we decided to hit the beach after eating breakfast and it was truly an enjoyable time. My dad swam with us cuzins while the Aunts lounged on the chairs to nap. When the other cuzins arrived, they said they already swam this morning at Borbon and that the kids had fun cliff jumping during high tide. Well, that would be something I would want to experience another time. But as for cliff-jumping? I don’t think that’s really for me! After our swim, we availed of the free massage and hair spa that the hotel provided and truly, it felt like heaven! I didn’t feel like getting up to leave anymore but we had to since our stay is only up to 1pm and so reluctantly we packed our bags and said our goodbyes to Alegre resort.
We travelled for two hours to Mandaue city and just made one stop at a pasalubong shopping center (forgot the name!) to buy the usual otap, uraro, etc. for our loved ones back in Manila. We rested a bit in our rooms at Oboy’s house and come dinner, we walked to the next door pension house for a scrumptious feast hosted by the Alang-alang branch of the clan. Every branch of the family had one representative to go up on stage to introduce the members of their own families that are present and for our side, it was Papa who went on stage. After that there was more singing and dancing and in a while, we decided to leave for Uncle Dong’s house where the cousins continued their own drinking/bonding session since it was quieter in their area. Kuya Ted arrived too and it was good seeing him again. Though I don’t really drink and couldn’t follow fully their Visayan conversation, I stayed on to bond with these people whom I haven’t seen for such a long time.
DAY 4 (Tuesday, May 8)
Today is the day of the actual Mandaue fiesta and I got up early to savor the last day of my stay here in Cebu. I would have wanted to visit more places like Lolo and Lola’s grave but when cuzin Mike and I left in the morning, we had a difficult time getting a ride into the city itself because all the roads are blocked because of the parade and the fiesta, so my plans to go to the cemetery went pfffft! Well I sure hope Lolo and Lola would understand, there will always be a next time! So, instead, Mike and I ate breakfast at a fave old hangout - Carlos Bachoy. But it wasn’t in the old spot it was before. The old restaurant is still there but Mike says the cook left and put up his own place and that’s where we went so we could savor the original bachoy of my childhood! Yummy!
For our fiesta lunch, we all trooped next door to Manang Yolly’s house and ate the food they have prepared - shrimp, calamares, empanada, fresh lumpia, morcon, humba, fresh mangoes, watermelon, and of course, the star of the day – the lechon cebu!
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