Fernando's Adventures: Craziness in Cebu

Hey guys! So this past week was absolutely amazing. Part of Team America (Tracy, Mandy, Lisa and I) booked flights and headed off to Cebu in the Philippines. It just worked out that Lisa’s 21^st birthday started as we boarded the plane, so Mandy planned it all out and brought a cake on board. Pretty sweet. We arrived at 3am, and started our journey to Bantayan Island. We stayed on this island for the first two days in these sweet little huts right on the beach. Bantayan is absolutely beautiful, I’ll show pictures at the bottom.

Our first day was spent tanning but unfortunately we seriously miscalculated the spf needed to tan. All four of us were sunburned, oh well, lesson learned. If I get out of the shower, it looks like I have asian glow over all my body except I’m wearing white bike shorts or something. Kinda gross.

The next day was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. We rented motorbikes and traveled all around the island. Despite a few minor accidents, we were able to see the entire island within the day. Let’s just say mud and motorbiking don’t mix. During our adventure, we met an Australian guy who called me a “yank” and saw this sweet bar that was literally built on a floating raft in the ocean.

Later we went back to Cebu City and saw the Carbon Market. It’s a famous attraction because you can find nearly everything there. That night we played Kings with a New Zealand twist. We couldn’t remember what the 10 represented so Mandy had the great idea of playing a dancing game. The person that drew the card would have to model a famous dance move from someone we know in Hong Kong. And then the remaining 3 players would compete in their best imitation of that dance move. Loser drinks. Obviously a night full of debauchery and lots of ridiculous videos.

The next day we had a bit of an adventure trying to find the Kawasan Waterfalls. Our taxi driver didn’t speak English well and was a straight-up suicidal driver. This guy would merge into the opposite lane to pass cars while making windy turns! To say the least, it was an exciting and jerky ride. We finally found the Kawasan Waterfalls which were absolutely wonderful. We hired a guide and went off exploring. They showed us how to climb up and jump off a 10 meter waterfall, such a rush. There is supposedly a secret lake you can hike to but we got there too late unfortunately. One more reason to return.

Our last day was spent sight-seeing some more. We saw Magellan’s Cross, the Lapu Lapu monument, and the Taoist Temple. We got our fortunes read at the temple by throwing wooden blocks on the floor which was fun. Definitely a relaxing and adventurous trip.