Another memories-filled Cebu sojourn

It was time for the annual R & R, a time I particularly relish as bonding time with the family.  It is that time of the year when I can look forward to a real vacation, going to bed and waking up at will, not to the shrill reminder from my bedside alarm clock, throwing caution to the wind as far as foods go, and polishing my marginal swimming and snorkeling skills. So off to Cebu we went, packing the grown up kids, their friends, and two of our bedroom dogs to the place my mother-in-law calls home.

As is our custom, we always book for a day or two at any resort or hotel, checking out by Holy Thursday so we can attend to our Christian rites and properly imbibe the meaning of the season.  This year, we chose to stay at Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort & Spa. It’s been a while since we last checked into Shangri-la, and we were in for a pleasant surprise.  But let’s take the sequence of events in chronology.

We left Manila via Cebu Pacific on time, right on the dot.  After a pleasant flight, it was literally a feast that greeted us, prepared by Mama Salve — a whole Cebu lechon, unchopped so we could gleefully pull at it from all sides, a large bowl of nilagang tuhod ng baka, which had tender morsels of cartilage, etc. floating around the rich broth, a large serving of adobong pusit which my kids just loved, and a big boneless Bonoan bangus. The lechon was reduced to a cadaver of its old self when we were done with it, but we saved the ribs and most of the thighs for frying that night. This gives you an idea of what throwing caution to the wind means, when in Cebu.

Wednesday morning we hied off to Mactan, a mere 20 minutes drive. The lobby was a hive of activity.  I was told they were booked to the rafters that week, and the lobby was just teeming with guests, local as well as foreign.

Our room was pleasantly spacious and had a fantastic view of the ocean and the pools below.  It was an executive room, ranked just below the suite which my pocketbook won’t stand for, so it was a good compromise. The luxury of space counts a lot when you’re with a group, so I was thankful for all the extra space.

And then there’s the view. The ocean stretched to infinity from our bedroom window, calm, azure blue, gently rippling to let us know there is a breeze to cool off the summer heat. We quickly shed off our clothes to catch the late afternoon sun and see for ourselves the much-touted marine sanctuary of Shangri-la.

The Shangri-la’s Marine Sanctuary opened in September 2007, a collaboration of the Lapu-Lapu City Council and the Sanctuary Stewardship Group led by Shangri-la Mactan, Scotty’s Action Sports Network & Dive Centre, and Amores Charities, Inc. Together, they have pledged to protect the coral reefs of Mactan, and ensure the safety and sustainability of its waters. The sanctuary spans five hectares from the hotel’s beachfront property.  They are proud to claim that there are some 50 species of saltwater fish, clams and corals in this protected area where they have consistently observed a strict coral-recovery program initiated by Shangri-la. Here is a perfect example of a perfect marriage of community and the private sector to reap the benefits of eco-tourism.

I personally experienced swimming with the fishes, literally, in chest-deep waters.  The hotel encourages feeding the fishes, generously giving the hotel’s swimmers their day-old bread for free. This was literally the highlight of our holiday, when we inter-acted with fishes of varied sizes, shapes and colors.  Some looked big enough to weigh about a kilo each, but they fed off your hand, and circled for more.  Armed with snorkels, we followed them all afternoon, until the last dying rays of the afternoon sun made it too dark to appreciate the fishes.  Then, off to the cool waters of the pools we went, in search of more honest-to-goodness swimming, at least to wash out the sea salt from our bodies.  We even had the bonus of playing hoops in the pool with my son and his friends, and that was a lot of fun. The old man beat the hell out of the youngsters.

When our tired bodies couldn’t take anymore, we decided to check out the eateries nearby.  We found ourselves in Tong’s where they served seafood buffet for only P180 per person. You could load up on their baked oysters with cheese and their calamares, fish fillet, etc., for a fraction of what they would charge you in Manila!

It was a deep, dreamless sleep we had that Wednesday, our limbs heavy, our tummies sated, but we woke up refreshed, ready for another day of adventure.  It started off, of course, in Shangri-la’s Tides restaurant where they served a long buffet for breakfast — sausages, Asian and continental fare, fruits, yoghurt, muesli, omelets, even barbecued meats were in a long, winding array. It sustained us through lunch, because we couldn’t pull ourselves from the water to bother with it.

Back to the sea, back to feeding the fishes again.  The water is remarkably clean, no messy moss or seaweeds or flotsam, no spiky things on the sea bed to step on. There are monthly beach clean ups here, we were told, as part of the hotel’s conservation program.  Just a few months back, the hotel organized one such clean-up, participated in by corporate clients who are certified divers. Shangri-la itself has a team of its own employees, representing about 15 percent of their staff, who are also certified divers and who are dedicated to the hotel’s mission of eco-tourism.  They are volunteers, and they are very much part of Shangri-la’s coral recovery program.  The snorkeling area in the hotel’s beach front has been planted with fresh corals, part of the permanent coral garden they are planning here.  Giant clams from Palawan which can grow up to 1.5 m. in size, confiscated from fishermen who sell them illegally, were also transported here.

I learned a few things from Sharon Samarista, the hotel’s tireless corporate communications lady top honcho, about Shangri-la’s mission to preserve the environment. The Philippines is the center of marine biodiversity in the world, having the richest concentration of marine life in the whole world. Yet, our coral reefs are dying on us.  About 75 percent of them are in fair to poor condition, thanks to cyanide and blast fishing. If healthy, a coral reef can produce 20 metric tons of fish per square kilometer per year, and this figure is enough to sustain 400 people.  And these coral reefs grow painfully slow — a few centimeters in a year, so destroying one reef can take a whole generation to replace.

We left Shangri-la just before sundown, and headed for home in the city, tired, happy, and more informed.  Incidentally, Shangri-la received a second certification of ISO 14001 for its environment-friendly and cost efficient practices.

Back in the city, we went around the churches for the traditional Visita Iglesia. I forgot the other churches, not being very familiar with them, but only remembered the Redemptorist and the Sacred Heart churches. There were two others, but one thing that struck me was there was no uniformity in the images or the sequence of the Stations of the Cross. One church even had 15 stations, departing from the traditional 14, and most did not agree on the official stations to be depicted. How is that?

I have to mention here that part of the Cebu tradition is a dinner at the Grand Majestic where they serve delicious Chinese food. My kids won’t hear of a Cebu trip without having a buffet dinner here, complete with their signature fried bread served with pata tim, their peking duck, assorted dim sum, etc.

We left for Manila on Saturday, hoping to catch my Saturday night poker game. Unfortunately, the flight was delayed this time, and since our dogs left on an earlier flight, we were naturally worried for them. No one could claim them as we had the airway bill papers. Fortunately, a very accommodating Cebu Pacific employee in the Mactan Airport named Michael went out of his way to assist us, phoning their Manila office to accommodate our request. Thanks Michael. Now that’s service.

Mabuhay!!!  Be proud to be a Filipino.

For comments: (e-mail) [email protected]