Mark Llobrera

Philippines & Japan 2023, Part Four: Cebu

Published in #cameras, #personal, #photography, #photos, #travel

Continuing my trip recap:

Cebu

Cebu is the second-largest city in the Philippines, and in a different itinerary we would have spent more time there. For us, though, it was a quick transit point onward to Bohol. We had just a few hours to see the city before our afternoon ferry ride.

We were back to a smaller propeller plane for our flight from Iloilo.

A small propeller plane with passengers boarding.
A sign for an airport shuttle named Ube Express.
Ube Express! What a name.

Alegre Guitars

We first stopped in at the Alegre Guitar factory to get a tour of their operation. All of their guitars are handmade, and we got to take a peek at some of the craftspeople working on guitars and ukeleles at varying stages of the process.

A man assembles a guitar.
A closeup of assembled guitars hanging in a row.
A closeup of a man holding a ukelele.
A shot of the interior of a guitar, reading “Handmade in the Philippines”.
Three purple ukeleles painted with a beach scene hanging in a row.

7D Mango Factory

From there it was on to the 7D mango factory, where we took the tour of their sorting and packing operation. I wish we had gotten a peek at the earlier parts: slicing, drying, flavoring.

After the tour we stocked up on different varieties for the rest of the trip and gifts for friends/family.

Workers at a bench fill bags with dried mangoes.
A worker stands in front of a large pile of dried mangoes.
A row of bags containing dried mangoes on a conveyor belt passing through a sealing machine.
A worker lifts a cardboard box stamped with “7D Mangoes” on its side.
A truck painted with the word “Food” next to a smiling mango.

A Stop for Lechon

For lunch we stopped at Rico’s for some lechon—a place that our driver for the day said was one of the more popular spots. The lechon was ok but the skin was chewy instead of crackly, a disappointment. The squid, however, was quite good.

An illustrated pig printed to give the impression of it peeking around a plate.
I love this little pig placemat, which lines up perfectly with their plates.
A smiling woman holds up a can of Del Monte Four Seasons fruit juice.
Mom posing with the Four Seasons drink she helped develop
A platter with chopped-up lechon.
A platter with grilled squid.

The Ferry

After lunch we went to the port to catch our ferry to Tagbilaran, Bohol. On the way we made a quick stop to view Magellan’s Cross.

A cross in the center of a room with a painted ceiling marking the events of Magellan’s arrival in the Philippines.
Multiple rows of yellow chairs in a waiting room for the ferry.
A cartoon sailor character painted on the side of a passenger ferry.
A ferry in the distance with “Lite Ferries” painted on the side

More photos on Flickr.