Shaped like Magellan's hat
We were at Sto. Nino Parish Church in Mactan to hear mass on a late Sunday afternoon. This is the first time I attended mass conducted in Cebuano dialect and saw young women in their ministry wear long veils like the very icons in the altar. We left with no idea what the entire one-hour sermon was all about. It felt like much being a foreigner in your own land. I hope they have English and Filipino versions during the day, and even Korean. This particular area in Mactan Island is a tourist belt.
Inside the hat-shaped church on a Sunday
So in between ho-hums, unimaginable boredom and missing church services at CCF, I managed to steal shots of the Sto. Nino Parish Church. The small church is right across two major roads leading to Cordova and Punta Engano. What’s amazing about this church is its unique architecture. The building was shaped like Magellan’s hat (I would have said Anakin Skywalker’s) and its glass panels depict the image of the Sto. Nino tinted with bright colors. It is no longer as backward as what a typical parish in the outskirts of a province should be, bamboo blinds and all. Cebu churches have actually come a long way to become one of the province’s heritage sites.
Greenbelt 5
The last time I was inside Greenbelt 5 was more than a month ago. Phase 2 was still covered with dusts, the smell of paint was filtered through my nostrils and at every corner, construction was underway. But after a couple of weeks of massive work, Greenbelt 5 is now in its full form, positioning itself as one of the few shopping centers that caters to the elite.
While the possibility of people being laid off from their jobs looms in the horizon, Pinoys are busy building malls…and shopping 
Not that it is a bad thing. These malls that sprouted at every corner like your mega sari-sari store sent Philippines back to the map. It was SM Mall of Asia, the world’s third largest mall, that did it and every mall management seemed to head to that direction. We’re no longer just notorious for being one of the world’s most corrupt governments and top human resource exporters. We, a third world, have become the world’s shopping capital, housing every signature brands and welcome the likes of an Oscar de la Renta to our fold.
Our malls can actually shame those that stand on the English soil. Well, the British are known to build magnificent palaces that can overwhelm every visiting statesman. Even their ordinary houses can turn the most common among us green with envy. While we build palatial malls, we have a huge chunk of the population subsisting in a P50/day budget.
What we lack is a lifestyle consistency. We simply dress to impress.
Basking under artificial light
Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort is not really my typical beach haven compared to other beaches I’ve been to in the north. Crablets seemed to have invaded their artificial shorelines and made walking around the beach area on barefoot quite uncomfortable. Either I might crush one of these creatures or I risk losing a toe. My feet simply missed those smooth white sands that define most of the beaches in Luzon.
Allegro Restaurant at night
But Maribago’s facilities and the hospitality of people made up for what is lacking. After dinner, we went around the beach and saw how lovely the place was at night. The lights made the entire beach landscape appear more like a fantasy island than a resort. We went to The Cove, a bar and restaurant that allows you to choose from a selection of live fishes, seafood and appetizer recipes and drinks.
The way to The Cove
And there’s this cold sea breeze blowing from the north. So we got out frolicking along the shore in our rubber shoes.
