CEBU....senor sto. nino....a childhood dream fulfilled

every time people would ask me what place outside of luzon i would like to visit i would always say CEBU....that was when i was in grade school....i think that lasted up to high school....i had that idea after my father went to cebu on a business trip...he came home with several sto. nino images....he brought home a lot of small ones....they were no more that 4 inches tall....most of them my mother gave to their friends....one image which was about 9 inches tall was kept in our house...that one was supposed to be for me....i loved that image....it was a black sto. nino....i felt it was unique because of its color...i didn't know that that was how sto nino de cebu was supposed to look like.....


i would always ask my parents to bring me to cebu one day so i could go to the place where the BIG sto. nino can be found...but we never got that chance as a family to go there....

when i studied in manila i learned that there are beautiful places other cebu.....i met friends from iligan, davao, cotabato, etc....and then i also learned about boracay.....cebu was pushed far back i almost forgot it existed...the first chance i got to fly outside of luzon i didn't go to that place i've always dreamt of...instead, i visited boracay.....i loved the place so i would always say that that's the place i would love to visit over and over...but i would also say i like to go to other places as well like palawan, davao, cagayan de oro, etc....cebu was not part of my plans anymore because i found out from friends that it looks just like metro manila....


and then an opportunity to go to cebu came...i was excited....well, i was excited just to be able to travel again and not really to see the place...so i booked our flight and reserved a room in a pension house....

when i arrived in cebu i was surprised that i felt really happy....i felt like i have a connection with the place....i didn't feel this throughout the entire preparation period.....i just felt when i arrived that i like cebu....the cebuanos are very kind...all the people we've encountered were great....all the people we've asked for help were kind enough to help us.....the taxi drivers didn't take advantage of our being new in the place....the security guards were approachable...they gladly helped us with directions.....one security guard was even gracious enough to take my picture when i was struggling to take a picture of myself with the fountain as a background using my cellphone....

this is the fountain and the security guard you can see at the back was the one who took my picture (which i will not show)

the place really looked like manila as i was told....there's traffic....long line at the taxi bays.....most of the shops are the same as those that you'd see here....but i didn't mind....in my 5 days stays i visited ayala center 4 times and sm cebu once....

view from the second floor of the ayala center...stage was set because ogie alcasid will be performing that night

there's the newly opened redbox at the back....

then there's starbucks

the long line of taxi...

but the best part of my stay in cebu was my trip to the BASILLICA DEL STO. NINO....the first thing i did when i saw the image was to take pictures...the 'tourist' in me said take lots of pictures of sto. nino....

i also took pictures of me with the image in the background.....there were a lot of people just looking at the image which was placed high up on one side of the big quadrangle....most of the people were praying...i think....some were singing along with the music playing in the background....after taking a few shots i entered the church....

that's when i felt the same feeling i must have felt when i got hold of the sto. nino my father brought home more than a couple of decades ago....i closed my eyes and started to thank Him for bring me to the place that i used to love as a kid.....i thanked Him for allowing me to finally see the church where i know my father prayed for blessings for our family....we didn't stay long but i know in the short time i was there i was able to express my gratitude for just being there....i also prayed for my father particularly about his health.....i felt like it was my time to ask for blessings for our family....my father's prayers were generously answered then....i know my prayers now will also be answered generously....or perhaps even more......

i saw a stairs leading to the image of senor sto. nino.....i think people go up there to 'touch' the image and pray.....it was already night time when we went there....nobody was going up anymore(that is if people really go up there)....i thought that going up there would have been a nice experience but it was okay.....i felt that just being there in the quadrangle was more than enough.....it was more than enough to fulfill a childhood dream.....it was more than enough to say my thanksgiving....it was more than enough to pray for my requests...it was more than enough to feel confident my prayers were heard and will be answered....

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