Yah, a super late post for the on-going Sinulog 2014. I will not be able to attend this year’s celebration but here’s what I got last year.
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| Beautiful eh? |
It was my first time in Cebu when I joined the Sinulog 2013 celebration. With my officemates as our tour guide, we walk in Osmeña Blvd along with the procession. Colorful floats and dancing crew filled the streets. Tourists and mass media also joined the body smashing crowd. I also felt the tension at one time when I watched our company’s performance for the Sinulog as it already produced a bottleneck in the street and a possible stampede trigger. Add up the street vendors to the 12pm heat and wild crowd – it’s traumatic! But that’s on the other note of the whole experience. What’s important is that we were able to see and do the following:
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| Saw colorful dancing people for the parade |
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| Visited the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño Church |
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| Say prayers to the original Basilica del Santo Niño. I learned in the church that this is the image given by Ferdinand Magellan to the wife of Rajah Humabon after the Rajah’s baptism. This was later on found by a soldier in a preserved wooden box on the same spot the church stood. |
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| Eat while people were dying to see the parade of stars |
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| Not just eat, but recharge for a whole day walking. Green plate featuring puso and ihaw-ihaw with sili on the side |
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| Check out the Magellan’s Cross. Unfortunately, it was not open to public during that time. This crossed marked the arrival of Spanish Explorers in Cebu as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan. |
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| Entertainment brought to you by the U.P. PEP Squad |
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| Check out Cebu’s divisoria. I didn’t think of using my camera during this time, thus NO pictures. |
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| Eat sumptuous dinner at AA’s grill. |
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| Live band at the SM Mall where we bought some groceries for our Bantayan trip. This is really entertaining! |
Tips:
– Always bring water with you as it will be a whole day walking.
– Bring a cap so you don’t have to buy one. It will protect you from heat.
– Bring water and snacks with you.
– Eat lunch on the turo-turo along the streets instead of fast food chains.
– Bring wet wipes.
– Bring an extra shirt as you need to expect you’ll be with close encounter with everyone, super close you’ll smell everything on each other and possibly stain your clothes.
This day was the grand finale of the year’s celebration so it will really have all the attention not just from the Philippines, but from travelers as well so expect a lot of crowd not just in the actual procession but in malls, streets, restaurants, everywhere. If you’ll get to experience this year’s grand finale of Sinulog, please do share it with me and I’d love to check! 😀