That was such a grand week roaming around the city and towns of the north. And I had to start moving closer to home (in Cebu) so I could do my laundry, download pictures, clean the house, post my stories before going on the next trip – which incidentally was due in three days. Hah!
But it was not just a straight sleep-through trip to Cebu. There were other places I wanted to see hehe!
Medellin Route
First on the list was Medellin. On arrival at the Maya wharf from Malapascua, I walked aimlessly around while waiting for a Ceres bus. Yeah, I know now… you see at least one bus no more than 20 minutes of waiting. When the yellow thing arrived, I only waited for passengers to get off and immediately took front seat! But when I checked, it was going to Cebu via Bagay. Ack!
The driver was helpful though. He told me to just take this ride anyway and he would drop me off at Daanbantayan’s bus terminal (yes, there is such) where I can connect to other Ceres buses that go via Medellin. Alright, I stayed on! When we took off from the Maya wharf, there was only something like 5 of us passengers. But a few kilometers of stopping and going, when I looked back, the bus was already full. Noticed that some dancers of the Haladaya winning team (Maya, remember?) were at the last rows. Maybe they were going to perform again or something as some wore their costumes and all brought their wide brimmed hats.
Arriving at the bus terminal, there were some 3 or 4 yellow buses and one was going Cebu via Kawit. I was sure that was my ride so I hopped in – front seat again hehe! Oh, just for the benefit of those who are not familiar, a bus signboard that says “via Kawit” is the one that passes by Medellin and “via Bagay” is the one that does not. What/Where is Kawit anyway? Ah, that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to see Medellin, but let’s tackle that later. I need to tell you that small as Daanbantayan is, their central bust terminal is new, clean and orderly. I like this idea of having centralized terminals in small towns so the vehicles don’t clog the ever smaller streets. Kudos to Inday Malou and Sun-sun!
Then… as I waited for the bus to depart… it rained, and it rained heavily. Argh! And looking up the skies, it looked like it never was going clear for the rest of the afternoon. Double argh! That caused me to change some of my plans on Medellin but not entirely scrap it.
So what was the plan and why? I wanted to pass by the town of Medellin as I have read earlier that there are white sandy beaches too. Hey, did you know that this town is the only non-tip town in mainland Cebu that spans it from east to west? Yeah, the tips are Daanbantayan in the north and Santander in the south. I wanted to compare actually which “coast” of Medellin has better beaches, the east or the west. I do suspect the latter. Then there is Kawit. I know it is just a barangay of Medellin but I got curious from down in Cebu City and Bogo why buses and jeeps use Kawit as a destination instead of the town of Medellin. Hah did you notice that?!
I have also heard of this little island called Gibitngil with white sand beaches where locals usually frolic. So, the plan was to see and pass by Kawit, head to Gibitngil, roam around the town center then leave. But since it was raining, the plan became… “pass by Kawit (the bus will anyway) and see if the town center is worth dropping by”. Oh well…
Hmm, as the bus sped through Kawit, I asked the conductor why the place was always a reference for buses and jeeps. His reply was something like “because it’s a big place with a lot of commercial activities”. True, the number of stores along the road, the houses, the establishments seemed to indicate we were passing by the center of town. In fact, they have a big church and a big fire station compared to most barangays anywhere. I saw they were even building a sizeable “barangay multi-purpose building”. Ah so that is Kawit in Medellin.
And then there was a road-block! What?!
Concerned citizens were busy in a mad rush to cut a tree into pieces so they could remove it from the road. All vehicles waited and I went down to ask why the tree was opted to lay across the whole road. They told me a very strong whirlwind passed by the area just a few minutes ago and the poor tree along with another one few meters forward were knocked down. Golly!
Alright, the bus reached Medellin town proper and it was not raining. So I said I might as well get off and see whatever I can. Hmm, quiet town. Quieter in fact than Kawit. Where I got off is the big church. Nice. The main building is dwarfed by the two big belfry housings on either side. Oh those two are roofed so they look like two big chimneys hehe! Am not sure I like the color combination in this entire edifice though hehe. There’s a touch of pink, a touch of yellow (or is that cream?), a touch of red (the “chimney roof) and maroon (the flower boxes. And rows of flags in Mama Mary’s colors of white and sky blue adorn the main path.
Oh I like that little building on the corner to the right of the church grounds (where the buses turn left from Kawit). It must be an old Spanish-era type of house converted to what it is today – Medellin Women Skills Training Center. Then there is that huge sports center where the sides are rented out to commercial establishments mainly eateries. And across the church (yep almost hidden by the sports center is their municipal building glowing in that orange (is it peach?) color! Reminds me of the (more) beautiful municipal building of Pinamungahan!
Well, rounding that very heart of the town, I attempted to walk towards the sea-side (behind the municipal building but it started to drizzle again. So I backed out without getting a glimpse of Gibitngil even if hazy and from afar. Hah!
A bit dampened by the rain, I felt like going home instead of roaming more in this area. Then as I took shelter on an old building behind the church where an old tailor was busy doing his craft, a Ceres bus bound for Cebu came by. “Bogo sir?” was the smiling question of the conductor. Hesitated a bit, looked out the window, a gloomy afternoon and said “Cebu, muuli nako”! He laughed a bit partly asking and partly exclaiming if/that I got tired roaming the various towns after all! I just nodded hehe! He said he will reserve the front seat soon as those occupying it would get off. I said “don’t bother kay matulog ko”... and I did!
When I woke up, we were already in Mandaue!
But it was not just a straight sleep-through trip to Cebu. There were other places I wanted to see hehe!
Medellin Route
First on the list was Medellin. On arrival at the Maya wharf from Malapascua, I walked aimlessly around while waiting for a Ceres bus. Yeah, I know now… you see at least one bus no more than 20 minutes of waiting. When the yellow thing arrived, I only waited for passengers to get off and immediately took front seat! But when I checked, it was going to Cebu via Bagay. Ack!
The driver was helpful though. He told me to just take this ride anyway and he would drop me off at Daanbantayan’s bus terminal (yes, there is such) where I can connect to other Ceres buses that go via Medellin. Alright, I stayed on! When we took off from the Maya wharf, there was only something like 5 of us passengers. But a few kilometers of stopping and going, when I looked back, the bus was already full. Noticed that some dancers of the Haladaya winning team (Maya, remember?) were at the last rows. Maybe they were going to perform again or something as some wore their costumes and all brought their wide brimmed hats.
Arriving at the bus terminal, there were some 3 or 4 yellow buses and one was going Cebu via Kawit. I was sure that was my ride so I hopped in – front seat again hehe! Oh, just for the benefit of those who are not familiar, a bus signboard that says “via Kawit” is the one that passes by Medellin and “via Bagay” is the one that does not. What/Where is Kawit anyway? Ah, that’s one of the reasons why I wanted to see Medellin, but let’s tackle that later. I need to tell you that small as Daanbantayan is, their central bust terminal is new, clean and orderly. I like this idea of having centralized terminals in small towns so the vehicles don’t clog the ever smaller streets. Kudos to Inday Malou and Sun-sun!
Then… as I waited for the bus to depart… it rained, and it rained heavily. Argh! And looking up the skies, it looked like it never was going clear for the rest of the afternoon. Double argh! That caused me to change some of my plans on Medellin but not entirely scrap it.
So what was the plan and why? I wanted to pass by the town of Medellin as I have read earlier that there are white sandy beaches too. Hey, did you know that this town is the only non-tip town in mainland Cebu that spans it from east to west? Yeah, the tips are Daanbantayan in the north and Santander in the south. I wanted to compare actually which “coast” of Medellin has better beaches, the east or the west. I do suspect the latter. Then there is Kawit. I know it is just a barangay of Medellin but I got curious from down in Cebu City and Bogo why buses and jeeps use Kawit as a destination instead of the town of Medellin. Hah did you notice that?!
I have also heard of this little island called Gibitngil with white sand beaches where locals usually frolic. So, the plan was to see and pass by Kawit, head to Gibitngil, roam around the town center then leave. But since it was raining, the plan became… “pass by Kawit (the bus will anyway) and see if the town center is worth dropping by”. Oh well…
Hmm, as the bus sped through Kawit, I asked the conductor why the place was always a reference for buses and jeeps. His reply was something like “because it’s a big place with a lot of commercial activities”. True, the number of stores along the road, the houses, the establishments seemed to indicate we were passing by the center of town. In fact, they have a big church and a big fire station compared to most barangays anywhere. I saw they were even building a sizeable “barangay multi-purpose building”. Ah so that is Kawit in Medellin.
And then there was a road-block! What?!
Concerned citizens were busy in a mad rush to cut a tree into pieces so they could remove it from the road. All vehicles waited and I went down to ask why the tree was opted to lay across the whole road. They told me a very strong whirlwind passed by the area just a few minutes ago and the poor tree along with another one few meters forward were knocked down. Golly!
Alright, the bus reached Medellin town proper and it was not raining. So I said I might as well get off and see whatever I can. Hmm, quiet town. Quieter in fact than Kawit. Where I got off is the big church. Nice. The main building is dwarfed by the two big belfry housings on either side. Oh those two are roofed so they look like two big chimneys hehe! Am not sure I like the color combination in this entire edifice though hehe. There’s a touch of pink, a touch of yellow (or is that cream?), a touch of red (the “chimney roof) and maroon (the flower boxes. And rows of flags in Mama Mary’s colors of white and sky blue adorn the main path.
Oh I like that little building on the corner to the right of the church grounds (where the buses turn left from Kawit). It must be an old Spanish-era type of house converted to what it is today – Medellin Women Skills Training Center. Then there is that huge sports center where the sides are rented out to commercial establishments mainly eateries. And across the church (yep almost hidden by the sports center is their municipal building glowing in that orange (is it peach?) color! Reminds me of the (more) beautiful municipal building of Pinamungahan!
Well, rounding that very heart of the town, I attempted to walk towards the sea-side (behind the municipal building but it started to drizzle again. So I backed out without getting a glimpse of Gibitngil even if hazy and from afar. Hah!
A bit dampened by the rain, I felt like going home instead of roaming more in this area. Then as I took shelter on an old building behind the church where an old tailor was busy doing his craft, a Ceres bus bound for Cebu came by. “Bogo sir?” was the smiling question of the conductor. Hesitated a bit, looked out the window, a gloomy afternoon and said “Cebu, muuli nako”! He laughed a bit partly asking and partly exclaiming if/that I got tired roaming the various towns after all! I just nodded hehe! He said he will reserve the front seat soon as those occupying it would get off. I said “don’t bother kay matulog ko”... and I did!
When I woke up, we were already in Mandaue!
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