The Two of Us on Mactan Island

      Summer passes but the summer of 2013 remains to be one of the best days of my life. The trip to Cebu was anticipated with pleasure, experienced with a little discomfort, and remembered with humorous thoughts that make me smile.  I’m glad we went… the two of us.

        Luckily we got a travel reward from Filinvest Land, Inc. It included plane tickets and hotel accommodation. This was a timely vacation for us since my husband, an ofw, was not home for 2 years.  Welcome to our Eat Pray Love and Fun adventure!

        It started with a stressful morning when we’re trying to catch our plane to Cebu. Yes, we allotted time to get to the airport early but not too early.  The problem was that we can’t find a ride as there were few taxis at that time.  My worry was the traffic.  And if ever we got to the airport, consider how much time left as we still yet to check in or even get through security yet.  I was hopeless and almost cried. If we missed our morning flight it’s like I’m going to spend for our plane tickets.

         

      But thank God there was this taxi driver, whose driving skill saved us from being late! Plus there’s no traffic, we still made it to the airport an hour early. 

    The flight was pleasant. We arrived at Mactan Cebu Int’l Airport just before noon.  We had our lunch at Café Cesario inside the airport terminal, after which we headed to the resort. 

hubby's bentobox: rice, beef stew, some greens, slices of pineapple and watermelon

                   It was a 25-minute taxi ride. At last we reached our destination. 

Crimson Resort and Spa is a hidden 6-hectare luxury resort at the heart of Mactan Island

 in Seascapes Resort Town

 small sandy beach

lovely lounge chairs and umbrellas at the beachfront

a lovely day

 infinity pool all by myself 

The rooms are set in a sprawling villa style amidst landscaped gardens

 

 Our accommodation was Deluxe...peek what's behind that door

spacious and luxurious room with flat-screen TVs and free Wi-Fi

and the bathroom's  huge with an oversized window

      We hit the sunny beach of Crimson only to take some pictures. Coming from extreme cold weather then to summer heat, hubby developed skin rashes. So we tried to keep the sun off our skin and the saltwater off our bodies.

    

good thing i brought my tripod

husbands make your wives fall in love again!

dock area
       

lazying by the beach… listening to the sound of the wave splashing soothingly ashore

a quiet, relaxing and intimate place

           On our second day, we’re up early as we planned to make tour of the city.  We had breakfast at the Saffron Café. It features an open kitchen, with a range of Western and Asian dishes.

     There was free scheduled shopping center shuttle to Ayala Center Cebu and SM Mall Cebu for guests. It was a touristy ride on the coaster because most were Koreans and Caucasians. It took us 1 hour to SM Cebu. Upon reaching SM mall we got a taxi to Magellan’s Cross and Sto. Nino de Cebu Basilica. 

            Magellan’s Cross is a historical site in Cebu. It is a wooden cross said to have been planted by explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, marking his arrival and the arrival of the Christian religion in the Philippines.  If you look overhead in the building sheltering the cross, you will see a painted mural that depicts the cross' planting.

     Basílica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu is the oldest Roman Catholic church established in the country, purportedly built on the spot where the image of the Santo Niño de Cebú, a statue depicting the Holy Child Jesus was found in 1565 by Spanish explorers.

     

        

the altar with different images of Saints

       Next stop was the Taboan Market.  Cebuanos were so nice. We were asking for directions and there was this one local gov’t official who offered us a ride.  The market is famous for pasalubong like dried mango, otap and mostly a variety of dried fish- from danggit to pusit to fish bones. 

     

      The weather was so hot that we cut the tour short and decided to return to SM mall to spend the rest of the afternoon. My husband wanted to play bowling but I insisted for a movie instead.  We really had lots of laughter watching “It Takes a Man and a Woman.”

       

       After the movie, we had dinner at Max’s. Then we bought some Cebu souvenir items at Kultura store.  It was past nine when we got back to the resort, had some beers and hit the sack.

      The last day of our stay and we're like trying to grab every minute of it.  We decided for an early dip in their infinity pool before breakfast.  It was short swim but refreshing.

      

no-body cares! ahahaha!

private balcony just perfect to unwind and enjoy the view

          We had our breakfast at around 9. Then we packed our bags as it was almost check-out time. Our flight back to Manila was 2pm. All's well that ends well!

    Three days on Mactan Island, at 40ish we become teens again! Had a lot of fun together.  The whole time was laughter, teasing, photo op, wackiness, drinking, eating, and lots of loving!  There were minutes of a contentious discussion but we had funny ways of dealing with them. Eat Pray Love. Memories are made of these!

fun in the sand

picturesque garden

nice place, great experience but wish we had our teenage boys around

Crimson Resort and Spa, Mactan
Seascapes Resort Town, Mactan Island, Lapu Lapu City, Cebu 6015, Philippines
Tel. No.: (+63 32) 401 9999 * Email: info.mactan@crimsonhotel.com
Website: www.crimsonhotel.com Twitter: @Crimson_Mactan Facebook: facebook.com/Crimson.Mactan

http://www.crimsonhotel.com/mactan/