Travel Bug: Downtown Cebu City
i was sweaty, my feet hurt and extremely satisfied with myself.
having some free time on a sunday, i decided to head off downtown of this city on a walking-photo-taking-tour. people normally DON'T end up in this part of town - horror stories of traffic and a number of undesirable citizens usually scare people off. then again, am tall, burly, bearded - hopefully something that will scare them instead. hmmm.
my agenda? i wanted to record a part of the Cebuano Architectural Heritage before any of the old structures fall victim to termites, weather, the wrecking ball... or all three.
the guard dog, Cebu Cathedral Museum
Click on Read More for a photo tour of the Sto. Nino Basilica, Cebu Cathedral Church and Museum, Old Parian, Casa Gorordo, Plaza Indepedencia and Fort San Pedro.
Sto. Nino Basilica - My Starting Point
Cebu Cathedral - just a block away from Sto. Nino
bought some pineapple sprinkled with salt for 10 pesos
yummmiiii...
Cebu Cathedral Museum, just across the road from the Cathedral
the picture on the left show the progression of the structure. notice the pre-spanish floor (called... the ground), the spanish coral blocks, the american cement, the japanese cement (again) and the modern tiles (proudly philippines!). the pictures on the right show some of the ancient support beams fortified with cement.
(left) the inner courtyard, classic balay-na-bato design. (right) the original wooden posts that fed armies of termites before the place got rehabilitated.
another short walk and you can get to old Parian, where the first few families of Cebu settled. from here you can see old balay-na-tisa houses (known for terracotta roof tiles) that are variations of the balay-na-bato design. click on the left image for details about the Val-Sandiego Ancestral house, the houses are not as grand as that of vigan or manila that is a testament to Cebuano penchant for frugality, simple life and humility.
got something to drink from this carinderia, across the yap-sandiego abode. just love the way the plants crawl up the gate.
casa gorordo (museum) is a short walk from the yap-sandiego home. didn't bother to go in as i was running a bit short of time.
casa gorordo as seen from the street. the wires hanging about destroyed an otherwise passable shot. this structure has gone through renovations and the original tisa (terracotta) roof tiles are already replaced by some sort of plastic composite material.
from there it was a bit of a long walk to plaza independencia (currently under renovation) and just across that is fort san pedro. arguably one of the oldest forts (older than intramuros) in the country. check the description on the left pic.
Front Gate, the sign says Fort San Pedro 1565 - 1833
Aaaagh! Ayeeee! - if corals could speak, they would have shouted bloody murder to form the walls of this fort. in some areas where it hasn't been covered by cement you can see the intricate coral patterns of various species.
a pathway covered by vines that form the canopy for this lover's lane. interesting concentric square patterns.
back view of the fort gates. you can't see it but there are pigeons on ledges overlooking the courtyard. "this poop is going to land somewhere...."
by that time it was getting a bit dark and i headed off to Cebu Cathedral to catch a jeep back to One Mango in Gen. Maxilom. yup, a jeepney ride :P
having some free time on a sunday, i decided to head off downtown of this city on a walking-photo-taking-tour. people normally DON'T end up in this part of town - horror stories of traffic and a number of undesirable citizens usually scare people off. then again, am tall, burly, bearded - hopefully something that will scare them instead. hmmm.
my agenda? i wanted to record a part of the Cebuano Architectural Heritage before any of the old structures fall victim to termites, weather, the wrecking ball... or all three.
the guard dog, Cebu Cathedral Museum
Click on Read More for a photo tour of the Sto. Nino Basilica, Cebu Cathedral Church and Museum, Old Parian, Casa Gorordo, Plaza Indepedencia and Fort San Pedro.
Sto. Nino Basilica - My Starting Point
Cebu Cathedral - just a block away from Sto. Nino
bought some pineapple sprinkled with salt for 10 pesos
yummmiiii...
Cebu Cathedral Museum, just across the road from the Cathedral
the picture on the left show the progression of the structure. notice the pre-spanish floor (called... the ground), the spanish coral blocks, the american cement, the japanese cement (again) and the modern tiles (proudly philippines!). the pictures on the right show some of the ancient support beams fortified with cement.
(left) the inner courtyard, classic balay-na-bato design. (right) the original wooden posts that fed armies of termites before the place got rehabilitated.
another short walk and you can get to old Parian, where the first few families of Cebu settled. from here you can see old balay-na-tisa houses (known for terracotta roof tiles) that are variations of the balay-na-bato design. click on the left image for details about the Val-Sandiego Ancestral house, the houses are not as grand as that of vigan or manila that is a testament to Cebuano penchant for frugality, simple life and humility.
got something to drink from this carinderia, across the yap-sandiego abode. just love the way the plants crawl up the gate.
casa gorordo (museum) is a short walk from the yap-sandiego home. didn't bother to go in as i was running a bit short of time.
casa gorordo as seen from the street. the wires hanging about destroyed an otherwise passable shot. this structure has gone through renovations and the original tisa (terracotta) roof tiles are already replaced by some sort of plastic composite material.
from there it was a bit of a long walk to plaza independencia (currently under renovation) and just across that is fort san pedro. arguably one of the oldest forts (older than intramuros) in the country. check the description on the left pic.
Front Gate, the sign says Fort San Pedro 1565 - 1833
Aaaagh! Ayeeee! - if corals could speak, they would have shouted bloody murder to form the walls of this fort. in some areas where it hasn't been covered by cement you can see the intricate coral patterns of various species.
a pathway covered by vines that form the canopy for this lover's lane. interesting concentric square patterns.
back view of the fort gates. you can't see it but there are pigeons on ledges overlooking the courtyard. "this poop is going to land somewhere...."
by that time it was getting a bit dark and i headed off to Cebu Cathedral to catch a jeep back to One Mango in Gen. Maxilom. yup, a jeepney ride :P
Comments
you don't know me but i want to use some of your pictures for a presentation about plaza independencia in my archaeology1 class. hope it's okay.