【講師コラム】マリア講師No.6～ My Best Summer Vacation ～

Summer vacation is a getaway from what is usual. The usual is that we go to work or school. For nearly a year, we are all committed to that. But as we may all know by experience, work or school can sometimes get tedious and stressing. No matter how much we love what we are doing, there are really times when we feel the need for a break. Personally, I felt it last month, so I booked a trip to the Queen City of the South, Cebu City, and the Heart of the Philippine Islands, Bohol.

It was a four-day trip with my family with a lot of first-times. We went to different tourist attractions, saw many distinct beautiful creatures, and tasted some unfamiliar native food.

The first day was entirely spent in Cebu’s pride tourists’ attraction. Early in the morning, we went to the mountainside garden namely the Wow Alejandra and Sirao Garden. After that, we had a side trip to the famous Temple of Leah. In the city, we visited the Heritage of Cebu Monument and one of the oldest houses in the Philippines, the Yap-Sandiego Ancestral House. As Cebu is the center of Christianity in the Philippines, we did not risk the chance of seeing the Magellan’s Cross and visiting the Sto. Niño Church. Thereafter, we enjoyed ourselves with different creatures at the Cebu Ocean Park. Lastly, we stopped by a food spot to taste Cebu’s famous food, the “tuslob buwa”.

On the second day, we traveled a three-hour ride to the Municipality of Oslob where we witnessed the gigantic whale shark in the middle of the sea for the first time. They were really huge and we got to swim with them, which for me is the best experience ever. Then, we went to the proximate Tumalog falls and Sumilon Island. The entire morning until noon was about getting ourselves wet and tanned in the ocean. In the afternoon, we visited the beautiful Simala Shrine Church at Sibonga, Cebu. Then, on our way to the hotel, we stopped by Carcar City to grab some of Cebu’s famous delicacies such as chicharon, pinyato, and otap.

At dawn on the third day, we crossed the ocean by a two-hour ferry boat ride to get to Bohol. Exactly during sunrise, we arrived at Bohol’s prominent Chocolate Hills. After eating breakfast on our way, we went straight to Bohol Enchanted where we personally saw and met a tarsier. Then, we stopped by at the road in the famous man-made forest to take some pictures. Then, we had our buffet lunch at Loboc River Cruise where we did not only enjoy the food but also the ride on the lake, the stand-up music band, the people, and the wonderful view. After lunch, we had a quick visit at the Blood Compact Statue and the Baclayon which is one of the oldest Church in the Philippines. On the road, we we bought some famous Bohol delicacies such as their delicious “kalamay’.

The fourth day was our flight back home. But before going to the airport, we first strolled around SM City Cebu to buy some souvenirs for our loved ones. So far, that was the best summer vacation ever!