Magellan and More and then . . . to the TOPS of the Mountain

We've been wanting to go on a tour of Cebu for some time, but it's been crazy busy.  But finally . . . Brother Redulla (pronounced ri-dool'-ya), who is temple recorder and also a counselor in the Cebu Mission presidency, along with Brother Olayao (pronounced oh-lie'-yoh), the assistant temple recorder, gave us a city tour.  So fun.  

We're starting our tour with Brother Redulla guiding and Brother Olayao driving.  They both grew up in Cebu so knew their way around very well.  First stop: an I love Cebu sign.  Here we are with Elder & Sister Smith, who serve as Family History specialists in the Cebu Mission.

Christianity began in the Philippines in 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan planted a cross right here to commemorate the baptism of King Humabon of Cebu and his Queen, family, and 800 native Cebuanos.  The King and Queen were given the Christian names of Carlos and Juana.

The original cross, of course, is long gone but this cross marks the spot.  Ferdinand Magellan was Portuguese but he sailed for Spain because Portugal refused to support him in his search for a route to the Spice Islands (eastern Indonesia) to buy spices such as nutmeg and cloves.

Magellan was killed here in Cebu by natives who refused to be converted. His crew carried on to the Spice Islands and returned to Spain in September 1522, with only 18 of the original 270 men. Despite the loss of four ships and many men, including Magellan, the cargo of spices was so valuable that it paid for the entire expedition and generated a profit. 

Right across from Magellan's Cross is the City Hall.  Interesting words on the building:  Public Office is a Public Trust.  Too bad many government officials in the world don't believe that, or at least act like they don't understand it.

Now we're approaching the oldest Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, the Basílica Minore del Santo Niño.  Brother Redulla is explaining that the ladies in red, yellow and white are "Tig Sinug" candle vendors.  If you buy a candle, they will dance and whisper prayers for you.

The basilica stands on the spot where Spanish soldiers found the original Santo Niño (the child Jesus), miraculously untouched inside a burned wooden box.  The Spaniards had fought a war with the natives and had burned the village, but Santo Niño was unharmed. 
The original statue was given by Magellan to the King and Queen of Cebu.  It was lost through the years and then re-discovered and placed in the Basilica.

This is an internet picture of the Santo Niño in the Basilica.  For some reason, I don't remember seeing it when we visited.  I think I was just too awe-struck by the beautiful Basilica and I probably forgot to look for it.

The current stone Basilica was built in 1740.  So beautiful!  LeRon and I love to visit old churches.  They have such character.

One of the first things that Elder Torrie looks for in a church is the pipe organ.  You can see it in the center, although the light is reflecting so it's hard to see.

And I enjoy looking at the ceilings.  This one has paintings of Biblical scenes and historical scenes of Magellan and Christianity.

INRI is an acronym for the Latin phrase, "Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum," which means "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."  Pontius Pilate ordered that this sign be placed on the cross.  Yes, Jesus of Nazareth was and is King of the Jews, and of all of us.  His suffering and death mercifully allows us to be forgiven of our sins and to come again into His presence after we die.  What a beautiful blessing!

I took this picture at the Basilica, not for the big red sign, but for the fact that people are writing requests for prayers for people they love.  The "Pamisa Drop Box" is where they place their requests.  

Interesting that we too, in our LDS temples, have a place where we can write the names of people who need our prayers.  
And interesting that in the above Basilica, you can send your requests via the internet.  We too in our Temples, can request prayers online or by phone. 
We have been told that in our Cardston Alberta Canada Temple, even those not of our faith sometimes phone in to the temple to request prayers for loved ones.

Prayer is powerful.  We have experienced praying at the Western Wall in Jerusalem beside Jewish people who are also praying.  We have seen them push small papers with prayers or requests for prayers into cracks between the stones.
We have seen Muslims praying on their prayer rugs and in their mosques, seeking blessings from Allah.  Many faithful people throughout the world connect with God in powerful ways.

Model of the Basilica.  Such a beautiful building.  Parts of it were under renovation when we were there.  Always renovations going on in these old buildings.

If you click on this picture, you will see that this sign actually reads, "500 Years of Christianity" with the year 1521 on top.  The US is only 250 years old and Canada is only 159 years old.  Christianity here the Philippines is now 505 years old!

We're now on our way to Fort San Pedro.

Fort San Pedro was originally built of wood in 1565.  Almost 175 years later, it was rebuilt from coral stones with limestone and egg yolk mortar.  It has housed Spanish troops, Filipino resisters, American troops, and even was a Japanese hospital during WWII. 

Portrait of Ferdinand Magellan on right.  Map on the bottom is of location of Cebu drawn at the time of Magellan's conquest.  Picture at top is of Magellan carrying the cross as he meets with Filipinos. 

The fort was originally built of wood.

You can see moss growing on the stone walls of the Fort San Pedro and an image of Santo Niño, the Christ Child. 

Grandmother teaching her granddaughter to weave "puso".  See next picture for an explanation.

Click to enlarge to read the explanation.  You see these rice packets everywhere.  Such a good way to transport cooked rice.  It's part of the "fast food" culture now.

We were astounded at the beautiful music these blind players made on this partly cloudy/rainy day.  See belong for a very short video of their playing.  I thought I had recorded more than just a few seconds, but I guess not. 

The walls of Fort San Pedro with the modern city of Cebu.

Make sure you are not under this tree when that dark, ripe, coconut falls!  The yellow ones are still green so they won't hurt you, but look out below if a ripe one falls.

Farewell to Fort San Pedro!  Would have liked to stay longer to hear the blind musicians play.  But we were hungry so it was time to head to the SM Seaside Mall, the huge mall fairly close to Fort San Pedro.

The SM Seaside City Mall is one of the largest in the world with a a floor area of 470,486 square meters and 700+ stores.  According to Wikipedia, "It is a circular-shaped retail mall with multiple anchors, . . . a Centerstage theater, a Super Screen Cinema (formerly Large Screen format cinema), two Director's Club cinemas, and 4 regular cinemas, an 18-lane SM Bowling and Amusement Center, and an Olympic-size ice skating rink near the food court."

We were so surprised to see a huge ice skating rink here in the hot, hot, hot Philippines!  So fun to watch them skate.  That's all I can do anymore.  I used to love skating.  As a child, I skated on our frozen pond with my siblings and often at the indoor rink in Taber.  As a mom, I skated on our frozen dug-out with my children. 
So fun!

Fun Filipino Food here at SM Seaside.  It was pouring rain.  Brother Redulla and Brother Olayao wondered if we should end our tour here and go home.  But Elder Torrie said, "Let's go on.  It will probably blow over."

And blow over it did.  Because of the heavy rain, most tourists had gone and we had the place almost to ourselves.  The wind reminded us of our southern Alberta winds.  But the wind also brought with it cooler temperatures, which was perfect for us!  We drove up, up, up, into the TOPS of the mountain.  The TOPS is a lookout point in the Busay hills, about 600 meters (about 1968 ft) high.  Interesting that our home on the farm near Grassy Lake Alberta is about 3000 feet high.

If you know where to look, you can see the teeny-tiny steeple of the Cebu Temple amidst all the high rise buildings of Cebu.

So windy up here in the TOPS of the mountain!  The lookout gives a 360 degree view of Cebu and the surrounding area.

You can see small farms and small farmhouses.

I zoomed in to this very small farmyard.  We're always interested in farming throughout the world.  Many of our workers live in small places like this.

Another direction, another view.

Here are the men of the tour:  Elder Torrie, Brother Olayao, Brother Redulla, Elder Smith.  Looks like  we didn't take a picture of me and Sister Smith.  Sad.

Another view from TOPS.  Perfect place for a special event.  To find the Cebu Temple, look straight back from the yellow flowers (yellow bunch on the right).  You will see white buildings hooked together (the first ones you come to as you look straight up from the flowers).  Look past them and you will see the steeple of the temple.

Three lovely ladies.  Hook your lock on to one of them and they will watch over your promises.  See below to learn what the different coloured locks mean.

The Three Marias of Tops.
Click to enlarge to read about what these three will do for you.

TOPS Promise Locks.  You can buy a lock here in the store and fasten it onto one of the Three Marias and they will watch over your promises.  Maybe even better, YOU should take care of your own promises!

-----------------The End of a Perfect Day-------------------