Cebu City

Magellan's Cross is a very famous sight in Cebu. It represents the cross (now housed in a chapel) which was planted by Ferdinand Magellan when he arrived in the Philippine Islands in 1521. It is encased in tindalo wood to prevent visitors from taking it home piece by piece.

Cebu is located in the center of the Visayas and is an important Filipino metropolis. Compared to Davao it's more crowded. To me, Cebu looked more like a city because there are a lot more high buildings and stone houses - among them are of course many remains of the Spaniards. The big buildings, monuments and malls gave me the picture of a prosperous city but on the other hand I also saw more people living in the streets. 

Another difference was the food: the choices of fruits were more divers in Davao. And food in general is quite cheap in Davao because almost everything grows in Mindanao. But I was so happy to finally hear and talk the "lalum kaayo nga Cebuano" (very deep Cebuano words) I've learned in the language school because in Davao it's more mixed with Tagalog! 

Cebu is famous for producing guitars, for its Shamrock cookies and different kinds of dried fish (bulad) which are very popular "pasalubong" (souvenirs or small gifts; in German: "Mitbringsel"). Eventhough the bulad has a very intense smell! 

Another sight, Fort San Pedro, is located in the Pier area of Cebu City and was a military defence station build by Spaniards and indigenous labourers. It's the smallest and oldest (1738) triangular bastion fort in the country. Today it is used as tourist attraction and seemed like a quiet place for couples to gather. 

The San Carlos University is oldest university of the Philippines and is even older than Harvard. We went in to see the museum which showed indigenous handcraft and ancient artifacts.