Queen City of the South

We took the 9:30 AM PAL flight to Cebu on Wednesday, May 21, which left on time and we got out of the airport in Mactan at about 11 AM. Besides taking care of business there, we had the chance to meet up with Tito Harry and Tita Carmen Campbell, old family friends. We had dinner with them on our first night at the Beehive, a nice little restaurant owned by a relation of Tita Carmen. Beehive was established in the 1940’s and is owned by Mrs. Hazel Gonzales and is run with her son Bruno. We caught up again with Tito Harry and Tita Carmen the following day at the Ayala Mall where they have a stall aptly called Carmen’s Linens. They sell beautiful handcrafted linens of all sorts as well as fantastic fresh water pearl jewelry designed by Tita Carmen herself. She is one skilled lady with a lot of good taste. On our last evening we dined at the world-renowned Arano. You can read more about this experience in FOOD TRIP.

We did not get a chance to move around too much as I had to get to as many meetings that were set up for me in the short time the we were there. I have been to Cebu a few times in the past but all those trips were likewise for business. We really have to go back to spend some time exploring the place. In any case, you can see why the Cebuanos are very proud of their little island even in a short visit. For starters, there is much history. Also, it has the right mix of province and city life. And finally, it is so centrally located that you can take a boatride to just about anywhere else in the Visayas and Mindanao including our ultimate destination, the island of Negros.

There are several ways to get to Bacolod from Cebu and the most civilized manner is to fly. But civilized we always ain’t. Itching for a bit of adventure, we opted to take the ferry to Dumaguete. There are two ferries leaving daily from Cebu to Dumaguete and both leave between 6 and 7 AM. The ride was smooth as the seas were calm. Including a stopover at Tagbilaran, Bohol, the boat ride took under 5 hours. From Dumaguete, there are buses that go to Bacolod over the mountains via Mabinay in Kabankalan. This cuts across the island of Negros heading first north on the eastern side of Oriental to Bais. The trip to Kabankalan from Dumaguete via Mabinay would take about 3 hours. Since our first stop was Hinoba-an, we would have to take another 3 hour bus ride south from Kabankalan for a total of 6 hours. There are also buses going the western route crossing over from Oriental at Bayawan directly into Hinoba-an in the Occidental side taking only 5 hours. The latter seemed like the best way to go and go we did for the ride of our life.

Miren in Arano's

Angel Ibarlucea (aka Arano)

Queen City of the South

Cebu City, Philippines