After the blog camp, there was more.

About a week before the actual event, I got an email from Johnn, the blog camp's main event organizer, that they had planned a little activity for us non-Cebu bloggers on the day after the event. I guess it's to show us around the city and to let us have a taste of their local culture.

According to the final itinerary that was emailed to us, our meeting place was on Sunday was at the JY Square Mall at 10am. From the place I was staying at, I hopped on a jeep that passes that place (thanks to Hendri for the simple directions), and once I arrived at the designated meeting place, I realized that I was the very first one there.

After grabbing a quick breakfast, the few people finally arrived. There was Carlo, Iggy, Ruffy, Johnn plus his brother Van, some of the other Cebu organizers, then Xyza and Jam from Iligan Bloggers. Most of the guys boarded one vehicle with Van behind the wheel, while I was in Ruffy's vehicle with him, Johnn, Carly, Xyza and Jam. We also picked up Yuri while we were on the way to Johnn and Van's house.

I love the Mendozas' house. It was all the way up at Jardin de Busay. The view from their yard was gorgeous. But once they started setting up the food on the table in the gazebo, I momentarily forgot about the view and realized that I was hungry, hahaha.

It was a sort of Cebu food fiesta. There was puso (or hanging rice), Balamban liempo (pork that is "heavenly blessed" with spices, according to Johnn), Sr. Pedro chicken, Siomai sa Tisa, and of course, the one that I was waiting for, real Cebu lechon!

While we were chowing down, Johnn decided to play "mind games," which are basically those ice breaker games that I remember playing this past summer in RPT class, hahaha. It was so hilarious because by the time everyone got it, Yuri basically got somewhat frustrated and gave up during the "Chinese math" game. Johnn ended up teaching it to him, while speaking in Chinese.

Quotable quote.
Yuri: (to Johnn) Why do you hate me so much?

When everyone already had their fill, we were on the road again. It was time for the sunset cruise by Islands Souvenirs!

We first had a brief stopover to pick up Coy. While we were still on the road, Yuri had a bit of a lesson in Bisaya, and he even made a short video on what he had learned.

More quotable quotes.

Yuri: Anong meron sa Manila na wala sa Cebu?
Me: AKO!

Nyahaha, and they all thought I was so prim and proper and serious.

About Sacred Heart School being under Ateneo...
Coy: Heartenista ka, ang "harte harte" mo kasi.

We boarded this nice white banca that came with bean bags. It took quite a while to wait for Ate Imee (our guide that day), so Johnn decided to play all those mind games again to let Coy in on the fun that he missed at Casa Mendoza, and once again, it took a while for him to get it.

We were finally off! The sun was pretty much out at the beginning of the cruise, but it started hiding behind some slightly dark clouds later on in the afternoon. So much for the sunset part of the sunset cruise, hahaha. But even with that, it didn't faze us one bit. Photo ops galore, and even a couple of jump shots courtesy of yours truly (to those who own those photos, please give me a copy, or at least tag me on Facebook, hehe).

After the cruise, Sir Juned and Marck had to fly back to Manila, so Van drove them to the airport while the rest of us waited in SM. A bunch of us still wanted to do something, so Yuri, Carlo, Coy and I were the last to be dropped off... in Ayala Center to videoke the night away in Red Box, hahaha! We stayed there until midnight, finally calling it a night after hamming it up with Bohemian Rhapsody.

That day made my trip worth more than I bargained for. New friends, great food, what more can I ask for?

The following day was actually an extra day for myself to just experience Cebu on my own, or to just take it easy and rest, chill, and pack when the day was over. But I guess that never happened.

Sometime after lunch, while I was just bumming around in my room, taking advantage of the guest house's wifi, Johnn messaged me on Facebook, asking if I had plans that afternoon. Obviously, I had none, despite all the suggestions he gave while we were chatting earlier that morning. He then invited me for a little road trip with him and Van, because they were picking up their younger brother James from the airport (who was flying in from Manila). I ended up hanging out with them while waiting for James' flight to arrive, then after dropping off James' friend OJ at his house, I somehow got invited to join their family for dinner. If the day before was all about Cebuano food, that day was about Chinese food. Haha, all the while, Johnn, Van and I kept inserting tidbits about food reviewing. Balance is the key. Aw, Chef Anton would be so proud.

I guess that was a good way to end the trip. This entire stay gave me more reasons to visit Cebu more often. To everyone that was involved in the Cebu Blog Camp 2011, thank you so much. I've learned a lot, and I'm looking forward to next year. To my new friends, thanks for the awesome time... the hospitality, the brief lessons on the local dialect and of course, the laughs.