Sinulog 2015

We planned our Cebu Trip a few months ago to celebrate my father's birthday just in time for the feast of Sr. Sto Nino or also known as the Sinulog Festival. Our tickets were booked last December and we flew in to Cebu last January 15, Thursday where we arrived just in time for sunset. This is another family trip that we all have been looking forward to.

Here are some shots at the airport and inside the plane:

Upon arriving in Cebu, my cousin, Ate Rendel was very kind to fetch us from the airport and served as our tour guide throughout our stay in Cebu. It was almost time for dinner and the ride to the Basilica of St. Nino was quite long so we stopped over at Lantaw SRP to get some dinner.

Lantaw SRP, a seafood restaurant, was located a few meters by the shore and the cool breeze made the dining experience more relaxing. We catched up over dinner and long talks and as usual, dinner was sumptuous. It's always a good feeling to reunite with relatives you haven't seen in a while.

Here are some shots during dinner:

So after dinner, our next stop was at the Basilica of St. Nino where we gave thanks and prayed for our petitions. The place was packed with devotees of the St. Nino.

After a short trip to the church, we went to my cousin's place in Liloan where they were very kind to accommodate us during the rest of our stay.

The next day was Papa's birthday and our agenda for the day was to go to the Miraculous Mama Mary in Simala in the morning and then the back to the Basilica of St. Nino in the afternoon.

The trip to Simala took longer than expected due to the heavy traffic in Cebu. Here we are making selfies with pink lipstick on while we were on the road to Simala.

It was a good thing that Ate Rendel allowed us to use her car so we can go to Simala conveniently and with no hassle. Her younger brother (also my cousin) was the one who drove us to Simala.

We finally arrived in Simala at 1:00 pm.

Simala was also a place of worship and a place for devotees to pray, give thanks and send their petitions and requests. They say that the Mama Mary is a miraculous one as she have granted a lot of petitions.

Each lighted candle represents a different meaning.

As for me, I got the pink, gold and green candle where Gold is for Healing, Green for Prosperity and Pink for Thanksgiving.

All petitions go through this cabinet.

After sending our petitions and lighting our candles, we took time to pray inside the church. 

Here's my dad lighting up his candle:

The amazing sculptures inside the church:

The colorful ceiling:

Next, we waited in line to kiss and hold the Miraculous Mama Mary. 

While waiting for our turn in line, we saw numerous petitions granted by Mama Mary displayed inside these cabinets. All granted wishes and prayers varied from passing the board exams, travelling abroad, approved VISA, good health and the like.

It was already 2:00 pm when we left Simala. Going to Basilica St. Nino was another long drive and we arrived there at around 4:00 pm.

We lined up to get a chance to kiss and hold the St.Nino. Falling in line took longer as expected but it was okay since we can also hear the mass through the loud speakers.

Here's another family selfie while waiting for our turn:

That's how long the line is and the line continues inside the church.

Finally, it was our turn.

A groupie with the Cathedral church in the background.

Dad's dinner celebration was at Ate Rendel's home where we had a simple get together with everyone.

And as usual, a family selfie with the relatives:

The next day was our flight back to CDO. We wished that we could have stayed longer but well business as usual, we really need to go home.But surely next year, we will be staying for the Sinulog.

Before heading to the airport, we stopped by SM for some last minute shopping. And here we are inside the plane waving goodbye to Cebu. Until next year!

xoxo,

lheyvens <3