July 2016 Travel Diaries | Magellan's Cross & Oslob

Still struggling with adjusting to the new school year but I finally found the time to update my Cebu-Bohol travel series! After our first hectic day in Cebu, we had to wake up at 3AM the next day to get all the way to Oslob! It was a real struggle since we really haven't had any decent sleep since we got there and our professors really wanted to visit way too many places. Luckily, I was with a lot of fun people and it made the trip fun either way! :)

Before going on the road to Oslob, we stopped by Magellan's Cross because we didn't have time to visit the day before. It was a different experience seeing it in this odd hour. It was so quiet and dark, almost like time had stopped.

It was still closed but it's pretty much the same even when you go inside.

Put my camera past the iron gate lol

Afterwards, the 3-hour bus ride to Oslob began and we all pretty much slept it off.

We were given the option to go Whale Shark watching in Oslob but I didn't do it because of the added expense and I didn't want to go swimming without sunblock. #SkinIssues. There are a lot of rules to follow when swimming with the whale sharks - not wearing sunblock is one of them because it pollutes the water and could give them serious illnesses.

Lots and lots of foreigners! There were tourists from Japan, China, and Korea!

Opted instead to have a crepe with my friends at a restaurant by the shore. Not bad at 125PHP.

Next is the Oslob Cuartel which is this old building made of coral stones of an old destroyed church.

Really regretting that I didn't take a super instagrammable shot in these gorgeous walls! :(

There's also a small museum but we didn't go in.

And then there's the Oslob Church. We only viewed the facade before we were whisked away to the next location.

Next place we visited was Boljo-on - an old watch tower used by police during the Spanish Regime.

Beside is the Patrocinio de Maria Boljo-on Church.

The Escuela Catolica is also here but more on that later.

Lots of historic carvings in the watch tower.

The temperature in this tower drops significantly when you enter because of the extra thick walls. This is how the guards were able to stay cool despite being on patrol.

Contrasting the dark ground floor is the bright and airy second storey.

Ancient bells for used as alarms in the past.

Prehistoric HIMYM vibes.

The different bells are dedicated to certain historical figures along with the date when the bells were put in.

My blockmates Kim, Cyrille, and Vivien doing a little tourist pose for me. Haha!

Now onto the Escuela Catolica!

This place was used to educate newly-wed couples on their duties and responsibilities along with the reality of being married. Today, it's pretty dark and a bit creepy. We didn't go in but we just took photos at the front porch.

We moved on to the Boljo-on Church afterwards.

Really loved the mix of the cream limestone and the warm tones of the wooden construction!

A lot of the churches are still being renovated after the big Earthquake a few years back.

Outside, there's an arch that was just restored. I wish they retained the original limestone color though.

Another small chapel that was designed to lower the temperature once you're inside.

The next church visited was St. Michael de Argao. Gorgeous and clean! Everything was so pleasing to the eyes. :)

The interiors were strikingly similar to first church we visited. A defining characteristic of the churches in Oslob has to be the barrel ceilings that are constructed with wood but painted baroque style to create illusions of depth.

Get ready for more Philippine Heritage with this travel series! Stay tuned! :)