Third Trip to Cebu

Tom and Cathy returned to the Philippines in January 2004 in order to have their son, Zachary baptized. They left Houston, Texas on January 8, 2004 and returned to Houston on January 31, 2004.

Going to the Philippines their itinerary was as follows:

	Houston to Los Angeles: 3h 40m flight time (Continental Airlines)
	Los Angeles to Hong Kong: 15h 40m flight time (Cathay Pacific Airlines)
	Hong Kong to Cebu City: 2h 40m flight time (Cathay Pacific Airlines)
	22h flying, 4h 45m waiting, 26h 45m total

Coming back from the Philippines their itinerary was as follows:

	Cebu City to Hong Kong: 2h 40m flight time (Cathay Pacific Airlines)
	Hong Kong to San Francisco: 11h 45m flight time (Cathay Pacific Airlines)
	San Francisco to Houston: 3h 35m flight time (Continental Airlines)
	18h flying, 6h 30m waiting, 24h 30m total

Here are some pictures taken during this trip. We hope you enjoy them!

Click on any of the pictures to see the enlargement.

Here we see Zachary being baptized as a Roman Catholic. The baptism ceremony took place on Saturday, January 24, 2004 at Consolation Parish-Recoletos in Laray, Inayawan (a suburb of Cebu City). The baptism ceremony was preceded by a one-hour seminar conducted in Cebuano (Aray!).

This picture was taken at the church just after the baptism. From left to right: Mares, Eve, Nino (in the back), Jonavel, Salud, Ayan (in the back), Zachary, Cathy, and Tom.

Zack is excited to be with Nino at the Taoist Temple in the hills overlooking Cebu City. This was Zack's first time out of the house and he seems to be enjoying it.

Zack spends some quality time with the gals. From left to right: Jonavel, Eve, and Zack.

This is a view of the living room inside the house of Cathy's family. The house is in VIP Village, Laray, Inayawan (a suburb of Cebu City). As you can see, the floor is covered with very nice ceramic tiles. The same tiles in America would cost you a fortune, which is probably why Cathy and Tom don't have them in their house. A diamond shaped glass block is embedded in the far wall. Overall, the construction of the house was very nicely done.

This picture was taken at Tops (the main hill overlooking Cebu City) at sunset. This was the first time that Cathy's family had ever been there. From left to right: Jonavel, Eve, Zack, Ayan (standing), Cathy, Salud, and Nino. Tops offers a spectacular view of the city, especially at night time.

This picture was taken during the grand parade of the Sinulog Festival which took place on January 18, 2004. The parade itself always takes place on the third Sunday in January in Cebu City but it is preceded by an entire week of celebrations. The festival honors the miraculous Santo Nino (i.e., Christ child).

More Sinulog fun. Pit Senyor kang Mama kini, Pit Senyor kang Papa kini. So the story goes, Ferdinand Magellan gave a carving of the Santo Nino to Queen Juana upon her baptism in 1521. When Miguel Lopez de Legaspi returned 44 years later his men found the original carving still intact. Thus was born the legend of the Santo Nino and His special protection over the Philippine Islands.