Mothra Attacks
Trip Start
Jan 15, 2010
1
14
20
Trip End
Feb 02, 2010
Where I stayed
Jumalon Butterfly Sanctuary
Cebu City, Visayas, Philippines
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Afterward, Zel said we would go meet her aunt, who she had mentioned before lived near SM Mall. A cab dropped us off in an area of wide, but broken pavement lined with street vendors. Zel made an inquiry at one as the cab waited to see if we would stay or go. Meanwhile, a growing crowd of urchins assembled and stared at me. I think they were hoping I would explode like a piņata full of goodies or something. After a few minutes, a young lady named Marilou appeared -- Zel's only single friend in Cebu. After dismissing the cab, we walked a short distance to a small chapel where Zel's aunt was sweeping up. We sat and talked awhile, and I met a few of the children that her aunt watches during the day. Then Zel, Marilou and I went to the supermarket to get food for dinner. Fish for grilling, rice, a kind of stemmy sea vegetable (not sure what the name is, but I had it on Leyte and want to see if I can find it when I get home), some okra, pineapple and beer -- food for 10 all for about $20.
Now, this wasn't exactly one of the nicer places in town. Zel lived here for a year when she was going to to school in Cebu. I told her afterward that managing to get out of that situation was an accomplishment she should be proud of...and I hope soon Marilou is able to move on -- she's a smart kid and I'm sure she'll do better for herself. In any event, the fish were cooked on a pile of coals on the ground with a grill placed directly atop them -- if sanitary issues were going to kill me this trip, this would have been the night for it. Since I am writing this 4 days later, I daresay I survived.
