Last Sunday, I travelled to Lapu-Lapu City proper. My goals were to 1) visit their market, 2) visit their church, and 3) visit their plaza. I'm always intrigued by how municipalities/cities place the three sites together.
Before it was charted in 1961, the city was a municipality called Opon. You can still find its old name by visiting their public market called "Merkado sa Opon". It's interchanged with the now present name "Lapu-Lapu City (LLC) Public Market". Some even shorten it to just "Merkado" because of its central significance.
When I arrived, it's visibly congested. The narrow streets force vehicles to use the whole road as one lane going east or west. The drainage and garbage is not well managed either. But in terms of business? It's very lively. "Ukay-ukay" is present in every corner with prices for some clothes down at 10 Philippine pesos. The local food's diverse: lechon, dangit, "binagoong", and there's also plenty of bakeries and fruit stands to purchase from. While walking, I even tried a local avocado shake. It was served in a 100 mL cup and was enough to feed my liking for fruits.
The church houses the "Virgin de la Regla" which is an interpretation of the Virgin Mary in dark colored skin. She is considered a patroness for seafarers which may explain why she is designated in Mactan. Beside the church is Plaza Rizal where, apart from his statue, a narra tree can be observed in the middle. That narra tree was said to be planted by Mariano Dimataga, the first mayor of Lapu-Lapu City. In honor for his public service, placards were placed beside it to commemorate the city's charter aniversary. That moved me in a way because that recognition took decades of unwavered dedication.
I stayed there for 4 hours and had visited the nearby Gaisano malls too. I wasn't able to check the ferry port unfortunately. Visiting Lapu-Lapu City proper was both an exciting and reflective experience. I hope to try the ferry soon going to Cebu City.
