Let’s Take a Walk Along Osmeña Boulevard, Cebu City, Philippines on a Gloomy Day

Warm hello to everyone in this awesome community @wednesdaywalk. This is my first post here; thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to tell you about this experience of mine. Truly grateful for this chance.

This happened on Sunday, it was a bit gloomy, which happened to be my favorite weather. The only downside is you don’t get better photos when you are outdoor. I think it’s due to light difference as compared to sunny weather. Anyway, I needed to withdraw money on this day so I could contribute it to our weekly Sinking Fund. We decided to go to Jones Avenue, also known as Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City, Philippines. The famous Sinulog Festival street dancing is mainly held here which is done every 3rd Sunday of January each year.

The first branch of EastWest bank that we went to was offline. We then went to another branch, and thankfully it was not offline. I don’t usually pass by these area anymore because I work from home. I was surprised of some changes that happened here. I noticed that there have already been some improvement.

I have observed that the sidewalk is wider and the cement block pathway looked undamaged, and the yellow line still look visible. What I also like about this part of the city is that there are trees on each side of the road; they look like old trees. Newer lamp posts were installed to replaced the old ones. Those old electric posts with black wires dangling remain the same since time immemorial. The people call them "black spaghetti." Funny, but need to be upgraded or modernized for safety, and so streets would look less messy.

There were only few public utility vehicles because it was Sunday morning. Also, I didn’t see any vendors selling fruits or peanuts on this side so far. There weren’t many passersby either, so I wasn’t too embarrassed to have my pictures taken heheh... But there’s one willing participant though; a yellow cutie cat somehow just appeared out of nowhere. Cutie Cat was meowing that time while passing by, I hope that was a welcome greeting. What a perfect timing! A photobomber that was most welcomed.

Apparently, only few vehicles were running at this time. I didn’t expect it to be calm and less crowded at that time of the day because this is usually a busy section of the city. I tried to check the baking store where I sometimes buy some supplies but they were closed every Sunday. Far right, those are buildings constructed over the recent 10 years; hotels and commercial buildings where food shops can also be found.

On the left, a red public utility vehicle can be seen. Locally, we call that one “jeepney.” Commuters sit on two rows, but facing each other. Well, when it’s rush hour, commuters literally sit knee to knee and elbow to elbow next to each other, not minding personal space anymore as long as they get home earlier. Another commercial building is also under construction at the moment. A green road sign on the right can also be seen.

The sky was gloomy that day as can be seen clearly (I didn’t adjust the brightness of the pictures). On the left is BRT– Bus Rapid Transit terminal that is still under construction. When the system will be fully operational, commuters can only board and get off the bus at the specific stops. There will also be designated buses for this, but this new transportation system is just within metro Cebu City. Trees used to line on the center lane but they were uprooted due to the construction of BRT.

Currently, these are the buses that transport people to different points within the city. Jeepneys above were the precursor to this. Well, they try to modernize it, but we’re still far away from those modern cities.

At this point, perhaps the bus conductor thought that I would get on the bus. The one on his right hand are folded bills (fare). Yes, we still do it the old way.😀

Moving on, there was a buko (coconut) juice vendor. I wanted to buy but there were five orders ahead of us so we didn’t wait anymore. We saw him earlier but we didn't reserve our order.

It was lunchtime already and we got very hungry after the walk. So, we stopped by at a local food shop. We had balbacua (Filipino beef stew), jackfruit salad with coconut, and crispy pork belly; eaten with rice as usual.

This is all for now; my mini walk adventure on this part of the city. I wish you have a nice day and evening wherever you are. Take care and thank you very much for giving this some time.

HIVEing for good!
@bettsmarie09

Note:
Photos edited by Canva (resize and background)
Photo collage also edited by Canva