This is one of the most memorable family trips. Since then, we've all wanted to visit, but financial and transportation issues have prevented us from doing so. My brother, who initially planned this trip, offered to manage the expenses. Thankfully, we already had the money, and we're grateful since my father's younger brother allowed us to use his van for our transportation service to Simala Shrine, where our big family could fit under one roof. With all that in place, we had our trip, and we are delighted that our wish to visit the Blessed Virgin Mary Shrine with the whole family has been granted! Now, dear Hivers, I will share with you what happened on this trip. Let's go!
As you can see, it is quite far. The travel time shown on Google Maps is only an estimate, but the actual distance traveled is much longer. We live in Cebu Province, and considering how far it is, everyone agreed to depart from our house at 2 am sharp to avoid getting stuck in city traffic.
We all woke up early and started to travel at exactly 2 o'clock in the morning. Along the way, we made a quick stop in Lugo to have some milk and coffee since it would be a long trip for everyone. While sipping coffee, my eyes couldn't stop staring at the bright moon. I've always been captivated by the beauty of the moon and love taking pictures. I don't know, but seeing such a beautiful scenery hits really different. Here, I'll show you the photos I took.
Isn't the moon beautiful? It illuminated the skies and served as our guiding light for this long journey. Right after that, we hopped back in the car and continued our travel journey.
When we reached the city, we made another stop at Parkmall at exactly 4:42 am because we were waiting for someone.
Additionally, one of my favorite moments during the ride was when we crossed the Cebu SRP (South Road Properties) tunnel. I've snapped some photos from the videos I took to share with you.
At this point, we're already at SM Seaside, which is a very large mall in Cebu. In this area, we could feel the strong breeze of the air. It's captivating on the outside and even more interesting inside. It is near Cebu Ocean Park, which I've featured in one of my blogs.
More than that, for a quick update for you, by looking at the map, we still needed to travel this long. It would take more hours before reaching our destination.
Therefore, we just enjoyed the trip by playing some music. A road trip and a sound trip indeed. Some family members were sleeping while some, including me, were singing. That made our trip not dull after all.
For the rest of our journey, I always checked Google Maps for our current location, and as we got closer, I got more excited.
Finally, at exactly 8:07 am, we arrived at the shrine. Our journey all the way from the province to Sibonga took a total of 6 hours. What a long ride, but it's all worth it, especially when we saw the awe-inspiring shrine.
We couldn't wait to explore the sacred place. It was still 8 in the morning, but there were already many people since we came there on a Sunday. With that in mind, we then proceeded inside for our visit's intention.
We offered our solemn prayers and thanksgiving. We felt truly blessed, no matter how far we had come or how long we had traveled, we arrived safe and sound.
We cherish this priceless time spent in Simala Shrine with the entire family. I consider this as a spectacular and unforgettable journey to this magnificent castle church in Sibonga, Cebu, Philippines. Despite the lengthy travel times and financial challenges, our family's commitment to making this trip happen transcends all hindrances. We had a fantastic spiritual experience, and this will be treasured by each one of us forever. The photo that follows concludes our family Sundate journey.
For the time being, this blog entry ends here! I appreciate each and every one of you for coming along on our incredibly long family journey to Simala Shrine. All of you are appreciated. Thank you so much. See you around! 🤍🤍
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That was a long travel drive but I can see that you really enjoyed your trip. It is indeed that cebu is rich in religious structures.
Yes, sir @john0928, and I'm happy that we finally visited Simala, one of the notable miraculous churches here in Cebu, together with my family. It's a wish granted for us. All the tiredness from travel has vanished when we finally arrived at the shrine. It was all worth it. 🤍
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Thank you!
Yeah, it takes a long ride but worth it when you get there. Such a wonderful place a must-visit. Take care and God bless.
Yes, ma'am, it's actually one of my bucket list items. 🤗 Thank you so much, ma'am @amoreyl, for stopping by! I appreciate it.
You're welcome.
You write beautifully and trust me on this one, this particular post of yours just inspired me to write again after a while and I really appreciate you.
Thank you so much for the compliment, @eyesthewriter. It's heart-fluttering to hear such words. I will use that as an inspiration to write more. Definitely, I'm looking forward to your future write-ups. 😇
I love Simala❣️ the last time ive been here was in 2021 but during that time, we were not allowed to go inside the church because of covid. So we only light candles in the open air part of Simala and prayed in the corners too. Cant wait to visit again soon😊
It's good to hear, miss @jane911x, that even though there might have been COVID restrictions at that time, you were able to fully experience the beauty of the sacred shrine. Just like what I want, I hope you could visit Simala again next time. 🥰
Thank you for sharing your family visit to Simala it was a wonderful time. I also loved to visit Simala during the pandemic was my last visit. Beautiful shrine.
Happy to hear that, @missbebeth. Thank you as well for reading my blog. I always appreciate it. 🤗❤️
You're welcome.