Exploring Toledo City, Cebu

Location : Toledo City, Cebu, Philippines

Transport from San Carlos to Toledo City
There was a 9 am RoRo (accommodates cars/motorcycles) but I took the 8:30 am Fast Craft (P225). I noticed though that people with no luggage were waiting for the RoRo when there was plenty of room for the Fast Craft. The air conditioning was maxed-out inside the Fast Craft I had to wear a coat. I'd much rather take the slower RoRo for fresh air and be able to walk around the boat, but I didn't want to wait another 30 mins.

Ticketing was odd. You had to by-pass the ticketing counter and head to the booth of the boat to get a 'priority number'. Then you go back to the ticketing counter to pay. Then you can head to the terminal and await boarding.

Optimism for Toledo
I had high hopes for Toledo since it was the gateway to Cebu City for people coming from Northern Negros. I imagined it to be prosperous with a bustling city life. From San Carlos, I just had to take a ferry across Tanon Strait to the island of Cebu.

Lodging
First order upon landing was to look for cheap lodging - this seems to be a guerilla mindset I can't get rid of. After asking a few locals, I ended up at Aleus Lodging for P250/night. After going around Toledo, there was no reason for me to take a second night.

Exploring by Walking
Toledo isn't a big city and it's not that progressive either. I would not even consider it a city to begin with, but simply a town. I didn't see any kind of city planning for Toledo. Everything that sprung out of it is along their dusty highway. The whole city is just a stretch of the highway. It would have been good to designate areas for specific purposes instead of just lining all of them along the highway. The only infrastructure giving it marks for being a 'city' is a Gaisano Mall - an inferior version of its smaller malls.

arriving at the Port of Toledo

Ending Thoughts
Given its location, its coastline and proximity to the big cities (Cebu City to the east and Bacolod to the west), I keep wondering why Toledo remained 'dormant'. I planned on exploring this place for a few days, but one day is more than enough. I should have just seen this from the window of a bus.

Next stop is Cebu City.

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

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