This is the first of three installments about my trip to Oslob.

The first time I went to Oslob was in September 2007 upon the prodding of a friend since he was about to leave Cebu permanently for Manila. He hadn’t explored much of Cebu’s towns, including Oslob, during the entire one year of his stay here thus the last minute preparations which included compelling two other friends to join.

We were lucky enough to see their old church which was still intact then until it was gutted by fire on March 26, 2008. The second time I went to this town was already with the company of some members of the Cebu Archdiocesan Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church (CACCHC), just a few weeks after the incident, in order to assess of what was left of the church.

Anyway, Oslob never fails to impress me. When I first went here I was tantalized by this structure which I imagined was like a roman aqueduct. Later did I learn that it is the unfinished remains of the Cuartel de Infanteria or simply the soldiers’ barracks. At the seashore too is a watchtower, remnants of a vast defense network system that was once centered in the town of Boljoon next to Oslob. The church itself is massive and on one corner of the perimeter wall of the entire church compound is a stone pillar that bears the carved name of the street. Also in another corner at a street going to the cemetery is another stone pillar bearing the carved name of the street. Just across the church itself is the former mortuario or mortuary chapel which was used during the Spanish times for the wakes of the dead. A visit to Oslob to witness these structures which are the minute witnesses of the past is a must. Fare from the Cebu South Bus Terminal is only P115. I recommend leaving very early in the morning since the trip can last for more or less three hours.

I am dedicating three series for Oslob starting with this post. I hope this will help in dessiminating information to those who haven’t been here about the many sites that this quaint town can offer.