by Fratri Edson Silva

The welcoming touch of the cool wind, the smell of salt water in the air, and the sight of a surreal white glow by the shore – once you notice all these, you’ll know you’ve arrived.

About three hours from Cebu City on the island of Cebu, you can find the 10,000 Roses Café in the municipality of Cordova on the island of Mactan. This coffee shop at the edge of the island has been attracting visitors to Cebu for over a year now. Its next-door neighbor is the famous Lantaw Native Floating Restaurant; together, they create the perfect storm for a grand tourist destination.

When the café first popped up, it flooded everybody’s social media accounts; every other post was a picture taken at the café. It was the must-visit destination of the moment.

Today, the hype may have died down a little, but tourists and locals alike continue to flock to this corner of the island to see those white plastic roses glow.

A friend and I had decided, on a whim the night before, to visit the café; she was going to be out of the country for a few months, and we wanted to go somewhere we had never been.

When we got off the tricycle at the entrance of the café at around three in the afternoon, we were immediately hit with the cool sea breeze that broke the trance the roaring of the motorcycle’s engine had us under. We looked up and around; the sky was a dull mix of blue-gray, and the clouds were high in the sky and blocking out the sun, allowing soft filtered light to fall over the place.

After paying the twenty-peso entrance fee, we stepped into the main area of the café and were greeted by a wide expanse of cemented land. On one end stood an unfinished stage, and on the other, an unpainted concrete structure with a huge LED screen and speakers blasting out an interesting predownloaded mix of chart-topping pop hits followed by mellow indie music.

Laid out sprawling in front of the concrete café was the main attraction: the ten thousand roses dancing in the wind. These roses are made of plastic and stand at about three feet.Whether or not there are actually ten thousand of them has often been questioned, to which some of the maintenance staff would answer,“you’re welcome to count them yourself if you wish.”

I saw the expanse of white in front of me and my friend, and I was surprised. It was smaller than I imagined. We walked down the paved path that led to the actual coffee shop. There were tourists left and right, taking pictures of and with the main attraction.

It took a second for us to adjust to the small crowds of people bunching up by the flowers, but as soon as we did, we jumped straight into it and started taking pictures ourselves.

The key to being a good tourist, I believe, is to indulge. But don’t forget to show appreciation and respect.

The ten thousand roses café is undeniably photogenic (10,000 plastic roses blowing in the wind with the Mactan Channel and the skyline of Cebu in the background!), and the café owners know it;they put a heart installation with a bench right in front of the roses – a perfect camera magnet for couples or people looking for the perfect Instagram photo.

We walked up to the main shop to look at the menu. The prices of the drinks and food were typical of an artisanal coffee shop. We had decided to order something later in the evening, when the roses would start to light up.

When night finally did come, the roses lit up with a gasp and without warning. Usually, according to the guards in charge, they light up at 6p.m., but evening came a little later that day. It was a gorgeous sight. The roses went from being quaint-looking lawn ornaments springing from the ground to ethereal flowers dancing in the night. Another round of picture taking ensued. It’s at night when you truly understand why so many people come to see these flowers glow.

Minutes later, after ordering our drinks, we took a table right by the edge of the water, drawn out by the night sea breeze. The skyline of Cebu City shone in the distance. We retold old stories, laughed, cracked jokes, and laughed some more. It was a great night. We knew we wouldn’t be doing this again for a while since she’d be leaving for some time, so we made the moment count.

That’s what I try to do every time I travel, even if I’m just a stone’s throw away from home:make the moment count.

The Ten Thousand Roses Café is definitely worth seeing, especially with a friend.

Keep a can-do attitude, take lots of pictures, and make lots of memories.

To get to the 10,000 Roses Café, we rode a V. Hire from the SM City Cebu terminal bound for Cordova and got off at Grandmall. From there, we rode a tricycle to the café. All in all, around Php. 45.00 spent each.