After about a month of saving and researching about Siquijor, I have finally made it there. I find it funny that it was my first time to go there because of the fact that I lived previously in Dumaguete for 5 years which is just an hour away and I only had this chance to discover the island when I'm already based back in my hometown.
I took the mystic trip with my sister and college friends (my Orc family) who are by far the coolest people I've traveled with. We were on tight budgets so Siquijor was the perfect destination since the place was not that expensive; just the right spot for backpacking.
We planned to catch Delta's first trip for the day which leaves at 7:30 am, we arrived at the pier around 7. Upon arriving at the ticketing booth, one of their crew said the first schedule was already fully booked, good thing the other guy at the counter gave us chance passenger tickets. Delta is a fast craft vessel, so it only takes 1 hour to get to Siquijor from Dumaguete.
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| St. Francis of Assissi Church |
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| Welcome to the mystic island! |
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| Waiting tricycles ready for tours around the island |
8:30 was the exact docking time at Siquijor, Siquijor, so we had so much time ahead of us. My first impression as I disembarked the boat-- crystal clear clean blue water that I could jump right then and there. I didn't do that though since we still had motorcycle rental to think about so we could get around the tourist spots easily. Just outside the port, there are a variety of motorcycles for rent. First, we went to Daustrum to get 3 motorcycles, however, they only had one left for us to rent and we acquired the rest of the two along the street from an organized group of habal-habal drivers who were also nice enough to let us borrow their map since the tourist booth was closed for the weekend. The rental was only PhP 350 per day or PhP 25 per hour which is way cheap compared to other places I've been to. We stopped at a gas station along the way. Note: they only have 2 real gas stations; those planning to get around by driving themselves should pay attention for gas stands along the highway with gasoline in 1 liter soda bottles in case your tanks run out.
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| The crystal clear blue water at the Siquijor port |
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| There's a beach by the port! Wow! |
We went searching for our place to stay right after filling our tanks with gas. Driving to the next municipality of San Juan took only about 20 minutes. Most hotels and resorts were situated there. We had 3 tents reserved at Lorna's End of the World. Interesting name for beachfront rooms, eh? I think it's pretty cool ; a name that sticks to your head because it's unique and catchy. I only discovered this place a day before going to Siquijor through a link my sister gave me. Seeing the tents for rent at 200 good for 2 people and the positive reviews were very attractive so I had our stay reserved by texting ate Lorna (the owner). While driving around to look for the place, we didn't see it right away because the sign board was not very legible but the yellow painted wall caught my attention and I knew that was it. Ate Lorna's original beachfront rooms unfortunately caught fire last year, good thing they managed to build it again. When we arrived, ate Lorna welcomed us warmly like we knew each other for a long time. She's very friendly and accommodating. I never encountered any owner of lodgment as nice as her. Lorna's End of the world is perfect for backpackers, especially for us who were extremely on tight budgets. Aside from the tents there are 4 beachfront rooms with kitchen at only 500 for 2 persons. Another plus about this place is even though we just rented the tents cooking our own meal was still free (cooking was part of the freebies along with fire by the beach and card games-- just what we need for island life). We bought ingredients at a nearby grocery store and we were good to go. Ate Lorna was even so kind to give us oil and dishwashing soap. We felt so at home treated like her family.
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| Lorna's End of the World |
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| Our comfortable abode by the beach |
The map was very useful for our excursion, especially when we were going around on our own, of course a little asking around was pretty handy too. Our first stop was the Capilay Spring Park just a few minutes drive from Lorna's End of the World. It's a public spring pool, hence it's for free. A group of local kids were around enjoying the water. It's very accessible being located just at the highway right in front of the municipal gymnasium.
Right after, we drove to Lugnason Falls which was absolutely left as naturally as it is except for a few bamboo seats. It was a serene place with cool and clean blue water. Of course, we took a dip, it was too hard to resist since no one else was there except us, we had the pool all to ourselves.
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| Lugnason Falls |
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| The water was so inviting |
The Enchanted Balete Tree was our next destination. It's also situated along the highway, so it's not so hard to find. There's a pool of water from the spring right below the huge old tree. When we arrived, the owner of the place asked us to log in for tourism documentation and asked for a donation of any amount. She told us the tree has been there for over 400 years and she added there was a previous tourist during the day with a third eye open who saw spirits by the tree, which kind of creeped us out but that wasn't enough to scare us from taking pictures by the roots of the tree. While hanging around, we had fish foot spa at the pool.
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| 4 Ceturies Old Balete Tree |
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| Fish foot spa |
This time, we were headed to a historical/cultural attraction, the St. Isidore Church and Convent. The exterior and interior structures are well preserved. Like most old churches around the country, the walls are made of coral stones while furnishings are of local hardwood.
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| Picturesque view of St. Isidore Church |
Afterwards, we were off to the island's most famous falls-- Cambugahay Falls. We had to step down 132 steps to reach it. There were a lot of people enjoying the cool water of the stream for the weekend, locals and tourists alike.
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| Cambugahay Falls |
Our last stop for the day was Salagdoong Beach. It was pretty packed with people that we weren't able to settle ourselves right away, we had to wait for a cottage to become vacant for almost an hour. The place was great with white sand beach and cliffs for diving and sliding. We would've wanted to dive but because of the crowd, we we're not able to do that. It's most advisable to visit these tourist attractions (Salagdoong and Cambugahay Falls) on weekdays since they're less crowded.
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| Lyka relaxing by the beach |
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| With my Orc family |
Our original plan was to go around the island. We were supposed to drive from Salagdoong and drive ahead to the municipality of Larena until we reach San Juan town. However, the staff at the beach advised us to drive back where we came from since the other way will take us longer, approximately 2 hours travel and it was already nightfall plus not all areas in the island have street lights. It was a dark long drive back to the End of the World but the spectacular view of the moon was rewarding; turned out it was full moon that night.
When we returned at Lorna's End of the World, ate Lorna was so sweet to tell us she had a surprise at our tent, when we opened them, it was complete with mattress, pillows, sheets, towels, tissue, and soap. We were only expecting an empty tent, so we brought with us our own sleeping bag; my friend, Lyka, was even worried she didn't bring her malong. We were so touched we kept saying our deepest thank yous to ate Lorna without end. Now, that's more than the 100 pesos each that we paid for. I'm definitely staying there every time I come to Siquijor.
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| Ate Lorna's comfortable tent |
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| With ate Lorna at the middle. Thanks for the warm stay, ate! |
I've known that San Juan has an amazing sunset view, which we missed because we were only back when the moon was already up. That did not disappoint us though because the sunrise was equally breathtaking. The sky had this beautiful splash of colors, it was good to be awake and greeted by the awesome morning view.
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| Sunrise at the end of the world |
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| Who wouldn't want to wake up with this view? |
Siquijor, Philippines is a beautiful island kept natural and virgin. Most may have misconceptions of the place because of the stories about witchcraft but really there's nothing to be scared of, the locals we've encountered were friendly and welcoming.
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| We're definitely coming back |
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| The beautiful view while driving around |
I had an awesome weekend in a beautiful place with really good company. I want more of this getaways. More to come, I hope so.
Costs:
Delta fare (one-way) : PhP 160
Motorcycle rental: PhP 350/day; PhP 25/hour
Tent accommodation : PhP 200 for 2 pax (Lorna's End of the World)
Salagdoong entrance fee : PhP 15 + PhP 10 (motorcycle parking fee)
Salagdoong cottage : PhP 100
Lorna's End of the World
San Juan, Siquijor
09273816377
Motorcycle Rental
Charlie Tayros
09162028043
Pedicab Island Tour
Ronald Angot
09397777784
