Happy Saturday Blurtians!
Few months ago I went to Isla Del Fuego or known as Siquijor this time. But before I will show you the interesting and beautiful places I have visited in this trip let me first tell you how to get to Siquijor.
How to get to Siquijor
From Dumaguete Port in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, you may secure a ticket from Montenegro Shipping Lines or Aleson Shipping Lines going to Siquijor Port. It only takes 1.5 hours of travel.
There is a difference of fare between the 2 shipping lines. For Montenegro Shipping Lines, they collected a fare for php190.00 (almost 4$) but for Aleson Shipping Lines, it only costs you php150.00 (3$). It is cheaper than Montenegro.
After we have photocopied our valid ID and vaccination card we headed to the ticketing office to secure a ticket. Afterwards, they advised us to have our photocopied ID and vaccination card together with our ticket get stamped at the Coast Guard Office.
As we aboard on the ship, we were given a form to be filled up by us because it is a requirement in Siquijor port along with our valid ID and vaccination card.
Aside from 2 hours delayed of departure we never had encountered another unfortunate circumstances and that made us delight. As we travelled to Siquijor the weather was absolutely beautiful. We could only see ripples on the seawater.
After an hour of travel we were able to get closer to Isla Del Fuego and as we clearly saw the island, we were thrilled to get out from the ship.
Do you know what? Even there's a lot of people passing by but I haven't felt shy to strike my mandatory trademark pose in the entrance/exit area of Siquijor Port.
After we'd enjoyed taking photos, we then headed to the parking area where our driver/tour guide waited us.
And oh! We truly appreciated the effort given by Kuya Raul. He printed a welcome sign bearing our names.
So we immediately striked a pose as we asked him to have a photo of us with this colorful welcome sign.
Our first stopped was in the well-known St. Francis De Asisi Church. This is one of the oldest churches in Siquijor. According to the history, the church was founded in 1783.
This church is situated just meters away from the local port.
The Welcome to Siquijor landmark is situated close to St. Francis De Asisi church. It is a well-maintained tourist spot in Siquijor. The spot was cladded with greenery.
If you have noticed the church is made up of coral stone. It looks like the other ancient churches in Cebu. Though it's already old but we can still see the beauty on it.
Here's my friend in front of St. Francis de Asisi church. We didn't get inside the church because the mass that time was on-going.
We walked further after kuya Raul told us a little informations about the church. We headed to the ancient Belfry. The Belfry was under renovation so we were not allowed to get closer of it. In fact, it is wrapped with net.
We then headed to I Love Siquijor landmark. We just striked a pose and we immediately left the area after photo taking because there's nothing wonderful spot to offer.
After a 10 minute travel, we'd crossed the unpaved road going to Paliton Beach. Anyone can access the beach with no entrance fee, however, the beach is only open until 6:00 in the evening. No one is allowed to use the beach at night.
Paliton Beach is one of the nicest beaches around Siquijor Island.
After we had enjoyed the powdery white sand at Paliton Beach we then headed to the Cliff Pitogo. This is a hidden paradise. The place is full of tranquility. But I'm not sure if this would be the same after few months when the people will soon discover this place.
After the Pitogo Cliff exploration our driver/tour guide brought us to The Fish Spa under the Balete Tree.
If you love nature and fish spa maybe you would also love this place. Most of the times you'll heard sudden giggles and laughters from the guests when the fish started to bite their feet. It was a nice experience.
Maybe the other guest's callus have gone after having fish spa but mine was not completely gone because I could not handle the tickling feeling unlike my friend who stayed longer.
Since we're done cleaning our feet, we then headed to the broom stick spot. Isla Del Fuego was once known to have many witches before so the locals took that opportunity to capitalize the legend. Here I am jumping while riding on the broom stick. Well, it was funny. I was also able to see the beauty of the Lazi Municipality because the area is elevated.
After hearing the witches story we then headed to the biggest convent in Asia. The Lazi Convent or or also known as San Isidro Convent is said to be the biggest and the oldest convent in Asia according to our tour guide.
In front of this convent is the San Isidro Church. The church is huge and it is also made up from coral stone. It was built in 1857 but it still looks beautiful and strong until today.
After visiting the sacred places, we travelled for few minutes going to Cambugahay Falls. My friend had tried the tree swing for 3 times if I'm not mistaken. She truly enjoyed it. But I refused because I don't want my nose to get hurt.
We also rented a floating raft for few minutes and came closer to the water falls. We paid php20 per head.
It was already 4:00 o'clock and we still have few tourist spots to visit. After bathing in Cambugahay Falls, we didn't change clothes and immediately hopped in the tricycle and headed to Salagdoong Beach.
Siquijor has also man-made forest. You can pass this spot going to Salagdoong Beach, after we enjoyed sight seeing at the beach, our driver/tour guide made stop at this man-made forest.
We haven't seen other people in the people in the area so we didn't care if we've done crazy little things.
It's already past 5:00 when we left the man-made forest. I can't remember how long we had travelled from man-made forest to Cang Isok house. Kuya Raul stopped in front of the ruined house. I just stared at it waiting Kuya Raul to tell the story of this ancient house.
This house is also known as the oldest Surviving House in Isla Del Fuego or Siquijor. It really amazed me because up to this time the house is still erected. This ancient house was built hundred years ago according to Kuya Raul.
The surroundings was already getting darker as we have travelled from Cang Isok house to the well-known store selling Pan Bisaya (Visayan version bread). We looked forward to it because aside from feeling hungry we also wanted to taste the Pan Bisaya. We're fortunate because as we arrived there were fresh baked pan bisaya.
What I liked the most of this Visayan version bread is that it was not too sweet and there's young coconut meat inside the bread. I am fan of young coconut meat. It is one of my favorites.
After the long tiring day, we have dined in at the outdoor restaurant. The ambiance was romantic. The table was cladded with red fabric and it has candle as the source of our light. The food they have offered the time we went there was not Filipino cuisine maybe because there are lots of foreigner in the island. This outdoor restaurant is situated along the main road.
After we have eaten we stayed at the beach area. After a long day, I have found it really great because we're able to tour the whole island. That was how we spent our first day and night at the island.
On the second day, we woke up early and stayed at the beach. I laid my whole body on the hammock and I found it relaxing.
After a while, my friend and I decided to find a restaurant where we can have our breakfast.
I was craving noodles with egg however, we could not find one until we saw this Treasure Island Restaurant situated along the road so we decided to try their food.
There were only few people at the restaurant, we liked it because it was peaceful. I just ordered a bread and egg with cheese for my breakfast.
After we had eaten our breakfast, we went back to the resort where we checked in.
We spent the rest of the morning at the beach chatting, sharing stories together, photo taking and swimming.
It was absolutely a great summer trip. Since then I started to love the Island of Siquijor. The locals were friendly and hospitable and of course the beaches were truly beautiful.
Thank you for reading and see you on my next blog. Cheers!
Watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places.