Siquijor (pronounced See-Kee-Hor) is renowned for being a mystical place and centre for black magic. We had planned to arrive on a late ferry, but as everything had gone so smoothly from leaving Oslob we found ourselves there late afternoon. We'd booked a hut in a place a short walk from Siquijor port. It was in a lovely tropical garden, with one side open to the elements and an outdoor shower. The owners were incredibly helpful renting us a brand new motorbike and even ran off to buy 2 new helmets when Colin pointed out the old ones didn't actually fasten.
I don't know if Monday is a day when restaurants don't open, but we struggled to find anywhere to eat in town that evening. One we'd walked past that was closed and we'd written off as looking naff did open eventually and we had probably the worst meal of our trip there - the most bony and overcooked piece of tuna imaginable.
We had a nice breakfast at our lodgings the following morning and a really nice chat with 2 Italian architects who live and work in Malta. We'd hired the scooter for 2 days and planned to stop at 2 different places on route, leaving our big luggage at the guest house. We looked like we'd been Tango-ed - bright orange new bike and 2 new shiny orange helmuts.
Our first stop was Paliton Beach, described as the most beautiful beach on Siquijor. It certainly is beautiful - powdery white sand and crystal clear water. We sat and admired the view with our favourite tipple of this trip - a mango shake. We chatted to a couple next to us who were from Manila and were visiting islands to look for a place to retire to.
We continued through San Juan, which seemed to be the main tourist accommodation hub of the island. We had a quick detour to look at some scenic cliffs, then continued on to the south of the island to visit the Century Old Balete Tree. The tree is actually 400 years old. There is a myth that Balete trees (part of the fig tree family) house mythical creatures at night. They also grow around other trees, eventually strangling them. This tree is special as it had a natural spring running under it. The cool water goes into some pools that are now used by tourists as a foot spa with the fish nibbling on dirty dusty feet.
There are a number of waterfalls in the south of the island. We drove past several but they all looked very crowded and they were being sold as great places for ropes, swings and cave jumping. We just wanted a peaceful place for a cool dip. We headed back down towards the coast and stopped at Cambugahay Falls. The parking area was empty and a guide led us down a stepped path to the pools. There were 2 or 3 others there but it was peaceful and we enjoyed a quick refreshing dip. The falls weren't anything special - most falls we've seen here seem to be artificially created. Back on the scooter we headed down to the town of Lazi and had a late lunch of squid adobo which was very tasty.
We followed the coast road towards the east side of the island where we had booked accommodation at Salagdoong Beach for the night. We managed to drive past the turnoff for the beach, but when we eventually did find it we noticed how many tourist scooters and vehicles were heading out. We had to pay a small entrance fee to the beach even though we told them we were stopping at the resort.
It is an absolutely beautiful spot - we had a room overlooking it all too, so were kicking ourselves a bit they we'd not got here sooner. The day trippers were leaving now, and with just 5 or 6 rooms we had a very peaceful stay here. The water was like a millpond. Colin went out on a kayak for a while, then we enjoyed a sundowner. We could see turtles heads popping up for air from our terrace.
We had a nice dinner there - shrimp curry and garlic shrimps. The guy running the resort was very friendly. He said it was owned by a Chinese man who leased the property from the government. As always Colin had already redesigned the buildings and layout of the resort. We had a knock on our door later at night to ask us to send up a Chinese lantern with the other guests. To be honest we weren't keen, as the metal will go straight into the ocean and could choke sea life, but we were told the owner insisted they took photos of guests doing this.
We got ourselves up early the following morning to snorkel before breakfast. Unfortunately Colin hadn't brought his iPhone waterproof case so we have no photos of the beautiful turtles we swam with and other colourful marine life. We had asked if we could stop another night, but they were fully booked which on reflection was a good thing so we could experience somewhere different.
After breakfast we continued up the east coast. There is a marine reserve at the top end where shoals of barracuda can be seen, but we'd been told that the visibility was poor at the moment. We stopped for refreshments at a small bakery famous for its Otaps. These are buttery flaky oval shaped flat cookies - they would have gone great with a cup of coffee but she could only offer us some juice.
While we were on the north side of the island we decided to call in at Latena Port to buy our ferry tickets to Bohol the following day. From there we headed inland to the highest point on the island to a butterfly sanctuary. The vegetation is lovely green and lush in the centre and we'd catch nice views back down to the coast.
It was a small place with a netted area where there were 12 species of butterfly. There were also chrysalis and caterpillars, so we could see all of the life cycle. We were told they release around 40% of the adult butterflies into the wild. I'm not sure if they liked my Soltan sun lotion but I had one attached to my ankle most of the time - in think it was looking for an escape plan.
From here we dropped back down onto the south coast and headed back round to San Juan where we'd booked accommodation just outside the main town called the Almare Guest House. It was hard to find, as there was no signage on the road and it was down a very rough narrow track. It was worth the effort though - there were some cabins in the garden to the main house where the family live and ours looked straight out to sea. There were some steps at the bottom of the garden straight down to the sea - Colin wasted no time getting in to explore the reef. When he came back he said he'd seen 3 turtles and it was a lovely reef.
We had been recommended a place in the hills above San Juan called Lambojon Terraces La Canopee for sunset and good vibes and food. We made sure we were up in good time to get a seat which was just as well as it is very popular.
It is owned by a French couple and Colin for once was impressed with the construction. The views back to the coast and the sunset were magnificent. The tapas type food we had (cheese, ham and dips) made a nice change too.
Going back to town on the scooter was exciting in the pitch dark with the sounds of the forest ringing around us. When we got back to the guest house, the owner, Charity, was in the bar area, so we joined her for a beer and chatted with her and various members of her family (stepfather, brother in law - who lives n Germany, mother). They were originally from Manila, but had held the land since about 2012. They had built their house and the garden units were intended for visiting family, but she had started letting them out in the past year. When she said her Italian father in law was just 2 years older than her I was puzzled - then she introduced her 75 year old mother. We mentioned they needed a sign on the road, but she said they were in dispute with a relative of her husbands who had sold them the plot of land without access.
We were up early to snorkel the following morning - we saw 2 turtles - another great start to the day. After a great breakfast on our balcony we set off back to Suquijor town as we'd promised to get the scooter back by 10am. They transferred us to Larena Port in a tuktuk - our first on this trip.
We had asked about port fees the day before so it wasn't a shock that they charged us a baggage fee of P100 each. It was amusing watching the look of outrage on many of the backpackers faces who, like us, had never been charged for luggage on other ferries.
Once on the ferry we were warned it could be a bumpy ride - thankfully it wasn't too bad and after 3 hours we arrived at our final island of the trip Bohol.
We have to say Siquijor is our favourite island so far - it has enough tourist infrastructure for comfort without being over the top, beautiful scenery and wonderful marine life and is easily accessible from other parts of the Philippines.