Read part 5 here.
Day 4. 14 February 2016 (Sunday)
February 14. The official day of hearts. The day full of love. Love is truly in the fresh soothing air of Siquijor. It was eerily dark when we set our feet on the Island of Black Magic so we didn't really witness its majestic features that Saturday night. But the moment our road trip began, I fell in love with the island in an instant.
Valentine's day began with Nanay Merlinda's wake up call for breakfast. O diba, parang nasa bahay lang talaga. As always, she was very accommodating and attended to our needs. After our individual morning rituals, we were finally ready to venture the island.
We started our journey at around 8 in the morning. And our first stop was the 'I Love Siquijor' sign along the road.
Of course we also had to stop by and have our pictures taken at the 'Welcome to Siquijor' landmark.
Valentine's day began with Nanay Merlinda's wake up call for breakfast. O diba, parang nasa bahay lang talaga. As always, she was very accommodating and attended to our needs. After our individual morning rituals, we were finally ready to venture the island.
We started our journey at around 8 in the morning. And our first stop was the 'I Love Siquijor' sign along the road.
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| I think sinadya talaga na ganito ang weather para mas creepy. Haha. xD |
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| We passed by Coco Grove. I think it's the biggest resort in the island. |
Of course we also had to stop by and have our pictures taken at the 'Welcome to Siquijor' landmark.
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| The St. Francis of Assisi Church |
After a few minutes of admiring the old church, we went to the Capilay Spring Park. You can do a lot of things in the park such as swimming, biking, skateboarding, relaxing, etc. We took the challenge of climbing the stairs towards the grotto and the topmost area of the park. What we saw is another structure: the San Agustin Church.
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| San Agustin Church, Siquijor |
We went next to one of the island's most famous tourist spot, the Enchanted Balete Tree. As expected, there were lots of tourists given the fact that almost all of the island's accommodations were fully booked.
We checked out the souvenir kiosk/carinderia in the area after our "foot spa" session with ze fishes~
After relaxing at the Balete Tree, we finally headed to the highlight of our Siquijor trip: the Cambugahay Falls!!!! The way to the Falls was definitely a struggle for my lungs and for my legs. I guess my football training was not enough for me to survive the long and steep stone stairway to the island's enchanting gift.
But!!! All of the struggle and hardships were definitely worth it.
We spent more than an hour in Cambugahay Falls. Before we totally forget about the other places on our itinerary, we decided to go on with the tour. We had our lunch and went to the Lazi Church afterwards.
Siquijor may be known for its voodoo and black magic urban legends. But despite all that, it is evident that the locals are widely practicing Christianity.
Our final destination was the Salagdoong Beach. When I mentioned that we were planning to visit Siquijor, everybody suggested that we go to this place. Now I know what the fuss is all about.
We only spent a short time in Salagdoong. After my friend has tried diving into the sea, we decided to go back to the resort to start packing our things. We passed by a bakery to buy the famous Torta. I bought 20 pieces of the famous bread (for pasalubong) thinking that it was the same size as the one we bought at the Balete Tree. I was worried of the excess baggage in the plane so I decided to share them with my friends (torta sa umaga, torta sa tanghali, torta sa merienda, at torta sa hapunan. Chars. Haha~)
The schedule of the ferry going back to Tagbilaran is 8 o'clock in the evening. We left Sunny Shine Beach Resort at 5 PM and reached the Port at around 6 PM. Before boarding the ferry, we visited the Pasalubong Center. We didn't see much souvenirs at the store so Kars and I were a little disappointed. She wanted to buy a voodoo doll that was requested by one of our officemates. We should've bought one in the Balete Tree kiosk. Lesson learned: if you see something that you wanted to buy, go for it.
We reached Tagbilaran at around 11 PM and headed back to Slim Pension House. "Home sweet home."
Read part 7 here.
After relaxing at the Balete Tree, we finally headed to the highlight of our Siquijor trip: the Cambugahay Falls!!!! The way to the Falls was definitely a struggle for my lungs and for my legs. I guess my football training was not enough for me to survive the long and steep stone stairway to the island's enchanting gift.
But!!! All of the struggle and hardships were definitely worth it.
We spent more than an hour in Cambugahay Falls. Before we totally forget about the other places on our itinerary, we decided to go on with the tour. We had our lunch and went to the Lazi Church afterwards.
Siquijor may be known for its voodoo and black magic urban legends. But despite all that, it is evident that the locals are widely practicing Christianity.
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| Lazi Convent located across the church |
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| Mouth watering mango ice cream sold outside the church~ |
Our final destination was the Salagdoong Beach. When I mentioned that we were planning to visit Siquijor, everybody suggested that we go to this place. Now I know what the fuss is all about.
The schedule of the ferry going back to Tagbilaran is 8 o'clock in the evening. We left Sunny Shine Beach Resort at 5 PM and reached the Port at around 6 PM. Before boarding the ferry, we visited the Pasalubong Center. We didn't see much souvenirs at the store so Kars and I were a little disappointed. She wanted to buy a voodoo doll that was requested by one of our officemates. We should've bought one in the Balete Tree kiosk. Lesson learned: if you see something that you wanted to buy, go for it.
We reached Tagbilaran at around 11 PM and headed back to Slim Pension House. "Home sweet home."
Read part 7 here.
