We obliged and were off the grid for a few days because Siquijor is an island province where the internet signal and cellphone signal are ghosting, meaning it comes and goes. It is also rumored as the witches lair and the voodoo capital of the country, so yeah, a pretty neat place to be when people are celebrating the death and resurrection of Christ.
But I am getting ahead of myself, first, let's talk about how to get there. You have two options. First and the most usual is riding a ferry from Dumaguete, Tagbiliran, and Iligan. The nearest and has a daily schedule is, of course, Dumaguete and they have 4 different ferries, GL Shipping Lines, Montenegro, Aleson, and OceanJet. Here's a link to schedules from the internet. The fare ranges from 100 to 300 and the travel time to 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours or more. The 2nd and less popular option is to charter a small plane or helicopter and be flown over. Its' expensive too.
For us, since we are living in Iloilo, we have 2 options as well. Flying to Dumaguete or do a road trip. We took the 2nd option since doing it by plane is expensive and we were with friends.
So a ferry from Iloilo to Bacolod early in the morning (first trip), that will cost you from 250-400 pesos depending on the ferry taken and the accommodation. That took an hour or so. Breakfast at the pier to ready ourselves for the 6-hour trip. :D
We left Bacolod at 9 AM and arrived in Dumaguete at 3 PM with the bus traveling south. Do not ask me about the travel because I was asleep for most of it and is only awake for a few intervals watching the countryside roll by for awhile. Stretches of sugarcane and banana plantations that marks Negros then moved on to sea seen from a distance when we finally entered Dumaguete then the sea when we arrived at the pier for ferries to Siquijor.
Bought some tickets for a 3:50 PM trip that costs 170 pesos then proceeded to a popular cafe called Food Net for snack/lunch.
Finally, at 5:30 PM, we arrived at Siquijor and hired a tricycle to the municipality of San Juan where our friend lives. Hiring the tricycle costs 250 pesos but they also offer an island tour for 1000 pesos which will show you around the place. For us, our friends planned everything, so what we just need to do is wake up early and be prepared to be shown around. The main mode of transportation in Siquijor is the tricyle though there are motorbikes for rent and multicabs that take passenger but usually for hire or for long-distance trips like from Siquijor to Lazi.
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| St. Frandis de Assissi Church near Siquijor Pier |
So the 1st day was spent on touring the island, I will post another article for this to highlight the many places we visited.
The 2nd day Holy Friday, we were supposed to trek to Mount Bandilaan but there was a bomb threat, so we ended up taking a dip near Coco Grove Resort at noon as our friends' family tradition and then attending mass at the San Juan Church and joining the procession.
We also visited the local shell museum Marelle's Underwater World Museum where they feature all species of sea creatures found in Siquijor and other places in the country. Crabs, urchins, shells (lots and lots of these), starfishes, and literature or backgrounds on sharks and the shells. It also has a souvenir shop where you can buy shirts, lamps, bracelets, earrings and other home decorations made entirely from shells and other local materials.
The 3rd day, Black Saturday, we spent the morning at the seashore. It was low tide and our friend's father gathered some sea urchins straight from the sea for our breakfast at the beach.There were 3 different kinds of urchins and I ended up eating one of each just to see the different in taste. the urchins tasted like crab meat to me, texture included and one urchin (inset) tasted best. Totally recommend eating it with steaming rice.
In the afternoon, we went to the municipality of Siquijor to inquire on trips and buy pasalubong. We ate snacks at M's Place where the siopao is sold for 16 pesos and the halo-halo served in a very tall glass. It tasted great too. Then next door, I forgot the name of the place for shirts and other pasalubong. And oh, they sell love potions too :D
Then Sunday, early in the morning, we left Siquijor at 5:30 AM for the trip back to Iloilo.
It was a very relaxing vacation and we promised to come back for our friend's wedding. Hopefully, it will come soon. :D
Daghang salamat sa pagbasa!!!
I post an article every two days... :D just because!
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