Siquijor: Our Discovery About The Mystical Island

13 July 2015, Day 3

We started our day with our breakfast at Coco Grove, included in the package of our stay. This is a plated meal with a choice of rice or bread, bacon, tocino, tapa, fresh fruits, coffee or hot chocolate and juices. The food they serve are good as well as the staff for they are very accommodating and nice.

Kuya Dennis, our Tour Guide/Driver of the day, picked us up at the resort around 9am to start our tour.

Here's our itinerary for the day:

- Century Old Balete Tree
- Lazi Church
- Cambugahay Falls
- Salagdoong Beach
- Sta. Maria Church
- Cang-Isok House
- Triad Coffee Shop

While we were on our way to the Century Old Balete Tree, Kuya Dennis was telling us facts about the island. He was born at Siquijor and was able to work in Manila but decided to go back to his hometown due to an accident that turned his life around. Going back, Kuya Dennis said that Siquijor was discovered by the Spaniards during their colony was here in the Philippines. They called it as Isla De Fuego, "Island of Fire", because that time the island was like in fire due to the fireflies that wander at night. Too bad these fireflies already flew away to the mountains today.

Once we arrived at the Century Old Balete Tree, we paid 5php per person for their environment fee, I guess. Because there are no entrance fees for this, the money collected will be for the maintenance of the area. For that, you may sit all day to enjoy their Fish Spa. Yes, you heard it right. All day! Hahaha. It was my first time to actually having a fish eat my dead skin. I can say that I was frightened especially of the big fishes I was able to enjoy it in the end. Haha!

If ever you get hungry here, they have a small store in the area. My friends bought fresh bukos around 35php I guess and a pack of bread. Moving on, our next stop was the Lazi Church or the San Isidro Labrador Parish which is known for the oldest church in Siquijor. The church was made of corals and hard wood and up to today, it still stands strong and beautiful in its own way. 

Lazi Church's facade

Lazi Convent

The Lazi Convent is located in front of the church which was considered to be one of the largest built during the colonial times.

Off to our next stop was the Cambugahay Falls. Before reaching the fall itself, we have to go down several steps as you can see at the photo below. Each group are required to have a tour guide to go down with them. You can give your guide any amount that you have which is sort of a donation to maintain the falls.

Upon reaching the falls itself, I so surprised on how beautiful and clean the area was. It was like a hiddne paradise waiting to be discovered.

Our friends immediately took off their clothes and have their swimming attire on. There is a rope used to make your jump more exciting and fun which are usually shown in the movies. So each one of us tried to jump the farthest that we can. It was really full of fun and it seemed like I went back to being a child again. :)

The sun was up and happily greeting us during this time. To freshen up, you may buy fresh bukos which also around 35php I think. If you have your things with you, there is a wide seat where you can drop and leave your stuff. As for your valuables, you may bring a small bag and put it all inside then you cover it with your towel or shirt if you'll go swimming. 

We were so famished after our swim at the falls. Our lunch is going to be at the Salagdoong Beach Resort which is owned by the local government. According to Kuya Dennis, the resort got its name from Salag which means a nest and Do-ong which was a known type of bird in Siquijor. On our way to the resort, we have to pass by a man-made forest where Mahogany trees are planted and cultivated. These trees are said to be abundant way before but its number decreases due to some reasons. 

Upon entering the resort, we were asked to pay an entrance fee of 20php (as far as I can remember). But since we are going to order food, our entrance fee was waived. Parking space is not a problem as well as picnic tables. Tables are scattered around the resort but I am not sure if you have to pay for it. There is also one restaurant which caters affordable meals and drinks. 

While waiting for our food, groufie!

I was happy that this resort was managed by the local government because you can enjoy the view and do some activities for a minimal cost. After eating, we went to explore the place. It's a pretty small place compared to some resorts. If you're going during off season and during weekdays, I bet you can have this place for yourselves. 

According to Levin, there's not much to see in terms of marine life in Salagdoong. But for me, I was stunned on how beautiful and serene the beach is as you can see on the pictures. These views and the place made me not want to leave anymore.

The resort has it's small cliff that they also developed to have a bridge from the restaurant area. This will lead you then to a slide which is no longer used and the two level for cliff diving. The first level was like 10 feet high while the second level was about more than 20 feet high. Once you're at the resort, you may enjoy jumping off the cliff as many times as you want. There are no guides or life guards when we visited so I am not sure if there are really any. So jump at your own risk!

At the second level of cliff diving

Too bad we needed to say goodbye after our mini exploration on these place. Our next stop was at the Sta. Maria Church which was known for the Black Maria. According to the urban legends, the statue of Sta. Rita wanders at nighttime and some locals saw a track of muddy footsteps going to the spot where the statue was standing as proof. Well, the place is not that creepy at all. Though I don't know this story yet when we visited the church. Haha!

The church is simple with its cemented flooring and walls that have several windows which made us see the interiors clearly. 

After Sta. Maria Church, we passed by the Cang-Isok House which was known to be the oldest standing house in the island. Remember my post about the Baha Bar? This is the exact piece where they got their design. Today, it still stands near the main highway and you'll be able to pass by it when you're touring around the island.

Our last stop for our tour was the Triad Coffee Shop. It is located on top of Larena where you can see a 360 degrees view of Siquijor. The some parts of the road towards the coffee shop are steep but our van conquered it smoothly. It is best to visit Triad for sunset and coffee! You can order drinks from coffee-based to fruit shakes and juices while you are enjoying the view. There is also a function hall here and during the time that we visited, they were preparing for some event. 

You may bring your own binoculars too, just like Levin here. Haha

The platform

Well, that was our day tour on Siquijor. Indeed, this island has a lot to offer and are waiting to be discovered. Too bad, many of us are afraid to visit this beautiful island because of its myths and legends. Let us be adventurers and I guarantee you, this is going to be one of your best trips in the Philippines!

Should you need someone to tour you around, you can contact Kuya Dennis at 0905-178 0092. He actually works with a friend for their travel agency. He offers his day tour with a new van for around 2,000php when we had our vacation. I am just not definite if he still offers the same price so go and call him!

Our Home Away from Home: Coco Grove Dive and Beach Resort

So we arrived at Coco Grove Dive and Beach Resort, our home for the next 3 days at Siquijor .It is along the main highway of the island which made it more accessible for travellers. Actually, most of their resorts in the island are located along the highway so it's easy to look for a place to stay. The resort has 2 entrances, one leading to the main resort and the other is at the Casa Coco Hotel - the hotel part of the resort.

The resort is big enough to have several cottages (with aircon), 3 swimming pools, a gym, a spa, a floating bar, a volleyball court, diving shop and school, 2 restaurants, a pavilion, a souvenir shop, game room, 800-meter beach and many more! For more information, you may check out their website at http://www.cocogrovebeachresort.com/.

When we arrived, the resort staff served watermelon juices to welcome us. (Wow! Did I tell you guys that watermelon is my favorite?)

Here's Macky to welcome you to the resort

The resort itself offers tour packages and various water activities that you can enjoy but it’s a little bit pricey here, as you can see on the picture above. We did not avail of the tours and activities because we had our own arranged tour the following day care of Levin.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring this big resort that we almost got lost. HAHA! The rooms are actually just along the pathway when you take stairs from the shore. Once you get to familiarize yourself with the landmarks, you have nothing to worry about. :) However, it's advisable to use a flashlight when you're out and wandering during night time. There are lamp posts, yes, but it's still pretty dark going back to your rooms at night. Good thing flashlights are provided in each room.

Front view of Salamandas

The resort takes pride its Tubod Marine Sanctuary which is a home for various schools of fish and corals. When the tide is high, you can just actually gear yourself with your snorkeling stuff and do a little swimming from the shore and voila! - you'll be surprised how beautiful LIFE is, under the sea. During the last morning of our stay, our group was fortunate enough to have Levin with us who taught us the basics of snorkeling. He even took care of renting our snorkeling gear at the in-house Dive Shop for free. Haha! Anyway, you can also bring your own gear to enjoy swimming with the sea creatures. But you have to be careful of some Sea Urchins along the shallow area of the beach. It's advisable to have a pair of diving shoes for this activity. For me, I don't have this gear yet so what I did was to walk carefully towards  the snorkeling area and swim (with our life jackets on) once possible to avoid those Sea Urchins. We were on the water for more than an hour that made some of us felt itchy. According to Levin, it was the school of (little) fish, biting us and saying "Good morning!" Hahaha Silly. Anyway, during our activity, we were able to see VARIOUS kinds of fish, weird starfishes that are blue in color and beautiful corals. What a way to start our day, right? :)

Below, you can see other pictures taken at the resort during our stay:

When it comes to food, it’s quite hard to stay  on a budget. We have to eat at in-house restaurants because they do not allow food bought outside the resort. Also, there are limited stores nearby for you to buy food. But if you are a backpacker and a budget traveler, there are plenty of different cheap resorts in Siquijor. You might want to rent a motorbike to go around the island because you can actually do it within a day, as they say. That's how small the island of Siquijor is. 

On my next post, I'll talk about how our day tour went.  

Our Journey To Siquijor

12 July 2015, Day 2 (Continuation)

After having our encounter with the gentle giants, we headed back to our resort to freshen up and check-out. We needed to catch the 12:00nn ferry towards Siquijor (from Dumaguete) because another friend of Ma'am Jacq is waiting for us in Dumaguete since morning. So our route is we needed to go to Dumaguete by ferry from the Santander Port. The fare is around 64php for a non-aircon ferry.

Ferry ticket

I just want to emphasize how beautiful the shore is on the port of Santander. I hope that the goverment will be able to maintain the cleanliness in this area.

Shoreline beside the port

There goes our ferry waiting for us

Boarding time

At boarding, I presented my ticket and the person in charge tear the boarding pass. Going down the boat, we took our seats at the front part of the ferry. Thank God for the clear weather for we had a smooth sail going to Dumaguete. We arrived at Dumaguete around 11:30am, approximately 30 to 45 minutes travel time. Going to the main port of Dumaguete, we rented one jeep for 200php. It was a good thing because it was only a short ride and we are able to catch the 12nn ferry to Siquijor. Whew!

Dumaguete's main port

This port was bigger from the the one in Santander. You can buy tickets to different locations outside the departure area. Approximately, 200 to 300 passengers can fit the departure area. There are also food stalls in the departure area in case your tummy gets a hungry.

Siquijor Port

The same with the one in Santander, Siquijor's port is very clean and peaceful. After getting of the ferry, we were welcomed by Kuya Dennis from the local travel agency. He used a new black Urvan for our group. Since we are all VERY HUNGRY (we haven't eaten since morning except for bread), we stopped by a new restaurant named Baha Bar along the main road.

From the outside, Baha Bar looks like a typical house. It has tables below and also at the back. But their main dining area is upstairs. Before you go up, you have to remove your shoes and wear a pair of slippers that can be found beside the stairs. 

View of the stairs from the main dining area

Baha Bar's main dining area

The Bar

If in case you get bored, you can borrow the guitars, read books, play scrabbles or even Sungka from the shelf above. Pretty cool right?

A painting of the Cang-Isok house hangs on the wall of Baha Bar

Interesting fact: Baha Bar's proprietors, Genalyn Albino and Steve Swatton, got the idea of the house's exterior and interior from the Cang-Isok House which happened to be the oldest house in the island of Siquijor. That's why the restaurant looks to homie and relaxing. It seemed like your inside a modern Bahay Kubo. The place before where Baha Bar stands was prone to floods and that's where the name came from.

In terms of food, their average meal costs around 150php good for one person. That time, we ordered their group meal specialty. One platter having seafoods and another platter for meat lovers.

Our sumptuous seafood platter

Seafood platter consists of different types of fish, tiger prawns, escabeche, and some potato chips. I was not able to take a picture of our meat platter but as the name says, the platter consists of fried chicken, pork and beef. Our total bill was 4,500php (2,000php for the seafood and 2,500 for the meat platter) so we gave 500php since were a group of 9. Not bad for the ambiance and quality of food. But what I love about Baha Bar was that their staff was very accommodating and hospitable. Kudos to their team!

Here are more photos of the Baha Bar:

Books available at the dining area

Baha Bar's Sunset Deck

Baha Bar's proprietors

Up next: One of Siquijor's best resorts, Coco Grove.