Siquijor - Mt. Bandilaan Peak - Haunted House - Tulapos Marine Sanctuary
February 23, 2009For those who want to read from the start, check the following Siquijor travelogues I’ve already posted:
St. Isidore Church & Covenant, Cambugahay Falls & Balete Tree
Siquijor - Capilay Spring - San Juan Beach - St. Francis Church
Hotel Agripino, Salagdoong Beach
Siquijor - Mt. Bandilaan Peak, Haunted House, Tulapos Marine Sanctuary, Atbp.
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We now come to the final stretch of our Siquijor trip. The clock was ticking so fast and our life back in the city was already beckoning to us. We had to make the most of what’s left of this journey. From our lovely visit to the Butterfly Farm, we headed back to our resort, but not without a few stops of course.
We first dropped by Siquijor’s Stations of the Cross located at Mt. Bandilaan Park. It was a pretty long and high climb. The trail going to the top was a bit moist, perhaps from that morning’s drizzle or maybe because we were trekking a forest.
On the other hand, the air around us was so cool despite the fact that it was early in the afternoon and the sun was blazing in the blue sky.I thought, this must be how life was back in the day when global warming was still nonexistent in men’s vocabulary. Too bad, I can only experience that here in unspoiled Siquijor. You all know how hot it can be in the city… like…right now! (It’s not even officially summer yet. Argh.)
I noticed Peter was a bit distracted from all the wonderful greenery around us that he didn’t notice this huge tree trunk blocking our path and almost tripped. The reason was that his “horde” (of earth and wood elementals, spirits, dragons and other supernatural beings) were having a blast making acquaintance with numerous other supernatural creatures in the area like dwarves, elves, tikbalang, etc. It made him uncomfortable thinking that his horde would somehow leave him and choose to stay here (which some of them did…how sad). I’m already used to it. Thank God for my sleepy third eye. I seldom feel or see such mysterious things.
Continuing with our ascent, we just enjoyed the cool breeze and the pleasant feeling of being surrounded by numerous trees and shrubs unknown to me. Finally, when we reached the peak , we totally ignored the three gigantic crosses when we saw this other bigger tower-like structure. My first thought was to go up and have a fantastic panoramic view of the entire island. So that’s what we did. Weee!
To our dismay, the tall trees around us didn’t give us much of a view at all. Too bad. Oh well. The excitement of it all got to me and I needed to pee. Believe it or not, we (especially Peter) asked permission first from all the dwarves around us. They helped pick a safe spot for me to pee and I’m very thankful. Call us crazy or whatever. Better safe than sorry, right?
Siquijor - Island Butterfly Garden
January 25, 2009For those who want to read from the start, check the following Siquijor travelogues I’ve already posted:
St. Isidore Church & Covenant, Cambugahay Falls & Balete Tree
Siquijor - Capilay Spring - San Juan Beach - St. Francis Church
Hotel Agripino, Salagdoong Beach
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Entrance to the Butterfy Sanctuary with the owner at the backlground…
Another place we visited in Siquijor that is slowly becoming one of its many tourist spots was the newly launched “Island Butterfly Sanctuary” at Cabilao, Larena, Siquijor. It was launched last September 18, 2008, barely even a month old when our tricycle driver/tour guide suggested that we explore the said farm. Entrance fee is just Php25.00 per person and though Peter and I have been to several butterfly farms before, it would be exciting to see if this one would be any different. The sanctuary is a 200 square meter enclosure that houses around 20-25 species of butterflies, exhibiting pupae, larvae, and live butterflies that have been produced by a Butterfly Garden in Cang-agong, which is owned by Dante Jumapit.
Meeting the very hospitable owner, Mr. Dante Jumapit
Mr. Jumapit was very happy to see us there. Considering that it was a national holiday and most, if not all of the locals we passed by were celebrating in their respective homes, he didn’t hesitate to entertain us at all. He even invited us over at his place for lunch and dessert where we met his wife, kids and several neighbors. They were a very amicable bunch and very hospitable at that. It was really very nice of him.
The butterfly farm is still small but it is very clean and well-maintained…
This pond in the middle is shaped like Siquijor island itself with the seven lilies representing the seven major towns of Siquijor…
Siquijor - Hotel Agripino - Salagdoong Beach
January 21, 2009It’s been a long while (almost 3 months now) since I blogged about our trip to Siquijor. So many things have happened since then (mostly parties and enjoying the night life whenever I can) and it’s only now that I got the time to continue writing about this particular travel we had over the Halloween of 2008. For those who want to read from the start, check the following Siquijor travelogues I’ve already posted:or those who wish to see the start of my Siquijor travelogue, do check these posts first:
St. Isidore Church & Covenant, Cambugahay Falls & Balete Tree
Siquijor - Capilay Spring - San Juan Beach - St. Francis Church
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For this particular travelogue, let me focus my post on the resort we stayed in — Hotel Agripino at Salagdoong Beach. It is considered to be one of the best hotels in Siquijor. Aside from it being very much affordable (only Php800.00 per night for an airconditioned room with 2 single beds), Hotel Agripino is also known for its Samyz Pizza. We ordered a whole box which is best when eaten right off the baking pan. But even after several hours, its unique delectable taste is still very much appreciated. Since it was the Halloween, most of the kitchen staff were on a holiday break. And being a very a laid back town, all stores anywhere closed by 6pm. We made sure that we bought enough junk food to last us until Sunday morning. Our breakfast was already pre-cooked the night before so the only staff left there would only have to heat our food. I guess that’s okay, as long as we didn’t go on a starvation diet.^_^
The hotel, a simple concrete structure with clean lines, located on top of the hilly estate, is a short walk away from the beach. They made this winding pavement all the way down to the beach huts and ocean view rooms. It’s a good way to spend your early morning before catching the sunrise by the beach.
Siquijor - Capilay Spring - San Juan Beach - St. Francis Church
December 3, 2008For those who wish to see the start of my Siquijor travelogue, do check these posts first:
St. Isidore Church & Covenant, Cambugahay Falls & Balete Tree
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Capilay Spring Park
This is a natural park situated in San Juan, a town 12 kilometers from the capital town, Siquijor. It is famous among locals especially during the hot summer season.
There are three refreshing fresh water pools that spring here and people check them out to cool down. Peter and I no longer tested the waters because it didn’t look very clean. There were some people swimming though so we just admired the view.
San Juan Beach
This beach is just walking distance from Capilay Spring Park. Since we were already there, we might as well check it out, right?
It was around 4 pm and the sun’s rays reflected beautifully on the water. The sand was beige and the waters had a lot of seaweeds in them that we decided not to swim. The concrete chairs would be perfect for picnics though and the wide beach would be nice for sunbathing. There’s also a nearby restaurant where you can dine in while at the same time enjoying the view of the sea.
Siquijor - Cambugahay Falls - St. Isidore Church & Convent - Balete Tree
November 28, 2008For those who wish to see the start of my Siquijor travelogue, do check these posts first:
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After our side trip to Guiwanon Park, Kuya Romeo brought us to the resort. We checked-in at Agripino Hotel, went up to our room, freshened up a bit and in less than 30 minutes, we were back downstairs to continue with our tour. Below are four more of the tourist spots we visted on our first day in Siquijor:
St. Isidore Labradore Parish Church
St. Isidore Labradore Convent
This convent is said to be Philippine’s largest convent. It was built by the Spaniards in 1884. It is believed to have been the vacation house for the priests of the Diocese in those times.
Today, nobody seems to live there anymore or at least it looked that way when we visited the place. According to Kuya Romeo, our tricycle driver/tour guide, seldom do priests go there anymore. It looked kind of eerie from where we stood. I wonder if the ghosts of dead priests haunt the place at night?
Cambugahay Falls
The location of the falls is quite secluded and relatively unexplored, just approximately 2 km. outside the town of Lazi. After parking the tricycle, we paid Php10.00 for the parking fee. There were also some vendors selling gatorade (Php45.00), bottled iced tea and softdrinks (Php35.00) and bottled water (Php30.00). I suggest you buy some coz the trek back up will leave you breathless. We crossed the street and went down several steps (135 steps to be exact) before we finally saw this very beautiful work of nature.
Even halfway down, you can already take a peek at the turquoise waters and hear the rushing sound of the falls below. It was quite a sight and the water was very inviting. Both Peter and I took a dip. They said the water was refreshing. It being cold was indeed delightful but it also smelled a little off. I wished I brought my aqua shoes with me. The feeling of mud, rocks and moss on my feet was quite icky.
Siquijor - Guiwanon Spring Park Resort
November 20, 2008Thank God we arrived in this mystical island in one piece! The journey going here has been laden with so much anxiety! But at this point, Peter and I were ready to start enjoying ourselves. Like I said in my previous post, we were supposed to check-in at Coral Cay Resort. However, the kind tricycle driver, Kuya Romeo, suggested that if we are after a nice beach where we can sunbathe, Hotel Agripino at Salagdoong Beach is the best place to be! It was a bit farther than Coral Cay though. So instead of a 20-minute tricycle ride from the port, it took us almost an hour to get to Hotel Agripino and the whole ride cost us Php500.00 instead of only Php300.00. Normally, if you rent a tricycle from the tourism office, it will cost you Php600. But since Kuya Romeo is nice, he gave us a discount. To make it even better, he offered to give us a package tour instead. Inclusive of our trip from the port, the tour for the rest of the day cost us only Php1000.00. I think that is already cheap enough considering that Siquijor is quite a huge island as compared to Camiguin which you can literally tour in just an hour (which reminds me I still have yet to share with you our trip to Camiguin…).
Siquijor Provincial Tourism Office
Telephone #: (035) 344-2088, 480-9173
Hotel Agripino: (+63) 09102002552
Cottages: (+63) 09187714714
Email: tourismsiquijor@yahoo.com
Moving on, our first stop was at Guiwanon Spring Park located in Luyang, Siquijor. It was on the way to our hotel so it was practical to explore the area right then instead of going back there at a much later time. Kuya Romeo parked his tricycle at the side of the road. I was hesitant to leave the tricycle AND our baggage at first, for fear that he might just run off with them. Yes, I am paranoid that way. But according to Peter and his horde, he was a good person so we trusted him. We crossed the street and stepped down on its wooden ladder leading to the wooden bridge. It was around 12:00 noon of November 1. Kuya Romeo said that the entrance fee is only Php10.00. However, nobodywas there to take our payment. Everyone must be either at the cemetery or at home praying for their beloved departed while here we were doing this trip. Hehehe. It was a bit eerie at first. But after passing by the first main hut, I was already enjoying myself.
As we traversed the sturdy wooden bridge, we saw several huts nestled on trees and pitched on stilts standing on sand and seawater.
Mangroves were all around us. It was so peaceful and beautiful. Even if it was the middle of the day, I couldn’t help but still wear my jacket for the air was so fresh and the breeze was so cool.
Siquijor - How To Get There
November 13, 2008
It’s always been a fantasy of mine to visit Siquijor and experience for myself how creepy and mystical the island really is with all its local witches, healers and supernatural stories. I thought I was going to chicken out when I told my friends about it a week before we were slated to go. All of them were giving us warnings of all sorts. They told us not to buy and eat food from any of their public vendors for this would make us sick which will make us go to their local healers for relief and who knows what kinds of healing they will do to us?! They told us not to look at anyone in the eye because this will allow them to have hypnotic power over us. They also said that if someone pats or touches us we should pat or touch them in return to counter whatever bad vibes they may be casting on us. Basically they were just very worried and they wanted us to be very careful and cautious. Let me tell you, all their advice did freak me out a bit and I was already thinking of getting refunds for our Cebu Pacific tickets. However, on the day before our departure, I made up my mind to just get it over with. I’ve already cast all my protection spells and I believe with Peter’s horde, we will be protected from all the bad elements and spirits the island had to offer.
I wonder what Siquijor has in store for us…
Is this gloomy weather a foreboding of some sort…?
