SIQUIJOR – Inland Adventure

Siquijor Inland Tour

I let The Cowboy choose where he wanted to go and explore based on the Siquijor map. We planned to go to Mt. Bandilaan and the Healing site, where you get a good vista of the island. We then planned to check out Cantabon caves, go to three different waterfalls, and then head out back to San Juan beach for jetski.

Things don’t always turn out as planned. It was drizzling and cloudy.
“Ma’am you won’t be able to see a good view at Bandilaan. Do you want to visit healers instead?”
“Oh… ok.” I was disappointed, but I did look forward to meeting Siquijor healers, what the island is really known for.

But first, we went to…

Cantabon Caves It was free to get into the cave but you can’t go in without a guide. You had to pay 300PhP each for a guided spelunking into the caves, plus an additional PhP20 for the light. They said it would take three full hours return, but we opted to take the shorter option of only one hour return.

I was anxious that it was going to be very cold inside the cave and we’re obviously going to get soaked. Instead, I ended up removing my shirt, and just being in my swimmers. It was surprisingly temperate inside, and the water was refreshing but not cold. The place was not very touristy, we were the first to get in for the morning. We squeezed through the entrance and found ourselves a first few meters of muddy terrain. After that it got smoother… there were crystals on rocks, stalactites, stalagmites… and of course clean and clear stream of water. Water cascaded down what looked like layers of cake, smooth off-white limestones. Further inside, there was a mini-waterfall that plunged into a pool of water which I did not hesitate to dive into!

It was quite an adventure navigating the rocks and boulders we passed through, lit only by our headlights and the guides’ flashlights. It was worth coming to Siquijor for the second time!

Siquijor Healers I sit on the fence whether to believe healers or not. I thought, well, since I was we still coughing badly, I thought it was the best condition to be in to test whether these healers work or not.

First, we met with a bolu–bolu healer (I forgot his name). He had an assistant fill a glass container which had black pebble inside. He then blew into the water with a natural (wooden) straw as he walked around me. He showed me that the clear water now had some grits in it. He said it’s a sign of how dirty my ‘body’ is — the dirt absorbed by the water.

Second, we met with a lady who was a well-known healer in San Antonio. She said that she can do hilot (healing massage) but we can’t take a shower or get wet after for 24 hours.We had to let the opportunity go because we have yet to go to the beach for our next stop. She saw that The Cowboy and I were coughing pretty badly, so she offered a healing tea. I felt bad not purchasing any of her services or products. So I ended up buying a bottle filled with barks of trees. “This had been prayed over during the healers festival. There are over 200 different types of trees we collected this from.” She then poured virgin coconut oil into it. “Use this drive away spells — to heal certain ailments that don’t seem to go away.” I asked what do I do. “Just take a teaspoon a day until you get better. Or you can also use the oil for healing massage.” By night, my condition hasn’t become any better. Not significantly anyway. Oh well…

Zodiac Falls So called, because they have named the 12 waterfalls each with a corresponding zodiac sign. A young man greeted us at the entrance.
“Would you like a guide?”
“How much?”
“It’s up to you… you can donate however much you feel like. Or you can choose also not to pay anything.”
Of course we weren’t about to do that, but that was a pleasant surprise.

We accepted Richard’s offer. “Let’s start at Lagnusan falls.” He said it’s usually the ending part. “It’s closed, you can’t swim this time. A foreigner went swimming there a couple of weeks ago and drowned.” Lagnusan cascaded into a powdery aqua pool of water. It didn’t look too deep, but you can’t really see through the bottom. “We suspected that she was probably exhausted. She was alone.” Apparently she was caught under the waterfalls, did not surface and somebody had to pull her body out.Tragic. There was a bunch of flowers with her photo. She looked really young. It’s a shame. So tragic!

“Do you want to take the easy trail or the adventurous trail.” Richard asked.
“What do you recommend.” He looked at us and smiled, “I think you’ll like the adventurous trail.

It was quite  Indiana Jones-esque. We cleared many cobwebs along the way. We came across a huge spider, probably had ‘wing-span’ of 8 inches, with a body of around 3-4 inches. It was huge!!! Took a dip in a couple or sounder the waterfalls. What’s more fun was climbing up the falls themselves!

It wasn’t a difficult trek. I loved the experience but would hesitate to go back. The forest was quite “virginal” (for lack of a better term) I felt there were “elemental” beings around.

Funtasea Jetski It wasn’t cheap. The Cowboy wanted it though and he didn’t mind the PhP1400 for a 30 minute ride. I thought it was worth it! It was so much fun. We had the sea to ourselves. Maybe because it was midday — certainly not the best time to be soaking under the sun in saltwater. It was scorching hot!  The Cowboy took it for a fast ride, bumpy ride, and rapid turns. I held on for dear life as he couldn’t ride it fast and dangerous enough! I guess it made for a fun ride for someone who hailed from bull riding!

Paliton Beach  I realized it was actually right next to Coco Grove where I stayed the last time I was here in Siquijor. The sand was so fine and so white, no wonder they call this “Little Boracay”. The water was a delicious warm emerald water but with only the first few meters being crystal clear with the fine sand substrate. Further our, the bottom was covered with seagrass. I didn’t feel comfortable venturing there as there could be sea urchins. No jellyfishes so far though. Floating on my back was chill enough!

I won’t mind coming back again!