We were greeted with an immaculate sunrise on Day 2, it’s a perfect way to start the day.
It’s definitely a beautiful morning as we leisurely walked on the shores on low tide and chanced upon tiny sea creatures of starfishes, crabs, sea urchins, and small fishes.
We enjoyed taking photos and finished it with a cool dip in the pool.
We grabbed some breakfast and waited for our tour guide to take us to the natural beauty of Siquijor.
Salagdoong Beach
Our first stop was in Salagdoong Beach. It’s a gorgeous pocket beach in the town of Maria, Siquijor and its main highlights were the cliff jumps, one that’s 20 feet (6 meters) but it was closed during our visit and the other one that’s 35 feet (11 meters) high where tourists enjoyed jumping. We just didn’t have the courage to cliff jump so we just took photos instead, hehe.
Although pebbly the sand was still white however there were just a few plastic wastes, dried leaves & scattered seaweeds on the shores.
Generally, it’s a beautiful resort and would personally recommend it for those who haven’t gone to Siquijor yet.
Salagdoong Forest
An instant attraction which led to the Salagdoong Beach was the Salagdoong Forest Reserve. A man-made molave forest stretched about 2 kilometers which offered shades and exhibited a relaxing ambiance.
I love how the local government supported this initiative to preserve the environment. It was definitely a win for me.
Cang-isok Heritage House
Cang-isok was a 200-year old house and is the oldest surviving house in the entire province. It is found in the town of Enrique Villanueva and is considered as a historical attraction in the island.
It was so fascinating to see how it withstood ravages brought about by time and nature. At present, it looked abandoned and there were old logs, small bancas and fishing nets placed under the house. Obviously it was not maintained so my personal request to the local government to exert more effort in preserving this national heritage.
Local Pan Bisaya
One of the most frequented spots in Siquijor was a bakery which served the tastiest local pan bisaya (Visayan bread) in the island. Forgive me but I forgot the name of the owner (gor problems,huh!) but it’s along the highway of Talingting, town of Enrique Villanueva just a few meters away from Cang-isok Heritage House. There was a bit of excitement when we were nearing the place since I love the pan bisaya I used to devour when I was young. I also requested to let me observe how it’s being done.There were mounds of newly-prepared doughs ready to be baked inside an oven made of stone.
I thought it was just one variety of pan bisaya because that’s how Cebuanos make it but boy I was so wrong there were plenty of pan bisaya variety displayed in the shelves.
There were more choices such as pan de leche, ensaymada, salvaro, mongo bread, torta, cheese bread and many more. They’re freshly baked and according to the owner, they’re best eaten when hot. So to have a taste of everything, we bought one piece for every variety and it turned out that my favorite was the pan bisaya torta version.
Our Lady of Divine Providence Church
We dropped by Maria Church, the Our Lady of Divine Providence where we offered our prayers & petitions to make our sojourn safe.
Lunch in La Guerta Kuzina
In time for lunch, we went to La Guerta Kuzina, our official food server for the entire trip since it’s also owned by Sir Jun of the Siquijor Adventures & Tour , the agency where I booked our trip & Princesa Bulakna, the resort hotel where we were comfortably accommodated. They served delicious cuisines since Sir Jun is a chef. He is very generous, accommodating, and understanding with all our requests, that’s the reason why the agency is growing very quickly. I highly recommend La Guerta Kuzina if you want to indulge in delicious meals while in Siquijor.
Cambugahay Falls
It’s probably the most popular waterfalls in Siquijor because of its Tarzan swing. Cambugahay is a three-tiered waterfalls with three large lagoons.
There were rope swings and platforms to swing through and bamboo rafts on each level of the falls to chill on.
It was too crowded though but it’s perfect for a quick freshwater dip.
My Pangga enjoyed the Tarzan swing that he tried it not just once but thrice, wow!
Broom Challenge
I thought it’s a crazy thing to do but we did it anyway out of curiosity. It was a lot of fun pretending like a witch/witches flying in the air with just a broomstick.
The trick there was how photos were captured and of course the power of a high platform and the table, lol!
Lazi Church, Convent, & Museum
Lazi Church or the San Isidro Labrador Church is one of the oldest churches in the island of Siquijor. It was under renovation during our visit so we just opted to get inside the convent as well as the museum. It was built in 1884 with Filipino artisans with stones and hardwood.
The Lazi Convent is said to be the largest and oldest convent in Asia.
The first level of the convent was made of stone walls with a u-shape structure while the second level was made of panels and wood studs. Inside the convent was a museum where old religious artifacts and antiques and other 19th century items were displayed.
Capilay Springpark
Capilay Spingpark is literally a spring in a park, like in the town’s plaza. What’s amazing about it was the fact that there’s a spring along the highway when mostly they are found in the mountains. Amazing, right?
There’s nothing much going in here except some children enjoyed swimming in the dirty pool. There were also freshwater fishes grown in the pool.
Enchanted Balite Tree & Fish Spa
This ‘century old’ tree is actually closer to 400 years old, and is so much more than meets the eye.
Fish Spa
Once a spot for sacred rituals, the spring under the tree is now a fish spa and love potion vendor, mostly to attract visitors to what would otherwise just be something most people pass right on by without realizing the significance of this tree to Siquijor.
Paliton Beach
Paliton Beach is my new favorite beach in the Philippines next to Palawan. The water was crystal clear, the sand was powdery white, it wasn’t crowded, it wasn’t touched by modernization since there were no structures built in the area.
I couldn’t believe I could see such beauty in a place where tourism is booming. One striking feature is the line of coconut palms along the beach.
It was stunning and I’d like to commend to efforts of the local government for doing a great job in maintaining the beauty of Paliton Beach. I hope in the years to come, I could still see Paliton Beach as stunning as it is now.
Back to Princesa Bulakna Resort
After visiting the Paliton Beach, we headed back to our resort so we could catch the sunset. However, the clouds were thick, we couldn’t view how the sun set for the day. We just proceeded to the pool, had some lapses and munched on the pan bisaya left. My husband and I definitely enjoyed every moment of our stay in Siquijor Island.
Dinner
After a tiring yet enjoyable day, we devoured on a sumptuous meal for dinner. The La Guerta Kuzina was generous enough to serve us with pork liempo, fish sinigang and of course lechong kawali, so heavenly!
Day 2 was so eventful. We would definitely come back in this beautiful island in the future. Thank you for your time guys. I’m posting another story about our Siquijor adventures in the next few days. I hope you are still willing to wait. ‘Til the next one. Bye!
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