#3: Siquijor - An Enchanted Island known for Witchcraft

- Epic Siquijor Island Sunset -

Siquijor is an island known for its witchcraft, magic, and folk healing. We hoped to get a glimpse of this enchantment during our two week visit all while exploring its many beaches, waterfalls, snorkel sanctuaries, and cliff jumping spots. And oh my goodness, the sunsets...

To get to Siquijor from Mindanao, we hopped on a five-hour ferry. Transport by ferry is the most common way to navigate the Philippines' 7,600+ islands, and it is the only option for this small island since it doesn't have an airport. On our 5 hour ferry we took a long nap, enjoyed the ocean air, and saw a pod of dolphins swim by. Luckily, the weather was nice and the seas were calm.

Even though Siquijor only has six towns, there was a lot to explore. We decided to stay in San Juan because it was close to all the activities we wanted to do. We rented motor bikes right away and this time for only $5 a day, what a deal. We couldn’t wait to explore the whole island by motorbike.

*****

- Potions and Voodoo Dolls -

Immediately, we started seeing these little voodoo dolls and potions for sale throughout the island. The love potion was interesting because it was also "good luck" for your business. It had a warning that said to "not use it near cemeteries and to not take it to funeral wakes". Noted. 

We found a great place to stay for our two weeks that was close to everything and across the street from the beach. Our plan is always to book only the first few nights to assess our accommodations and the area. With homeschooling, we have to make sure that the wifi is strong, there is enough room for the kids to work, and of course, we have to make sure that we didn't book somewhere with unbearable karaoke nearby. Our place was great, and we ended up staying the entire 2 weeks at our first spot.

With our lodging set, our schedule was: Breakfast at 8am, homeschool from 9am-11/12/1pm, then off to an island adventure in the afternoon.

*****

- New friends at Balete Tree -

Early on in our stay we met another world-traveling family from Spain. They are traveling Southeast Asia and have been on the road about the same amount of time as us, five or six months. They have three kids ages 12, 9, and 2. Perfect.

They were staying at the same place as us. It took the kids a couple of days of seeing each other around to warm up to each other, but after that, they played and swam together in the pool every day (after school of course). Their older two kids did not speak much English. Their mom said that it has been a bit difficult for them to meet other kids, and the family was happy to find out that our kids spoke Spanish. 

There's nothing like a good game of Marco Polo in the pool to break the ice, regardless of your native language. Parker and I are proud of our kids for using their Spanish to make new friends. It was fun listening to them interpret/explain different games in Spanish. The kids knew many similar childhood games and also taught each other some new ones.

- Enchanted Balete Tree...(Where's Waldo?)  -

Later that week, we took a "field trip" with our new friends to see the "Enchanted" Balete Tree. A four-hundred year old tree from the ficus family with a natural stream running directly under it. A shallow pool was built at its base and eventually, skin eating fish were added. Visitors sit around the pool to admire the tree and get a little foot spa/cleaning.

- Nibble, Nibble -

The toothless fish nibble on dead skin cells. They were mostly tiny fish but some were huge. Parker didn’t dip his feet in because he thought it was unsanitary, and Kaia wasn’t keen on the fish nibbling on her feet. Parker and I have done this before in Thailand so I just dipped my feet in briefly because I am too ticklish. Cruz got a kick out of it though, and kept putting his feet in. He said one of the larger fish gobbled up his pinky toe...eeekkk. 

Was the centennial tree truly enchanted? Who knows, but my sprained ankle did felt better after...hmm. Also, Cruz had really clean toes, ha! The fish foot spa (also popular in many other countries) is a clever tourist gimmick and was totally unnecessary, but a fun little break. Local folklore says that the Balete Tree is magical and in the evenings spiritual creatures appear. Looking at the tree, it is easy to believe that sorcery was (and maybe is still) practiced there. Regardless, it was impressive and all the tourist at the fish foot spa did not distract from the majesty of the tree.

- La-gaan Falls -

After the Balete Tree, we went to one of many water falls in Siquijor. Siquijor is famous for its waterfalls. These waterfalls are deep in the jungle and usually require a bit of a motorbike ride and then a hike to get to. We chose La-Gaan falls for our first one. It was about a 20 minute motorbike ride from the tree, then we had to get a guide to take us on a long, steep, and sketchy wet hike through the jungle and down to the falls. 

It was worth it because we were the only people there. There was a natural slide on the falls and swings on a tree near by. The kids (and dads) had a blast swinging and sliding down the falls, over and over again. The dads were pretty sore the next day. It was great watching the kids play and hear them speak excitedly in Spanish. 

At the end of the week, we were sad to say goodbye to our friends. They were off to another island while we had another week of exploring Siquijor. We hope our paths will cross later in our travels.

*****

- Cambugahay Falls -

Our homeschooling schedule was going well and we had plenty to do to keep us busy in the afternoon. One day we decided to motorbike around the whole island! We planned on two stops along the way: Cambugahay Falls and Salangdoog Beach. We had to get to our first stop early enough to time our second stop at high tide.

- Cambugahay Falls -

First we stopped at the famous Cambugahay Falls, Siquijor's number one attraction. It was 135 big steps to hike down to the multi-tiered falls. After hiking to the different levels, we settled on the middle one. The big one was too crazy with all the people paying to get their pictures taken on the rafts, and the top one was nice, but shallow. The middle one was just right… not too crowded and with little to no wait on the Tarzan swings. For 50 Pesos (~$1), you could swing to your hearts content. The water was cool and there were also small caves under the falls. 

- Salangdoog Cliff Jumping -

While the tide was still up, we hustled over to Salangdoog Beach for some cliff jumping and snorkeling. This was the most gorgeous beach we had visited so far on the island. Right off the middle of the beach was a limestone cliff/small island where crazy people...my family… jumped off into the turquoise water. 

I'm grateful for an adventurous husband (a big kid at heart) who does all these things with our kids. Parker always checks depths, potential hazards, and instructs the kids how to properly jump or swing off things. There were three cement platforms poured into the cliffs for jumping (5m [16.5ft], 7m [23ft], and 9m [29.5ft]). I did jump off the little one, which was fun and enough for me. 

The snorkeling was great and we had a nice lunch at the restaurant on the beach. It was also fun to cheer other people on as they mustered up the courage to make the jumps. The kids said that cliff jumping was their favorite activity so far on the island.

We continued on our circumnavigation adventure and got to see Siquijor's stunning coastline. The further out we were from the tourist spots, the quieter and more peaceful the towns. It took us just two hours to go around the entire island, drive time. With our two stops, we were able to motorbike around the whole island in just six hours. It was a great day.

*****

- Snorkeling at Tubod Sanctuary -

Another after school road trip was an afternoon spent snorkeling at Tubod Sanctuary. The Tubod Marine Sanctuary is a large area of the beach in Siquijor that has been roped off from fishing, boating, etc. The coral here is more vibrant than a lot of places we have seen so far and the fish were plentiful. Unfortunately, we went at low tide and had to skim over the reef nearer the shore about an inch from our bellies for quite a distance before it opened up. A nerve racking experience for sure with anemones and sea urchins everywhere. Once we were farther out the reef was quite large and deep. 

The kids have really grown to love snorkeling and this was the best so far we have seen in the Philippines. The coral was beautiful and we saw a ton of fish. Parker and Kaia went out for a second time and saw a hawksbill sea turtle out near the edge of the sanctuary! We also took trips to the different beaches and brought our snorkels every where we went.

*****

- Dinner at Sunset -

As for the witchcraft and magic, we didn't see any firsthand. However, the island is indeed known for faith healers, herbal healers, and bolo-bolo healers (they use stones to remove spells and spirits). Siquijor hosts a Healing Festival every year that attracts travelers from around the world searching for alternative remedies. Although I read about curses, the magic we heard about was "white magic", more towards healing and not harm.

One evening, we had drinks with a couple of island locals. One of them is making a documentary about the mystery surrounding  Siquijor. I had a lot of questions and he offered to take me to a healer who lived deep in the mountains. I considered it but I came to the conclusion that my issues were likely from lack of exercise, over indulgence in my favorite Filipino dishes, and unfortunately my unavoidably aging joints. I politely declined the offer. But if you ever come to Siquijor and are looking for a healer...I know a guy who knows a guy.

My most favorite thing about Siquijor was the incredible sunsets. We (I) timed our dinners at restaurants on the beach, at sunset. They were that spectacular, night after night. Also, another special thing about the island is that the people are the friendliest you'll ever meet. They are easy going and undemanding.

During our stay, we found out that Siquijor is building an airport and it will be operational in 2025. We are lucky to experience its quaintness before it gets busier. 

We loved the laid back vibe of this mystical island and all the activities it offers. For us, the magic of Siquijor is in its beautiful people and epic sunsets.