NiceYou hear strange things about Siquijor. And most of them are true.
1. Voodoo Practitioners (Witch Doctors we call "Mangkukulam" compose a small population of the island. It is said that they mix their potions every Good Friday when the Lord is dead. They gather in hordes and sing thier chants and compose their spells. (Well, we didnt experience this but it's true!)
2. Siquijor is a small island that you can explore in a day. And best to take a Motorcycle. (Well the guidebooks didn't tell us you need around 16 day light hours to make a complete round with some lengthy stopovers at choice stops).
Flori Speeding at 0Km/Hour!3. They sell dried sea snakes! I never knew you could eat sea snakes, much less make a business out of them! They sell them at 20 pesos a bundle. I tried a piece though and it tastes wierd. Or you could say, they taste EVIL!!!!!
Sea Snakes!4. They have strange creatures on the island as well--furry Monsters that are the result of the Witches' Brew Sessions. It's best to stay away from them...
Flori Invasion...
Next Stop: Bohol, which is known for it's Tarsier Monkeys and the boooby, Chocolate Hills.
A truly gifted land!
Posing with naked hills!Well we mostly starved on this leg of the Journey. Hahaha, starting out really late in the day, we skipped all meals (surviving on bread and sprite) we decided to tour the touristy sites all in one afternoon. We saw Loboc River, Chocolate Hills and illegally viewed Tarsier Monkeys in a non-reserve environment organized by illegal poachers. (How evil is that?!)
See the little thing?At the end of the day, we were tired, we missed our boat going to Cebu and decided to share 3 bottles of San Miguel Grande. We stayed in an 80s Kooky type Chinese "Hotel" with no running hotwater (and for the first when it really mattered to have some!)
80s Room DecorNext Stop: Cebu--to Malapascua Island.
Yay!First Lesson to remember: Wherever you are in the Philippines (hmm, i should check on extremely remote areas though) YOU CAN GET YOURSELVES A NICE, COLD BEEER.
This trip was quite long and hectic and we had two days for this leg We took the Fast Cat to Cebu and as soon as we hit land, We walked a long way going to the Bus Station. On the way there, and bought ourselves a nice kite (at smart haggled rates!) It was a bummer for me to discover that it was going to be a 4 hour bus ride. Well it later turned out to be 3 and half because the driver must've been practicing for his race against the Siquijor speeding Flori. But still, we managed to pass the dusty bus time by playing Speed, skillfully holding on to our seats and to our playing cards.
It was a long journey but quite worth it. Because for the first time in days, we ate decent seafood (barracuda or sword fish yummm) AND Flori got his Mango Breakfast and we had a nice quiet cottage.
Flori's Mango Breakfast
Laundry Man Flori in Nice, quiet CottageI heeded no warning that it was strictly divers' paradise. And it's true what they say, if you're swimming or snorkling, you won't see much(even after that 4-5 hour bus ride and stuppid haggling with the stupid boatmen) One day here is enough because it gets boring after a while. We did see a wreck though. And though Coron's Skeleton Wreck was creepier, I saw about a dozen fat starfish. The water quality here is quite murky at 10 feet. (I guess you can't compare Palawan with the rest of the island. But it was a nice and relaxing stay because Flori and I got to fly our kite and take some nice pictures.
Trinka's Nice Picture
Flori's Nice Picture
Kiteflyer
Yay!Fun fun fun!
