Sunday, June 12, 2011

The Waters of Siquijor

capilay spring siquijorMorning view at Villamar Marine, where we spent the night before touring the island.

Capilay Spring

This is the blog entry where I try to be real helpful so bear with me. Capilay Spring is located at the town center of San Juan, Siquijor. It's about 12kms away from Siquijor, Siquijor, the town where you dock if you take Delta fast craft from Dumaguete. I know Siquijor, Siquijor sounds reduntdant and spammy but that's the name of the town. Anyway, that's too much digression there. Just remember, Capilay Spring is in San Juan.



capilay spring parkCapilay spring park. Not somewhere you wanna be unless you want to drown in a mosquito zone. (Yes, it is quite deep.)


On the way there you will pass by JJ Backpackers. It's a real nice place and they are quite cheap that's why they are always booked. We haven't spent the night there but it's something I would recommend. I mean, you can sleep there when you get to Siquijor because you usually arrive there in the afternoon and that's not enough time to go around and it's best to stay in one place and enjoy the beach waters.

lugnason fallsIf you've been to Plaza Independencia in downtown Cebu, this place is not something you'd have to go to.

Lugnason Falls, Napo, San Juan

Lugnason Falls is the nicer falls compared to the more famous Cambugahay Falls. It's located in the mountains that's why it's not so popular. The tricycle drivers that you pay 800pesos to get you around the island will not take you there because they only want your money and they just want it over with.

Look for this place in the map that you will get free from the Capitol of Siquijor. I have one and I've put some marks on it (the kind of marks that kindergarten children make on their treasure map). Email me if you want it.



siquijor fallsIf bamboo is a grass, then a bamboo bridge is a bridge made of grass. nyahaha!

This falls is our next stop because we went around the island westward. That's counter-clockwise if you know what I mean. We spent the night at Villamar Marine
before setting out early the next day for the whole island. The second night was spent by the group at Hotel Agripino in Salagdoong. You will know about it below.



siquiorYou can feel the wind that the falling water makes from this distance. It's what I call the waterfalls effect.

You will have to go through barangay roads to get there. The places are not creepy at all even if they are nearly people-less. From here in Lugnason Falls is a network of barangay roads that can take you to Cantabon Cave without going back to the highway. Cantabon is not something I would recommend but you can go there if you want to waste money on 500-peso mandatory tour guide fee.

lugnason
The foot of waterfalls are often deep because water pushes the soil underneath. But sometimes there are rocks that hide under them and if you jump without looking, it will be the day you regret being a tourist.

You will not miss Lugnason Falls if you keep asking directions. Once there, you can swim naked because is not likely that you can see anybody during weekdays. But it's either you're a porn star or a traveller. Take your pick. You can't have both, bitch.



lugnason fallsI call this hybrid plant a coconut-waterfall tree. Discovery credit belongs to me.


Balete tree, Lazi

Here’s another “attraction” that Siquijo boasts about. There is nothing to it but a tree and a cold spring. There’ also a small canal where many fishes stay. If you’ve been to I2 in IT Park, you don’t have to see this place. But we went there just to feel the enchantment because the Siquijor’s tourism sells it as a “century old enchanted Balete tree.”


lazi baleteThe enchanted tree is inhabited by jejemons who drink tanduay and think they're so macho. They're quite accommodating though. Thanks to you guys, really.


When we got there the first people we saw were a bunch of local boys (jejemon I bet) drinking tanduay. They were nice enough to offer me some and I was glad to have a shot because I was so hungry and there was no place to dine from Cantabon Cave all the way there. Bring lots of food if you want to tour the island, is all I’m saying. From the Balete tree it’s about 15-20 minutes’ drive to get to Lazi where the over-charging carenderias are.



lazi siquijorThis is so much like I2 when you get there. I almost expected to see KFC and Jollibee on the side.



Cambugahay Falls

Cambugahay Falls are a sell-out because they are just two kilometers from the town center of Lazi, Siquijor. When you get there, they will charge you with ten pesos for the parking fee. You can also see some manangs selling nestea and gatorade (it's in the nba, is it in siquijor??)


cambugahay falls
The person who discovered Siquijor. (Actually, he's just the 5,658,201st person to do so. So he gets no monument for it.)

The water below Cambugahay falls looks like a condominium for mosquitoes so I was not tempted to swim. (Not that I know how to swim. I just said "swim" for convenience). Just a word of caution. Don't swim without someone looking after your things. The place has a reputation for not-so-honest people.



cambugahay siquijor154 steps to get to this place.

After the falls we had breakfast in Lazi and I was surprised to see 138pesos on our bill. I bet those drumsticks had to be imported from Mars that's why they're so expensive. The inter-planetary tariff explains it all.

falls camubagahayThat tree trunk is for people who don't know how to swim. It is also for people who prefer to balance on tree trunks instead of swimming.


swim cambugahayTop view of the falls. Don't bring too much food if you want to go there. There isn't anywhere you can put them on.


Salagdoong Beach

Salagdoong Beach is in Salagdoon, Maria, Siquijor, Philippines! You can stay overnight there for 800 pesos. It's about three kilometers away from the town center of Maria. Finding the beach is not so easy. The only sign to it is as small as a street sign. Anything as small as a street sign on a speed-conducive highway is no good at all.



salagdoong diveThis is what you call sea-jumping for dummies.

They did attempt to place a billboard advertising the place but it's all washed out and it's nothing but a big spread of white that faces sideways. So it's not good either. I think those people don't want us and are deliberately trying to mislead us.



salagdoong siquijorHe's 22 and a retard. He just jumped from a 3-foot high cliff into 5-foot deep water. What a brave lad.

I counted three dive boards and two slides at Salagdoong Rock, a big rock at sea where you can do all suicidal stuffs that comes to your head. I settled for the 3-foot jump. No need to show people that I can dive. (Actually, I need people to see me so I could get help in case I drown.)


salagdoong cliff dive>View from the 20-foot diving board. I heard it's good to jump from there when it's low tide and you got many bills to pay. (My camera having lighting issues)

The resto at Salagdoong serves dishes from the 90-140peso range. If they say the menu item is good for three people, they are not kidding. We had a real good dinner and the only not-so-good part about it is finishing the meal off because we ordered a lot because we thought they were not serious. Turned out they were not just sales-talking.


salagdoong slide
Two Siquijor guys. If you smell bromance, I do too. Bromance!

The slide is perfect for bromance, among other things. It's where you tease your guy friend and make him just and you follow and you splash water to each other when you get to the sea.



bal marsius
One bro dives and the other follows. True bromance!



7 comments:

rye said...

hey i could laugh all day reading your posts and thanks for the pix to keep me sane hehehe

Bal Marsius said...

thanks bai! that's really encouraging. haha!

Kriska Ylagan said...

Cool! Haven't been there yet. Any tips for a poor traveler like me?

Bal Marsius said...

stay at backpackers lodge. you have to book with them ahead though bec lots of people go there bec the stay is cheap. if you can take someone with you who knows how to ride a motorbike, so much the better. mail me when you go there :D

Penfires! said...

hi bal,

thanks for sharing this. i am in the middle of trip planning and it's a toss between siquijor or aurora province. still thinking though.

from reading your post, i'm thinking now to bring extra fund for food if we pick siquijor.

hmm, i'll email you for the marked map if ever ma siquijor mi ha?! thanks daan!

cille =)

Bal Marsius said...

hey Cille,

i think my map is lost in my multiverse of clutter..i'm sure it's in my place but where exactly it is at is something else..but i think i posted a map somewhere in my blog..feel free to mail me though..

lost,

bal

Unknown said...

hahaha enjoyed reading this!
You made me want to explore Siquijor and jump off the 3 foot high cliff.

Thanks!

Bal Marsius