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This blog is an amateur photographer's attempt to show how beautiful the world really is. He is drawn to the colors of nature like a moth to a candle light. What are showcased here are nature's grand display of colors at sunrise and sunset, beautiful beaches and off-the-beaten track locations in his beloved Philippines, waterfalls and some of nature's great sculptures, architectural gems, and other views from around SE Asia that he was fortunate to see at one point.

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May 3, 2012

siquijor: a slice of the island life


Sunday Dawn in Siquijor

As the dawn breaks on the island on a Sunday, Siquijor Church is already all lit up for the early mass. Siquijor, with all its interesting churches, is also known, or should I say notoriously known, for alleged practices of black magic and witchcraft. Its an interesting juxtaposition but personally I find the island too beautiful to entertain such a notion.

a fine morning in Siquijor

My few days of stay offered me a glimpse of how it is there. I concentrated more on the sense of place.

Siquijor Pier
Siquijor pier

As you step off the ferry in Siquijor pier, you get an idea of how beautiful the beaches are around the island.

Siquijor Pier at lowtide
Siquijor pier at low tide

Even on this public beach, the sand is creamy white and fine, and the water is emerald green. You can just drop off your bags in a corner and dive right in.

Siquijor in RGB (tricycles)
Siquijor in RGB (red/green/blue)

Most common form of transportation around this sleepy island is either my tricycle or by motorbike (which you can rent for just 300-350 pesos a day). Crime rate is so slow you can even leave your bike by the side of the road and still find it there the next day. No one would steal it, for it would be difficult to find something like that in an island just 22 km across at its widest and about the same distance from northern tip to the southernmost part.

Farmers at roadside
farmers by the coastal road

You can circumvent whole island riding on a motorcycle along its coastal road in less than 3 hours.

Tambisan Coconut Trees

Tambisan Unspoilt Beach
unspoilt beach near San Juan

Most folks visiting Siquijor would go straight to San Juan, a town on the southern part of the island. Its where the long stretch of white sand beaches are, so naturally its where most of the resorts are.  But even today you can still find a lot of unspoilt and undeveloped beaches near the area.

Sandugan Beach Lowtide
Sandugan beach low tide

I stayed far up north in Larena where most of the mangrove sanctuaries are.  For a few days I stayed in Sandugan beach on the north western tip of the island. Its a quiet place and perfect destination with no blaring karaoke music.

Sandugan Beachcombers
beachcombers

For two straight days I was treated to glorious light displays during sunrise and sunset.

Look at our bounty!
bounty from the sea

It is in places like Siquijor where you see folks living harmoniously with the land, or the sea for this matter.

Off to spear some breakfast

Sunrise Fishermen
sunrise fishermen

Sunrise and sunset are special times of the day, not just because of the colors of nature, but for catching something to put on the table.

Picking up shells and sea cucumber for dinner
looking for dinner

At low tide, you'll see locals heading to the beach with small buckets. Soon these buckets will be filled with sea cucumbers, small crabs, shellfish, seaweeds, and whatnot.


After a few days I was convinced that this was indeed paradise, and some folks going here are coming for the wrong reasons, when in fact the right one is staring you right in the face.
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Lantaw
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5 comments:

bertN said...

You captured the beauty of the island with your camera!

munchwaffle said...

beautiful pictures :D thanks for posting them! we are also planning a short trip in siquijor this june

Lantaw said...

@La Vie Magnifique, im sure you'll enjoy your stay there.

Christian | Lakad Pilipinas said...

Excellent excellent photos idol! I remember the port nung pumunta kami jan, port pa lang ang ganda na!

Andrea said...

Ang galing mo talaga Allan! Mas magaganda ang views pag nandito na sa pictures mo! At saka ang galing mo maghanap at mag-isolate ng maganda! kowtow-kowtow!

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