The lingering mystique of Siquijor

In olden times, Siquijor had an abundance of fireflies glowing around the trees at night. It must have been an eerie and fascinating sight, and the Spaniards called the area Isla de Fuego or Island of Fire.

The Japanese military, during World War II, were less captivated by the island and they engaged in manganese mining that destroyed the environment. To flush out the guerillas in Siquijor’s Mt. Bandila-an, the Japanese razed the mountain to the ground; only five hectares remained untouched.

Isla de Fuego had literally become an Island of Fire.

During the postwar era, the national government embarked on a massive reforestation program; and today Mt. Bandila-an is a nature park, an ecological destination area of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Peaceful and pastoral, almost pristine, the province of Siquijor has a reputation for sorcery most Siquihodnons would rather not dwell on. “There are no witches here, only traditional healers,” claimed a local tourism official once.

Last Holy Week, faith healers from other provinces joined their local counterparts to mix many species with the special oil found here. And, amid rituals and incantations, they created potions, which may include love potions and other kinds of heady brew.

The medicines are said to be most effective when gathered on Good Friday.

Siquijor lies south of Cebu and Bohol in Central Visayas. The entry point is Dumaguete City, capital of Negros Oriental, in my case via the SuperFerry (P3,700 round-trip promo, economy/aircon). Thanks to Judd Salas of the Aboitiz Transport System, I was upgraded to a stateroom on board SF-2 (and to a cabinette in SF-5 on the return trip).

From Dumaguete, it is a one-hour ferry-boat ride (P160) to the capital of Siquijor, also called Siquijor. There are five other towns in the province —all of them also coastal: Larena, San Juan, Lazi, Maria and Enrique Villanueva.

Siquijor is all of 33,000 hectares, and it only takes three hours of leisurely driving to traverse the island through the circumferential coastal highway.

There are numerous budget hotels and beach resorts in Siquijor, the most pricey being the standard Coco Grove in San Juan. For this budget-conscious traveler spending his own money, my host Oscar Magallones, the DENR provincial officer, recommended the Siquijor State College in Larena, which has executive guesthouses and air con, quite satisfactory at P650.

The state college has an attractive beachfront area below the hostel, with picnic huts, rock formations, sea grass and clear waters - a favorite swimming area of the boisterous local children, mostly boys.

Across the bay are the mountains of Cebu and Negros Oriental. (These disappear, however, during hazy and misty mornings.)

Cultural landmarks
The island of Siquijor is filled with unspoiled beaches, mangroves, caves, butterfly and marine sanctuaries, and cultural landmarks.

The St. Francis of Assisi Church in Maria with its bell tower dates back to 1857. Even more famous is the St. Isidore church in Lazi and its convent-house, declared a historical landmark in 1985. It is the oldest and biggest convent in the country.

For swimmers, there’s the Capilez Spring Park in San Juan, a natural pool with spring waters that is a favorite of the local youth, and Salagdo-on Beach in Maria. Before reaching Salagdo-on, which is also a diving site, you enter a manmade forest filled with thousands of trees.

Salagdo-on has attractive twin beach coves and a resort with cottages, among other amenities. The waters are deep and crystal clear, with corals in relatively good condition; and the two beaches have white sand.

Contabon in Mt. Bandila-an is the most explored of the province’s many caves. It has abundant deposits of stalagtites and stalagmites, and a subterranean stream.

The Mt. Bandila-an Nature Park is a proposed Protected Landscape. “It has 187 identified species of flora, 36 identified species of birds and 100 butterfly species,” reports the DENR’s Magallones (who is from San Carlos, Bukidnon). “Mahogany is dominant among the tree species.”

The mountain is accessible by vehicle up to midpoint, which is the Bandila-an Lodge and project site, where tourists like to bring tents and set up camp. They can also stay overnight in the lodge with the permission of forester Urcisio Galamiton.

Nearby are mini-falls, a grotto and Stations of the Cross leading to the summit, as well as a century-old, spreading balete tree which is, as forester Galamiton put it, “the dwelling place of the spirits in Siquijor.”

The ascent by foot from midpoint to the peak—600 meters (around 2,000 feet) above sea level — is facilitated by a manmade stone stairway along the trails. I was practically limping and in near-agony, however, because of a foot allergy.

There are three crosses on the summit (with vandals leaving their inscriptions at the back of each cross) and a steel tower-viewpoint, with all of Siquijor below you. There is the Mindanao Sea and, as a backdrop, the mountains of Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental. Apo Island sanctuary is a dot on the horizon. To the south is the Zamboanga Peninsula, though hardly visible.

On the way down, with the DENR vehicle negotiating the zigzag, the mountain peaks of the island province of Camiguin materialized in the distance, like Venus rising from the sea.

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