Observations from staying on the small island of Siquijor

For the last five days we’ve been on the small island of Siquijor. Tourism is still quite a new thing to this island which in itself has its pros and cons.

 The one thing that has really struck me is that I hadn’t fully appreciated how privileged we are back home to be able to walk into any Tesco and for it to stock virtually all items you need on a day to day basis.

Here on the island there is no Tesco, and I am pretty sure the only big supermarket is in the port town of Larena so for most of the island just getting the most basic of things like food, medicine and toiletries is a challenge. There’s lots of tiny barangay (neighbourhood) shops which mostly stock soft drinks, powdered coffee and a selection of crisps and if you’re lucky, bakery items. 

Aside from driving on the island’s circumferential road, many of the roads that zig zag across the island are in varying states of disrepair. From potholed tarmac to rough, dirt tracks,  getting around the island takes time, and is often a bumpy ride.  I am happy to report that we came across several roadworks though so ongoing improvements are being made. 
There are very few road signs; luckily the locals are really friendly and will happily give you directions. On numerous occasions while we’ve been out riding the bike, other road users and passers-by have shouted a hello or waved at us. 

There are just a couple of petrol stations on the islands, but it is readily available from the roadside where it is sold in repurposed, one litre, glass Coca Cola bottles.

The ferries are at the whim of the weather, and schedule changes are not readily advertised. In the end we were to be delayed two days in a row, the first day because we had not had the foresight to check whether the ferry would run on New Year’s Day, and on the next day because of the heavy rainfall overnight. A signal 1 severe weather warning was issued and we received a system alert via the mobile provider to warn us of possible flooding and landslides in the area. We were lucky that our homestay had just finished building a couple of new rooms so had space for us to stay. 

In the end we managed to secure the last flight from Siquijor airstrip in a three seater Cessna. When we arrived at around 10am there was 11 people ahead of us waiting for a plane off the island. In addition to the lucky 13, a further 16 people rocked up with apparent ‘bookings’ and made it off the island too. 30 or so we’re not as lucky. 

Our friends for the day (L-R) the Chinese woman who was also staying at our homestay, the Swiss guy who accompanied Nina to the airport, Chris, Andy from Germany and his girlfriend, and Nina, who had a connecting flight at 4.30!

At about 3pm a much anticipated chopper arrived from Mindano and also began shuttling stranded tourists across. As we flew across the short stretch of water we could see that the sea was calm and a few boats were zipping across. 

Before we left the UK I made the decision that I wanted to be as flexible with our itinerary as possible, inevitably this has meant less choice of accommodation within our budget. So we have found ourselves at a homestay half way between the ‘capital’ of Siquijor and San Juan, the area of the island which most caters for tourists.

Being a light sleeper I was drawn to the fact that other visitors had said it is a quiet place, and it is at night with just the sound of the crickets to keep you company in the dark. The mornings however are entirely different. With it being the holidays the host has had lots of family and friends over to stay, and rightly so, it is her house first and foremost. But mix in the cacophony of noise made by the roosters, with the children playing YouTube and watching TV in the early morning through the daytime, and the noise has driven me a bit mad.

There are roosters and hens everywhere, the hens are of course used for eggs, while the roosters are used for cock fighting.  
One of the biggest pros that I can say about our visit is that I feel it has been a true insight into Filipino life. We’ve stayed with a family, got to see how they celebrate New Year and I’ve had several chats with the host which has led me to understand better Filipino culture, from things like average wages, to how securing new infrastructure funding works, and how much it costs to build or buy a house.

We also happened upon a village up in the mountains that was in full party mode, celebrating Rizal Day. After exploring the caves we were approached by Ace who invited us to have food and drink in his Aunt’s house. There was roast pig, special red rice and great bean and noodle dishes.

Karaoke, along with basketball is a staple pass time for Filipinos. On New Year’s Day we visited Ace at his home and met Aunt  Miriam and some more of his family. It was raining heavily outside so we sat in their living room on a curved, green corner sofa.

As soon as we arrived they brought out food for us to try. Ace insisted that we join in the karaoke, putting my reservations about my singing ability aside, I chose a song. There are loads of songs available on the system but many of them dated from the 80s and I’d never heard of them. 

The karaoke machine is nothing like anything I have seen before. Hooked up to a TV (mostly of the old, chunky kind) it is kitted out with huge flashing speakers and the lyrics, rather than being set to the original music video, is set over random clips like women boxing, women on the beach, a woman getting ready to go out. It can often be heard into the evening, with several people gathered around ready to take their turn. 

Luckily Ace’s Aunt was a good singer, and saved us all from having to listen to Chris! She used to be a school principle so her English was very good,so we spent some time talking with us about her children and life on the island.