Take
the ferry from Dumageute to
Siquijor and you are in for some peace and quiet. Siquijor is a laid
back
place, nice and clean, with lots of flowers in the yards and friendly
people.It would really be good to have some wheels as in a rented
bike or
motorcar, or even a driver with a car. The traffic is fairly light and most
visitors would not have any difficulty navigating around on this
island. Vendors sell gasoline in liter coke bottles from stands along
the road.
One place to stay would be Kiwi Lodge on Sandugan Bay. They have a dorm
room with 3 sets of bunk beds and a few cottages are available. The best ones are down on
the lower level but there are a few on the top of the bluff overlooking
the sea. Problem is it is 40 steps up and down to the restaurant or
beach so try not to forget suntan lotion or sunglasses etc.or you will
have to pay penance walking up and down the stairs.
It is a
tad bit boring for a single person to stay there but the staff is nice
enough. I think they close around 8pm. It is a great place for families
with small kids that just want to hang out for a while. The staff goes
crazy for the kids and are willing to help watch them.
Daisy
is the brains of the operation and is really a neat person. Neal is the
dive guide and has all kinds of anecdotes to keep you in stitches.
Felix is a diligent boatman that plugs along with whatever equipment
he has available.
Once a rather hefty client was doing a
backroll. Sitting on the edge of the tiny boat was just too much for a
small wave to resist and the whole thing went under water. Neal had to swim down cut the anchor line so the skiff would float to the surface
whereupon Felix solemnly bailed it out and paddled it to shore. He has endless patience.
They were using a 2400mm Smart Wave for their dive boat which is a
bright yellow plastic tub with a 1600mm beam. Their regular aluminum
dive boat was down for repairs.The tub worked and was kind of an
experience. Probably by now the dive boat is fixed. 3-4 guys with gear
is a full load but the sea conditions here are
very mild. A few times though the boatman would motor out past the surf
with the gear for the divers who would swim through the waves
to the boat. Felix would throw the gear into the water and the
divers would gear up. It was kind of a unique way to do things.
The sanctuary has
some big schools of barracuda and a few turtles. It is amazing how the
fish know exactly where the line is and don't stray outside of the
sanctuary. An impressive thing about this place is the large amount of
brown daisy coral. It is a really heavy duty stuff and is exceptionally
heavy. There was a coral that had been tipped over and I was not able
to stand it upright by myself due to the weight. A group of three of us were going to right it
the next day but with the bad visibility we missed it.
Most of the
other dive sites are lessons in fish trap construction. You could do a
study on the different sizes and shapes out there. Another interesting
thing is that the lines to the traps are made from recycled truck tires
cut into long strips of rubber as if cut on a lathe. That line is some
durable stuff but does tear up the coral quite a bit.
We did a
dive on a Japanese wreck in the Larena harbor that was pretty cool.
Felix took me by boat and the others went by car. Apparently Neal
had removed the ships bell after many dives and it is now in his
brother in laws den in the US.
Another curiosity about this
place is all the small blue soldier crabs marching along the beach like
miniature armies. The minute they are frightened they dissapear under
the sand. If you remain motionless they will start popping up after a
minute or so.
You can rent a motorbike in town for 500 peso for 3
days or from one of the tourist places about 500 peso a day. It is a
nice drive around the island and keeps you from getting the cooped up
feeling you can sometimes get at a resort.
Ati Ati Han in Larena is a good place to eat. There are not a lot
of internet cafes on the island yet but Kiwis lets their guests use
theirs if requested.
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