During my first trip to Siquijor, I’ve wanted to visit a Guiwanon mangrove park after reading about it from Ironwulf’s blog. Back then, I haven’t been to the Kalibo Mangrove Eco-Park, which was probably one of the most extensive of this type of parks, so I was really interested to go—wooden planks elevated several feet from the ground, gnarly trees and all. It was just unfortunate that we were unable to check it out due to time constraints.

A PROFUSION OF BRANCHES AND LEAVES

After four years of traveling around the country and outside of it, I’ve finally seen my share of mangrove parks, but still, I was still longing to see Siquijor’s own mangrove forest, a place that has long piqued my curiosity. And so on this recent trip, during our last few hours on the island, our guide at last delivered us to the gates of Guiwanon Spring Park.

I’ve always been mesmerized by the beach at the Siquijor port. The first time I visited this island province, the shallow translucent waters on both sides of the concrete causeway was the first thing that struck me as we disembarked from the ferry we boarded from Dumaguete City. This second visit, it was absolutely the same; the waters of Siquijor pier was so inviting that we decided to stay for a night and see if the beach in the area is any good at all.

► CHECK OUT: DUMAGUETE TRAVEL GUIDE

CAN YOU IMAGINE A PIER LIKE THIS?

The first thing we looked for was a place to sleep in. Camping out on a tent is possible, but was not a choice for us since, well, we didn’t bring no tent with us. After passing through the port gates, it was easy enough to ask around for lodgings. We were told there were a few inns in the area, although definitely not luxury resort types.

► SEE: SIQUIJOR TRAVEL GUIDE

The sun was beating hard upon Siquijor. It was exactly twelve in the afternoon and the light was practically blinding as we alighted from our tricycle to check out the first stop of the usual Siquijor island tour.

St. Francis de Assisi Church or simply Siquijor Church as the locals dubbed it is just a hop away from the local port. We actually passed this on our way to a hot lunch and just went back to check it out in detail and snap a few photographs.

My officemate was telling me about how she’s not going to the island of Siquijor since her sister’s prone to spells. My mom’s asking me to bring a pinch of salt and a clove of garlic. Another officemate was relating her eerie impression of their tour there some years back.

I’ve been hearing a lot of mystic stuff about Isla del Fuego (Island of Fire), but it seemed that no story can ever deter me from continuing my journey to this mysterious island down south.