My Siquijor trip was recently concluded a couple of weeks ago, but to this day, I’m still reminiscing on the experience that I’ve had on the island and how surreal it was- almost supernatural. Prior to my visit, I was privy to its magic and I came to the island in search of it.
Enchanted Trees
When I reminisce on Siquijor Magic, I think of the magnificent towering trees; they are alive and they are everywhere. Maybe living things in general have an energy to them and as living things ourselves, we are capable of perceiving that; we feel the lives in other creatures.
I remember driving through Lazi in our motorcycle, looking up to old acacia trees with crown shyness. Crown shyness is a phenomenon where tree leaves don’t touch each other to avoid stealing another’s sunlight. It’s a beautiful phenomenon and when you're under their magnificence, patches of sunlight touch you.
I can’t talk about the trees of Siquijor without mentioning the century old Balete tree. The tree has no specific age, but you can tell how ancient it is from its massive size. I was in awe of its presence, I can only imagine the things the tree has been through, the amount of rain it took to reach that age, and the creatures it nurtured. It’s paradoxical how stern the tree trunk is and then it slowly branches out into frail leaves, caressing the wind and swaying in its dominion.
The trees to get to Pitogo Cliff are also worth the mention. The plethora of palm trees implanted on the red soil is a picturesque view that seems extraterrestrial.
The trees were definitely the most enchanting part for me. It reminds me of interconnectedness and how I am also a part of the interaction between them. I don’t think we really appreciate how much resources are needed for a tree to be big and mighty.
The Waters
I wish I had more time to visit more bodies of water in Siquijor. Despite many tourists, the bodies of water are well preserved. It’s really clear and just magical.
I have already talked about the captivating teal color of Cambugahay falls. I will never forget that feeling of seeing it for the first time.
There is a spring beneath the Balete Tree that I mentioned above. Below the tree is a spring abundant with swimming fishes who are there to give you a fish spa. I didn’t dip my toes into it because I am too afraid of getting an infection, but I appreciated its beauty. It’s not very common for fishes to approach humans, but the fishes there seemed keen to come near people.
Adrenaline Rush
I was afraid of jumping off of the Pitogo Cliff. I’m not usually afraid of jumping off of cliffs and it wasn’t even a high jump, only three meters. However, three of my fears were present: the ocean, the height, and the crowd. People were standing by the cliff, too afraid to jump and it was contagious and I felt conscious standing on the edge with them watching. I was proud of myself because I did it anyway. When I reached the ocean, I wanted to stay for a swim, but I was afraid because I was the only person there.
There is a higher platform, about 16 meters high. I probably would have jumped from there if other people were jumping from there as well.
Overall, I gained a feeling of self confidence after that activity. I can’t imagine myself being alone in an open ocean; it’s interesting how certain places urges you to do things you can’t imagine anywhere else.
Best sunsets
I watched two sunsets in Siquijor and they are some of the best that I’ve seen. Somehow, we got lucky that despite the rest of the days being very cloudy, the skies cleared when the sun was setting. It was really beautiful to just sit down and watch the skies change colors.
I enjoyed watching it with other people, despite not really interacting with them; just the fact that they were keen to witness the sunset made me realize how they were there for the same thing too and in that way, we relate to each other.
Being a Local
Though Visayas is a tightly knit community, I still think that beyond our similarities, we also have our differences that make us unique. We wanted to feel like we live there and experience the intangible things that make us different.
We ate where locals eat, we bought tuba, we got fruits and went on a little grocery shopping- these are things I can do where I am from, but when I am there, I get to interact with someone who is a local and go to places where the locals go on a daily basis. I felt a sense of belongingness through these activities, and I am grateful that I had enough to do get to experience it.
We drove our motorcycle to the mountain side of the island and the drive was so worth it. We got to the part where we were overlooking the ocean and a glimpse of Negros island.
The idea of going there started because we wanted to go where not a lot of tourists go. Seeing what I’ve seen made me realize how far from home I was and I have barely been away from the island of Cebu, yet I felt at home because I realized how close these islands are and the rest of the world is so much bigger than the distance between them.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, magic is what we believe it is. The Magic of Siquijor can be taken metaphorically; it could just be the feeling of being surrounded by nature. Being surrounded by nature in Siquijor was really a healing experience for me and I think that a lot of people resonate with that because humans are a part of nature, but sometimes we detach from it and the redirection to it somehow heals us.
The Magic of Siquijor can be taken literally as well. Maybe there is underlying magic, maybe there are creatures who are not like us, or things we can’t explain. I believe in that.
To me, all the definitions and interpretations of magic coexist in Siquijor. Magic is happiness; magic is choice; magic is freedom; magic is a memory; magic is an out of body experience. I found it in Siquijor; anyone can find it anywhere.
I don’t think I can justify how spiritual the whole experience was, I hope that this content could at least provide a glimpse of what it was like. Thank you for reading my blog; I spent a long time thinking of how to put this experience into words and I hope you enjoyed it. Is there a place that makes you feel like there’s something enchanted about it? Let me know, I’d love to hear about it!