Amidst all the tales on the mysticism that surrounds the island of Siquijor, my friends and I still went on to visit and tour the island this Holy Week 2003. With friends who were all armed with home-made "anting-antings" pinned inside their clothes, we boarded the Delta Fast Ferry in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental bound for Siquijor, Siquijor by 4:30 PM on a Black Saturday.

If I had been superstitious by nature, I would say that Siquijor didn’t welcome our company. The waters weren’t calm and the ferry rocked from side to side, as if there was a storm coming. Yet, when I looked outside the window, the sun was shining brightly still.

By 5:30 PM, we arrived in Siquijor safe and sound. We went directly to the mini-hotel where we will be staying for the next two days to have our much needed rest.

Calalinan Beach Garden Mini-Hotel and Restaurant is merely 5 minutes away from the pier. It is a nipa-inspired 3-storey house fronting the beach. The side which faces the road is actually the residence of Mrs. Flor van Rozelaar, owner of the mini-hotel. The other side which faces the beach, houses 10 small rooms for rent. The interior is quite simple, unadorned with decorations except for the basic necessities. The second floor gives a very good view of the beach and is an ideal venue for early morning breakfast.

Since we’ve been on the run for the past couple of days (3 days in Bohol and 2 days in Negros Oriental), we decided to laze around for the rest of the night.

We started out early the next day. By 4:00 AM, we were ready to go to St. Francis de Assissi Parish to attend the Easter Sunday Mass. By 6:00 AM, we were on the road going to Mt. Bandilaan Nature Park.

The peak of Mt. Bandilaan is still 331.30 meters up from the road. Unprepared for a short trek up to the mountain, my friends and I still went up the cement stairs following The Way of the Cross. Halfway up the mountain is The Virgin of Lourdes Grotto. We didn’t stay long at the peak since we still had a lot of places to cover. The trek down wasn’t at all difficult since there was a shortcut leading to the road.

Next stop was the Cantabon Cave which is only several meters away from Camp Bandilaan. Before going there, we passed by the Baranggay Captain’s house to look for a guide. It is advisable to get a local guide since they know their way around the cave. We were also told that most of them still knows the Latin spells which might be useful as we traverse through the cave. No, that wasn’t intended as a joke. Out of, at least, 45 caves in Siquijor, only a few have been explored. Even Cantabon Cave which has been a major tourist spot in Siquijor hasn’t been completely explored. So we all needed to be extra careful.

Entering the mouth of the cave was quite difficult; only one person can pass through at a time. Traversing through the sharp rocks and stalagmites inside the cave with minimal lighting from the guide’s lamps and a few candles was equally difficult. Despite all these, however, the cave boasts off with little streams and falls and glistening stalactites and stalagmites. Truly, the cave was quite a challenge for amateur spelunkers like us, yet, there was also an inner joy being able to survive through the whole passage.

Our next stop was the St. Isidore Labrador Convent and Parish in Lazi. The convent is said to be the oldest and biggest in the country, built in 1891. The second floor of the convent has been turned into a museum although priests continue to live in the said convent. Both the church and convent are great works of art. However, the exterior and interior of both structures have not been well maintained. Looking at these magnificent structures, it made me wonder how long they can still last. It’ll be quite saddening to let these two structures go to waste since both has been declared National Historical Shrines way back in the 70’s.

After buying lunch in the Lazi market, we headed towards Cambugahay Falls. From the road, we needed to trek 10 to 15 minutes under the scorching sun to get to the falls. But when we got there, it was worth all the sweat. The view was simply breathtaking. There were three levels of falls actually, but we stayed on the second level. The first one was too far for us to trek and the third one was too deep for us especially since none of us were experienced swimmers. We took time swimming and taking pictures of the falls, making sure we covered each angle.

By 3:00 PM, we were heading towards Maria to Salagdo-ong Beach. The Salagdoong Beach is a newly-renovated beach resort owned by the local government. The resort is quite nice since most of the facilities are quite new. Some of us went swimming, while the rest dozed off to rest. After a while though, the waves got bigger so we all had to go back to shore. 

On our way back to Siquijor, we passed by Enrique Villanueva, the smallest municipality in Siquijor. Formerly known as Talingting, Enrique Villanueva is also home to the oldest house built in the whole island.

All in all, the island of Siquijor can be toured for half a day. Good thing we had a whole day to spare touring the island. Although we weren’t able to attend the Feast of San Antonio when faith healers gather in the plaza every Good Friday to prepare herbal medicines, still, the Siquijor tour has been very fascinating. 

The island of Siquijor has been a great place to end our Holy Week adventure. 

We still don’t know whether all the talk on witchcraft, black magic and other mysterious goings-on are true or not. The mysticism which surrounds the island was enough to make it more interesting to visit. For me, the mystical island called Siquijor is indeed enchanting and it has enchanted me enough to yearn going back in the near future.