Sand, surf, sea, sky and fiery sunsets at Siquijor

By Neal Cruz Philippine Daily Inquirer WE SPENT the other weekend at a beach resort on Siquijor island and I now want to tell other people that here is a pleasant place to relax in. Forget about Boracay. It is too crowded, too noisy and you bump into people you are trying to get away from. If you want the same raucous bars and honky tonks and the same obnoxious people you detest in the cities, go to Boracay. But if you want peace and quiet, go to Siquijor. Many Filipinos don’t even know where Siquijor is. Those who do, think of it as the place where there are many witches and warlocks. I didn’t see or feel or hear of any while we were there. Witches and warlocks, like werewolves and manananggal, exist only in the fantasy stories and the imagination of the superstitious and the gullible. Anyway, Siquijor is in the Visayas, near Negros, Cebu and Bohol islands. It can be reached by a quick plane ride, via PAL and Cebu Pacific, from Manila to Dumaguete, and from there a 30- to 45-minute ride by ferry to Siquijor. Vehicles from the beach resorts and hotels will pick you up from the pier. The resort we went to was named Coco Grove Beach Resort. It is a 7-hectare beachfront area facing west so that you have a magnificent view of fiery sunsets every afternoon. From the beach, other islands are visible. The large one is Negros, the small one Apo island, a very good diving site. Far to the south is the silhouette of Mindanao. As its name implies, the native guest cottages are tucked away in the coconut groves and even among the treetops. Every cottage has a verandah or balcony where you can savor the sea breeze. The resort has two restaurants, three bars and two irregularly shaped beachside swimming pools, one of which is Olympic-size and has a sunken bar beside it so that you can have drinks even while you are soaking in the pool. Both pools are only a few steps from the beach, so that you can swim in the pool and the sea alternately if you want to. There is a souvenir shop selling local handicraft, shellcraft, beads, wood carvings, swimwear and comfortable clothes. Guests can have a massage; they can either go to a cottage where the Filipino masseuses are or they will go to the guest cottages when called. The waves are gentle and the sand is white, being composed of tiny particles of coral. The sea all around is emerald blue and the rays of the sun sparkle like thousands of diamonds when reflected by the waves. The vast sky is light blue with many cottony clouds that change shape every minute as the wind blows them across the sky. You can lie down on the beach or on one of the hammocks hanging from the coconut trunks, feel the caress of the breeze and daydream about the clouds forming and reforming into many shapes in the sky. Every evening, from the pool, the beach, the restaurants and bars, and from the porches and balconies of the cottages, you can watch the great big red round sun slowly sink in the horizon while the skies around wave red-orange-yellow banners of farewell. The breeze from the sea is cool and gentle and the rustle of the coconut palms is like a soft lullaby that lulls one to sleep. There is no need for air conditioning but all the rooms are air conditioned anyway. There are no mosquitoes and flies because of the breezes. There was a moon when we were there and it was nice to walk in the moonlight on the beach and among the coconut groves. But before the moon rose, the sky was dark and the stars twinkle much brighter here than they do above the cities because there are no lights to compete with them. There is a natural spring filling a pond at one end of the resort beside which is the entertainment area where native shows, dancing and singing, are held at certain times. The resort is popular among European tourists and so the amenities are first-class and the food is primarily Western but the restaurants also serve popular Filipino dishes. When we were there, we ordered freshly caught whole fish roasted over coals. Seaweed and fern salads are also available. There are cabanas scattered all over the beach and guests can have their meals and drinks served there if they want to or they can just sit there and chat and watch the sunset. There is a Fisherman’s Village in the middle of the resort and you can watch the fishermen repairing their boats, mending their nets, preparing to go out fishing or, early in the morning, watch them come to the beach with their catch. At night, you can see the lights of their fishing boats bobbing in the sea. At night the electric lights come on and you can stroll on the sand or on the concrete pathways winding among the coconut groves. With moonlight, it is fascinating to watch the play of moonbeams and shadows among the coconut palms, on the sand and on the water of the pools. On moonless nights, you can lie down on the sand or the grass and watch the stars, which here seem to be much brighter and much more numerous. A game we played was to identify as many constellations as we could or count as many stars as we could. Here, the skies are not only really open but also vast and sprinkled with millions of jewels. Instead of promoting open skies at the expense of our Filipino airlines and pirating the tourism logos of other countries, Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim and the Department of Tourism should promote tourist destinations like Siquijor. Once Westerners learn of Siquijor and other islands like it, they would come here even without open skies. There is a beach with white sand just like the sands of Boracay in a municipality named Bulalakaw (meteor) in southern Mindoro. It is much nearer to Manila than Boracay; the DOT should promote it. There are many other beaches and islets like Bulalakaw and Siquijor all over the Philippines. Is the DOT doing anything to promote them? When in Cebu City, please visit gregmelep.com for your real estate and retirement needs. Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer