It is Beyond its Beauty; It is Smile and Healing (My trip to Siquijor)

Greetings to all Hivers! A blissful day to all. I am Honey and I enjoy traveling. It helps me rejuvenate from the lonely and isolated life that I am currently in and let me discover unique experiences and stories that I would love to share.

Today I'm gonna talk about my experience on the so-called healing island of the Philippines, "Siquijor". Beyond its myths and witch tales, what really is in Siquijor?

As a Filipino, when you mentioned the place, automatically the thing that will register in your mind is witches, witchcraft, love potions, "Aswang" and other negative connotations about the island.

Last year, 2021, I was assigned to hire someone to manage our marketing affairs. Then we got a referral, a lady that worked in Dubai for 10 years. A perfect fit for what we are looking for. Her name is Grace. Grace shows a lot of potential for the work, so we immediately hired her, plus we love the vibes she brings.

It seems that everything is going well until Grace drops out of contact one day (we work remotely). We tried calling her and chatting with her for several days, but she never responded.

After 4 days that she went missing, we finally decide to move on and try another candidate, and then.., she chatted. Grace has all the excuses in the world why she can't work but mostly because she doesn’t have power and internet for a few days. Then there she mentioned that she live on the island of “Siquijor”. It's the first time I search for it on the internet. It lies around the south of Cebu Province.

We have a staff house by then in Cebu City where she could move and work with me, I offered her but Grace gladly refuse it, saying she can't leave her island life. I was intrigued by her response. It was odd that she would let this good opportunity slip away just because she didn't want to leave a boring island (Grace was still single and had no family in Siquijor at that time). So we let her go and moved on.

A year later, as I was deciding on where to spend my precious 1-week company vacation, I remembered Siquijor and Grace. Then just like that, I took a bus and 2 boat ride on my way to the Island. This time I reconnect with Grace and just in time the day I arrived, she messaged me back saying she would love to meet me in person for the first time.

Port of Siquijor, Siquijor

The island of Siquijor is so small that you could even tour it in less than a day. The fourth smallest in the country. As I set out on my journey, I met someone who would become my companion throughout the trip.

At the port, our tour guide/driver who is a local resident of the island met us with enthusiasm in his motorbike, handling a small welcome note, even though we are already late. His name is Raul. Raul immediately start our day trip soon as we arrived. He is very energetic, makes funny jokes, answer all our questions about the witch tales, and is the best at taking photos. We right away became friends.

He took us to the most beautiful beaches that you could ever be in your entire life. Siquijor has plenty of it. We went to a magnificent diving cliff, pristine white sand beaches, amazing waterfalls, and a lot more.

But aside from all the beauty that it has offered my eyes. I fell in love also with its people, the community. How happy and content everyone looks. The smile and giggles of its children while running around the beach. The bright vendors' faces when you purchase a small and cheap meal from them and the way they express their gratitude when you bought something. The vibe of the island brings joy into your heart. It was warm and peaceful.

I have talked and drank with several locals and their expression to me of gratefulness that I am not being a hypocrite tourist or being boastful makes them happy, and it makes me happy too. It has the reason why it is also called the healing island. Shamans and great traditional healers can be found here and moreover there you would appreciate the beauty of simple living. That we don't need that much to be happy. We don't need cars, theaters,s or malls to be entertained. All that we really need is peace, within our hearts and mind. Right there great healing will start.

A group of a young band in the hostel preparing for their next gig

Raul with my travel companion and friend @kellyane having our simple lunch

Mr. Croz telling me the tale of the medicinal coconut wine and its secret

Then I realized why Grace doesn't want to leave before, probably because this is the best life she could ever have. On this simple, and small island of Siquijor.

Grace preparing her motorbike to take me back to the port upon leaving the island

Thank you for reading my blog today. Have you been to Siquijor? Share with me your thoughts and experience in the comment section. See you in my next post. Much Love!

Your Honey XoXo