The beautiful streets of Siquijor

We spent the morning in Siquijor, taking pictures and messing around the billiards and gym rooms of Dondeezco. We almost lost our tripod bag that morning, but managed to find it in time before we get into the van headed to Siquijor pier.  Transport to pier is free courtesy of Dondeezco.

We travelled back to Dumaguete on board Delta Fast Ferries leaving at 12:30pm. We bought the tickets the day before so as not to risk our schedule and itinerary. When we docked at Dumaguete pier, we asked our tricycle driver for an affordable hotel. He took us to grand Pensionne plaza, where we booked a family room(good for 3) and added an extra bed, all for P1100. Since Dumaguete’s fried ice cream is one of the reasons why we choose to travel Dumaguete-Dipolog, we immediately looked for the ice cream bar. The receptionist told us that it was near our hotel and provided some directions.

Outside the hotel, we asked around again and were surprised that the locals didn’t know where it was located. We managed to find Panda Ice Cream Haus located on Ma. Cristina Street, Dumaguete City. We ate their infamous fried ice cream after our lunch at Scooby’s. After our sumptuous dessert, we thought that it’s time to tour Dumaguete.

First, we took a tricycle to the jeeps headed for Valencia. Although the jeep’s huge, it was cramped because about 6-8 people were required to sit in the middle of the jeep. They use small stools for the unlucky people who would sit there. The jeeps were scarce so it was normal to overload their jeepneys.

We took the jeep and hopped off at Valencia. The locals told us that the last jeepney trip was at 6pm (woah, that’s too early!). Amidst the chaos of haggling with the tricycle drivers, we managed to get a trike to Forest camp. Since it was already late (around 4pm), and the Casaroro falls was a long ride according to the drivers, we opted not to go there.

There’s not much to do in Forest Camp, unless you’d like to swim in the raging, rocky, river-like pool, where the water was taken from a nearby falls. I’m not sure where the source of the water really was.  We took a few pictures then head back to the plaza where the Spanish fountain was located.

We were amazed at the Dumaguete plazas we saw. For each plaza, there was always a Rizal monument as well as soccer and tennis fields. We never thought that Dumaguete is a sports-enthusiast province. We were also amazed when there was a sudden church-bells ringing in the air. The locals in the area suddenly stopped whatever they’re doing as a sign of respect to their church. I haven’t seen that kind of devotion in years.

Town plaza

We were unable to get the last jeepney trip back to Dumaguete City, so we were forced to hire a trike to get back. The driver asked if he could take more passengers. In the end, our trike had 7 passengers, the driver was 8th. Imagine how 7 passengers managed to squeeze-in in the trike.hehe

We asked the driver to drop us in the baywalk. We wanted to try the food sold there. However, we were a bit disappointed when we saw that the food available is something that looks like squid, coated in flour. We thought there were inasals or barbecues sold just like in Dipolog.

Afterwards, we walked to Sans Rival and bought some cakes for desserts. Then while looking for a good place for dinner, we saw la Cavitena’s Barkada package sign (for just P472). The food was great and affordable. The Barkada package consists of grilled squids, shrimps and pork. We decided to eat there again if there’s a chance. Dumaguete is a really good place for food-tripping.

Here is our expense breakdown for the day: