Biggest Balete tree in Siquijor

From our tricycle tour, we headed off to the biggest balete tree in Siquijor.

Getting There

We hired a tricycle driver to tour is in the tourist spots of Siquijor. This was one of our deals with him.

What to see

This tree is the biggest balete tree in Siquijor, and is part of the tourist spots of the province. It has been commercialized for tourists, where in a pond has been placed in front of the tree.

The tree is walking distance from the main road.

Fees and Fares

No entrance Fee needed.

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scare crow in siquijor

We were about to head to Cambugahay when we passed this cute corn field in Siquijor, during our tricycle tour there.

How to go there

We hired a tricycle to tour us around Siquijor. This was not part of our original places to go to though.

What to See

A crow in Duran's Banana chip store kept us busy in Siquijor

We had an encounter with a crow in Duran’s Banana chips store in the main road, but we didn’t know that there are many in the area until we saw these cute pink scare crows in one of the corn fields there.

The crows were made out of paper and hay and was positioned all over the field. It definitely added an extra spookiness in Siquijor.

This isn’t really part of the tourist spots of Siquijor, but this kind of view is rare here that we had to make a stop and take pictures of these scare crows.

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Clear waters from Cambugahay

One of our destinations in Siquijor, was the hidden falls of Cambugahay, a few walks away from the main road.

How to go to Cambugahay Siquijor

We hired a tricycle driver for a packaged tour of Siquijor

What to See

Cambugahay is a good 10-20 minute trek from the main road. It is hidden in a lush forest, covering Cambugahay falls. There are stairs going down the stream for visitors who wants to get near the falls.

Like most falls we visited, it is also multi-layered. You can also take a plunge from one of the low areas of the falls. We haven’t tried this though, as we’re not very skilled swimmers.

There are vendors waiting at the main road from Cambugahay to those who wants to have a little snack.

Fees and Fares

• Parking Fee: P10.00
• Tricycle tour: P800.00

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Capilay Spring Park in Siquijor

Home to many cold springs, Capilay spring park is one of the well-known cold spring slash park in Siquijor.

How to go there

Capilay Spring park was part of our tricycle tour in Siquijor.

What to See

The spring park is just a mini plaza, with a spring pool in the middle. There is a hill with a church situated on top of it located inside the park. I don’t recommend this place to be visited, but if you have plenty of time for Siquijor, might as well drop by at this park.

Fees and Fares

• Tricycle tour : P800.00

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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.

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: