Just a small note, because not too much happened in these couple of days, I’ve condensed them into one page.
16th March - Finding routine
This was our first day officially locked down on Siquijor. Let’s see how it goes. For breakfast we had oatmeal with bananas. It was nice, which is good because we’ll have to get used to it. With the wind taken out of our adventurous sails, we spent a few hours chilling at the bar area. We mostly wrote our journals, watched random videos, and kept up with the news. Not to mention that checking COVID cases was a daily sport, seeing which countries were in the lead. To us, the numbers still seemed very few, mostly in the hundreds, so we were surprised the impact had been so severe.
Though it’s not very relevant anymore, this is the website we checked every morning.
People had to try and find their ‘new normal’, which meant trying to get some sort of routine going. I’ve not mentioned it much, because I hadn’t been doing much, but I’ve been learning more about Islam over my travels. As part of my daily routine, I was beginning to practise praying as well. Not that I believe, or ever have believed, in a God, but I went through the motions to see another perspective of life. Once I’d finished that, I went for a swim and a snorkel at the end of the beach. There wasn’t so much there, but I did see some fish and starfish, not to mention a forest of seaweed.
Trying local delicacies
Upon returning to the hostel and washing myself down, we decided to have lunch at the hostel. For dessert, we nipped to an eatery across the road and indulged in a Filipino dessert, called Halo Halo. It was filthy, it was sweet, and it was delicious. A treat for a sweet tooth. It’s made of ice cream, fresh fruit, ice, chocolate sauce, and a lot of sugar.
Check out this post for another Asian delicacy that didn’t quite hit the spot like Halo Halo did.
After skyrocketing our sugar levels, we returned to the hostel and chilled out for a bit. There will be plenty of chilling over the coming months I’m sure! A few of us decided to go for a swim during the sunset, it’s so beautiful and calm. This place is a true paradise for me. Once we were out, I showered whilst Mat and Gina went for some supplies from the shop. I took the opportunity to call my grandparents, the first time since Laos, which was months ago. After more chats with people, I resigned for the night. Day 1 of quarantine complete.
17th March - Journey to the centre of the island
I got up around 10am, and we had a breakfast of oats and bananas. Safe to say this will be our norm from now on, it never misses the spot. After we finished, we got on the bikes and drove to Larena, the port town we arrived in. We parked up and went to the only supermarket on the island, Prince Hypermart, to get some more oats and raisins for breakfast. As we were here, we also checked the ferry office, but no new news yet. However, we did take the number of the office so we could call instead of driving here every day. So we went back to the bikes to return home, but realised my key wouldn’t open the lock as a magnet had fallen off.
We tried everything to open the lock, including asking the locals, but nothing could be done. As a result, Mat and Gina rode back to the hostel with the plan of bringing another bike. I had lunch whilst I waited, don’t want to just waste time! After an hour or so, they returned with another motor, and had lunch too. Once they’d finished, we rode into the mountains, towards the centre of the island. There was supposed to be a viewpoint tower in the centre of the island, one which allowed you to see 360 degrees of the island.
On top of the island
On one of these small scooters, it was a bumpy ass ride, which made your ass hurt, almost numb. The road up was winding up the side of the mountain, going higher and higher, allowing you to see more of the island every minute. It was also extremely quiet and peaceful on these roads. After about half an hour, and a short ride under a canopy of trees, we arrived at the tower. We parked up, climbed a load of concrete steps, then climbed the tower itself. At the top, we could indeed see the entire island because we were in the centre, as well as the sea and surrounding islands. Very tranquil, as if the world has stopped moving. We spent a while up here in the cool breeze, before descending and having a chilled, but bumpy, ride down the mountains. There were many small villages we drove through, with the locals going about their business.
Fortunately, we came out a few minutes from the hostel, which was nice and handy. Riding on the scooter tires me out, so I went for a nap. When I woke up, we went for dinner at the restaurant, and discovered it was a employee’s birthday. They were throwing a party and made loads of food, free for everyone. So we accepted their invitation and joined in with the merrymaking. There was some delicious spaghetti, and not to mention the cake. Everyone had a great time, eventually going to bed when it was late. Day 2 of quarantine complete.
