Siquijor is a quiet island in the Philippines, once you get past the very annoying, very stubborn touts at the port. The supermarkets are roadside stands, gasoline is sold in glass liter Coca Cola bottles and the only ATM on the island, in the town of Larena, is temperamental at best. In short, the slow pace of life of Siquijor seemed like the perfect place to relax.
Wanting to explore the sea more we rented a 2-person kayak from The Bruce for 100 pisos ($2.25US) and hugged the cavernous coastline. The combination of calm, shallow water and excellent visibility made spotting marine life a breeze.
A beautiful, spotted starfish among the sea grass
Can you spot the spotted eel?
A sea urchin in a bed of algae
Above water, the rock formations were amazing sights. From cavernous alcoves to cliff faces, our camera was perpetually at the ready.
Gorgeous rock formation protruding from the bay
Overhanging cave wall
Kayaking into tight spaces was fun!
The hanging gardens seemed right out of a Mediterranean scene
A woman statue keeping watch over the bay
Our afternoon spent hugging the shoreline of Siquijor in a kayak was one of our most memorable during our 3-week visit in the Philippines. We highly recommend it!
TammyOnTheMove
The Phillipines seem very cheap. That is very little money for kayaking if you compare it to Thailand for example. Is it not very touristy there yet?
Mindy & Ligeia
In general, we found the Philippines to be much more expensive than Thailand, especially lodging. I think we just got a really good deal from Bruce’s because the owner does not normally rent out kayaks but since we asked she came up with that amount on the spot. We found Siquijor not very touristy at all; although we saw that many accommodations were being built on the southern shore so who knows what it will look like when we go back one day. 🙂