Siquijor Once More

In 2006, I visited Siquijor for the first time. I fell in love with the place immediately. Last week I was able to visit the isla again, this time for the 6th Regional Convention of PSITE 7, an organization of Information Technology educators in Region 7.

I did not originally plan to join this year's PSITE 7 convention. I attended it last year because it was held in Dumaguete, but I wasn't planning to travel to Siquijor to attend it this year, until we were required to do so for one of our masters classes. The trip, which I honestly was not looking forward to so much at the beginning, turned out to be really fun and fruitful. It was held in Salagdoong Beach Resort (the exact same place I visited in 2006), a government-owned resort tucked away in the town of Maria. Because of the resort's remote location and the lack of things to do in the area (bad cellphone signal, no Internet access), all the participants were able to focus on the convention and on getting to know the people who were in attendance. Research papers and projects were presented, issues in IT education were discussed, and contacts were established. I even got ideas for my project proposal from one of the presentations!

Of course, since we were visitors in Siquijor, we had to go around and visit some of the island's tourist spots.

Cambugahay Falls

Lazi Church

Lazi Convent

One interesting spot in Siquijor for me is Coco Grove Beach Resort, one of the top-notch resorts in the island. It's just amazing, with its beautiful stretch of white sand beach. I swear, I'm making it a goal of mine to go back there--with the right companion, of course!  It's the perfect place to just unwind and enjoy a beautiful sunset.

Coco Grove Beach Resort

And look, I even found honeymooners there! 

I know Siquijor has this reputation of being a "scary" place, with its supposed sorcery rituals and black magic. But let me tell you that there is nothing to be afraid of. Siquijor is just beautiful and is full of lovely people. It is definitely a place worth visiting.

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Apo Island

The Philippine Society of Information Technology Educators (PSITE) held its annual convention for Region 7 last week at Foundation University in Dumaguete. The event was attended by IT administrators and teachers from Cebu, Bohol and Negros Oriental (no participant attended from the 4th province in the region, Siquijor). Not being able to participate in the past, I took the opportunity to join the event, because I really am just a newbie and need to be exposed to more IT trends and topics. The event lasted for 3 days, with the third day allocated for the outing where the participants could explore local sights and interact with each other in a fun atmosphere.

The area for the outing was Apo Island, a volcanic island 7 kilometers off the southeastern tip of Negros Island. I have never been there before, so this was a good chance for me. The island is tiny, with a diameter of only 3 kilometers and an area of 12 hectares. They do not have a steady supply of electricity on the island, their only source of water is rain and deep wells, and there are no vehicles as well, but Apo is a top tourist attraction in this area of the Philippines because of the marine sanctuary that surrounds the island. It's a great place for people who want to dive and snorkel, as it is consistently ranked as one of the top 100 dive sites in the world.

To get to Apo Island, you need to board a pump boat from the fishing/market village of Malatapay in Zamboanguita, located 30 minutes from Dumaguete, or hire a boat from any of the resorts in the area. The boat trip to Apo from the mainland takes 30 minutes as well. As we only had a few hours to spend on the island (you have to make the boat trip back to the mainland before late afternoon as waves get bigger during that time of day), we immediately did the main activity for non-divers in Apo--go snorkeling! And it was wonderful! You can find corals with colorful fishes very near the shore. My only wish was that I had a waterproof case for my camera so I could take underwater pictures! After snorkeling, we went to an area where you could supposedly find turtles, and we did find them! I'm happy to say I finally saw a real turtle, not just a Nat Geo one!

Of course, everywhere I go, my main goal is to take pictures of scenery. Here are some photos of Apo for you:

While it is true that there's not much to do in Apo except swim, snorkel, and laze in the sand, being there evokes a peaceful feeling. This is a place where you can't have Internet, cable TV, or airconditioning. It's a place that brings you back to the basics of life... and that's what makes it extremely special.

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