It’s been a long time since we last rented a little moped, I think it was in Myanmar when we whizzed around on a cute little e-bike exploring the ancient temples. Craig always does the driving because I can’t be trusted. He tried teaching me in Thailand back in 2009 on what we thought was an abandoned airstrip. He ran alongside me until I became more confident and I was riding big circles with the wind blowing through my hair when suddenly Craig started shouting at me to get off. I had no idea why he wanted me off so quickly but I braked and then attempted to disembark however this was the first time I’d held the bike at a stand-still without Craig there and I wasn’t aware of the weight of a moped. Suddenly the moped began to lean sideways and there was nothing I could do to stop it and I fell with it. So there I am, laying on the tarmac with a moped on-top of me, my leg and arm were grazed up and bleeding yet Craig was demanding that I get up. I was so confused because he wasn’t being empathetic and checking if I was ok, but then I realised why, the police were on the runway strip and coming our way. I didn’t have a licence to drive and it turns out the airstrip was actually still a working one! The police told us to follow them back to the office so we were coming up with excuses to use the whole way there but they just got us to sign our names on a form and bid us farewell. It was so bizarre because we were convinced we’d at least get a fine but we didn’t question it and I haven’t ridden a moped since.
So now we’re renting one to explore Siquijor island and there’s a few popular sights to check out. The first of which is Cambugahay waterfall which we wanted to get to first thing to beat the crowds so we skipped breakfast and instead bought some random items from a bakery to take with us. We were the 2nd people to enter the waterfall after the 8am opening so we decided to just take some quick photos before they became full of people but the lighting wasn’t great at that time in the morning. We also didn’t like how they’d built huge jumping platforms on either side of the pool, it made it ugly to photograph and the guys charged to use them after paying an entry fee to visit the falls. But you had to pay each platform to jump, it was a tiny price, less than £1 but it was more the principle. We managed to do a mini jump at the higher pool but when we tried to jump off the top of the lower falls they said we weren’t allowed because the rope swing gets priority. A couple of American girls turned up clearly not knowing what to expect so they popped their bags down on a bamboo sort of platform and a lady appeared, asking them to pay to use the table! So they put their stuff on the floor and headed up the ladder to use the rope swing, only to be told there’s an additional fee to use it. In some ways I’d prefer to just pay a higher entry and have everything included but I guess it’s nice to have the option to pay extra for other things and have a cheaper entry fee.
Anyway, the waterfalls had lovely pools to swim in with a milky blue colour so we enjoyed a dip and then sat down to have our breakfast, only to discover our baked goods had vanished!!! We must’ve dropped them on the walk so Craig backtracked but to no avail so when we left the falls we detoured to a bakery and then sat by the sea and enjoyed them with some coffee.
We continued the roadtrip to another waterfall but they charged a small entrance fee again and said a guide was mandatory and we just wanted to explore on our own so we skipped that. The next waterfall had dried out so overall we weren’t doing too well here and headed down the winding road back to the coast where we stopped at Pitogo Cliff. It was a beautiful spot with steps leading down to a cliff and place to jump off into the twinkling water. It reminded me of Greece or Croatia because it was rocks instead of sand but it was lovely and deep so safe for jumping. I’d guess it was around 7 meters high but really I have no idea, looking down it felt like 30m! Craig jumped off and loved it but I took a bit more time to pluck up the courage and my goodness it felt like a lot of time passed between me leaping off the ledge and landing in the water. The ladder back up the cliff was a rickety one made from bamboo and rope which made it feel just as dangerous as the jump itself. Craig absolutely loved this spot and said it was his favourite of the day. I’d of liked the jump to be half the height so I could confidently do more jumps.
Our final stop of the day was Paliton beach but a different section to what we visited a few days before. The beach was busier with little stalls selling jewellery, drinks and coconuts and there were quite a few locals around and kids too. But the further left we went the quieter it became with just a few western tourists nicely spread out so it felt lovely and tranquil. The beach was beautiful with palms leaning over the white sand and turquoise water fading into an inky blue but there were a couple of downsides; there was almost no shade and we were having to follow the minuscule shade that the tall palms offered, also the sea was extremely warm. It wasn’t refreshing at all and didn’t feel too different to the 32° air temperature.
The rest of our time in Siquijor was spent eating delicious food, living off juicy mangoes, jumping into the village spring-fed pool where the water is so much cooler than the sea, relaxing on the beach and getting delightful massages. It’s been a wonderful week but the best part has definitely been the sunsets which have been spectacular every single night. We tend to buy a cold beer from the shop and either sit on the sand or walk to the nearby bridge, both offer fabulous views of the psychedelic clouds filling the sky with a volcano on Negros island creating the perfect backdrop.
I probably took hundreds of photos of the sunsets on Siquijor. One night a few local kids were playing in the sea as the sky went from orange to purple, their silhouettes jumping through the shallows felt like we were watching a puppet show.
Oh and we were almost killed by a coconut, kinda. One day we heard a loud thud just a couple meters away from us and a huge coconut had fallen from the tree. It was actually weirdly light though so we figured it didn’t have anything inside but curiosity had us smashing it into a concrete ledge to try and split it open. Some locals saw us struggling and came out with a machete for us which was highly embarrassing for multiple reasons A) we’re British so we just don’t have the coconut cutting skills and to be honest whenever I watch a local do it I’m anticipating a disaster, the coconut slipping, the machete slamming down on their wrist and blood spraying all over the place B) we were 99.9% sure that there was nothing in the coconut so it was pointless risking losing a limb for an empty shell. Now it’s time to leave this little piece of paradise and head to our next destination in the Philippines.
NON STOP TRAVELLING 
Paradise indeed!