Jovee and Missy's Excellent Adventure

Location : Siquijor Island + Dumaguete, Philippines

Manila Friends
After days and days of html coding, I get a text from a Manila friend, Jovee, asking me if I could take her and a colleague around Dumaguete during their 2-day R&R. Touring them would be a welcome break for me. Besides, it's always good to be seeing friends from Manila. Diving, food tripping, night outs all came to mind. Woohoo!

Prepping for the Day-Dive
After picking them up from the airport, our stroke of luck started when Daphne, owner of Neva's Pizza, passed by and offered us a lift to the hotel. It was the first of many green lights to come. After checking-in, we went to the public market for a local breakfast - native chocolate drink and budbud cabog and budbud tanjay. We had a whole lechon chicken chopped (pack lunch), and we were off to Dauin's Poblacion I Marine Reserve.

up...up and away !!!

Snorkeling
Missy is a good swimmer but hasn't tried snorkeling. Jovee is gung-ho but cannot swim yet. That didn't stop us from venturing into the drop off with an inflatable pillow for a floatation device. The reef system looked very different from last summer. With pounding waves from a recent storm on a low tide, the hard corals were broken down into rubble. Compounding the event was coral bleaching brought about by climate change. What was once a vibrant coral reef teeming with marine life, was now a coral graveyard - not entirely, but the resident big fishes were conspicuously absent. I was told however, that the damaged corals are the ones that can quickly recover - crossing my fingers.

Zip Lining
Heading back to Dumaguete, Rene, an outdoor adrenaline junkie himself, offered to take us zip lining on the Tierra Alta grounds. This was opened only in Oct. 23 and has since been drawing crowds. I think Rene pulled a few strings to get us accommodated - Jovee and Missy were the last ones as daylight was diminishing. The nearly 1 minute of zip-lining across a cliff-face got the two totally stoked!

Neva's Pizza
Dinner plans? You can't go wrong with Neva's Pizza. I really think it's one of Dumaguete's best kept secrets. With their brick oven, pizza crust is done to perfection. Jovee and Missy ordered the pricey seafood pizza and for comparison, the kuripot beefy beef. They couldn't find fault with either. With added Shepperd's Pie and clam chowder soup, we were feasting. On a separate date, Jovee even texted me saying they came back to Neva's to lunch. Her suggestion? Soup on the menu!

Siquijor
We started the following day with a trip to Siquijor. Catching the 9am fast craft, we were in Siquijor in no time. We contracted an island tour with a tricycle and went off to visit the following sites: St. Francis of Asisi belfry, Capilay Spring Park, the century-old Balete tree, St. Isidore Church and convent, Cambugahay Falls, and finally JJ Backpacker for lunch and chilling out on a beach.

Photo Finish
I thought there was enough time for hammock comfort, but nada. We realized our 3:45 ferry just might leave without us. With only minutes to spare, we frantically waited for a tricycle. We flagged the first one and cramped ourselves in. I had to top-load myself - a first for me. Upon arriving at the pier, the people told us we were too late - the ferry was already leaving. I ran fast and saw the ferry slowly leaving the pier. I called and waved but the ground crew said we were too late - the ferry was already about 10 feet away and the boarding plank was already removed. If it was just me, I think the ferry would just keep going. I would suspect the crew saw Jovee and Missy running right behind me - that clinched it. The ferry started reversing itself, heading back to port! A makeshift plank was extended to the ferry rail and we got ourselves on board. Woohoo!

Cabin Crew
Not only did we not miss the ferry, but the crew even extended us the cabin crew space where the captain sits. We met the crew and their friends, one of whom was Jimbo, a band player with a gig that evening at Atong Kamalig. We got an invite to join him for eats and music. How cool is that?

Atong Kamalig
With the promise of grilled pork and seafood, dinner was at Atong Kamalig. Jimbo and the band were already playing. The ship crew was on a different table. We ate heartily until Jimbo asked Jovee and Missy to sing on stage. And they did! They took to stage and brought the house down! It was my turn after - there was no turning back. With a few missed notes, I sang the Beatles' Let it Be. It was a good release for the three of us.

That was our last night together as Jovee and Missy had to start working the following day before they head out to Bacolod to continue their road show presentation.

Ending Thoughts
What can I say? I had a lot of fun. Sure, I've been to all the places we went to, but if you're with good people who know how to have fun, it's just all good. This one was particularly cool since we hit all the green lights in rush hour traffic - given a lift by Daphne from the airport to the hotel, zip-lining courtesy of Rene, getting a tricycle to catch our ferry, and the ferry backing up to accommodate us, meeting people on the ferry who invited us for the sing-along at Atong Kamalig, etc. That was one good Flow. The whole experience redefined Dumaguete-Siquijor for me.

Jovee and Missy also gave me an insight on how the game is played in the corporate world now. With the two of them being smart, pro-active, and on top of things, I think they strike a fine balance between playing hard and working hard. It's been so long since I was a part of that landscape. I can't say I miss it, but I remain curious what changes have happened since.

Just 2 weeks before, Bianca and Gianne visited and took me along for a great ride. Now, it's Jovee and Missy. I can't help but wonder. Who's going to visit Dumaguete's shores next for the great fun ride? Ah...life is good!

--- Gigit (TheLoneRider)
YOGA by Gigit | Learn English | Travel like a Nomad | Donation Bank

Thank you Jovee and Missy. We should do this again! Thank you too to Daphne for giving us a ride from the airport. Thank you Rene for taking us to the zip line! To the crew of MBca Jaziel, you could have gone without us, but you didn't. You guys are FAB!

*** Pictures courtesy of Jovee and Missy

Related Links:

• dumaguete+siquijor nov 6-7, 2010 - Jovee's FaceBook entry

Reader Comments:

Jovee See
"sobrang saya...ulitin natin!" -- TheLoneRider
(Nov 9, 2010) yup yup!! =) next time i'll bring Pawie =)

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More on Siquijor Island:

Siquijor Island Map

Siquijor - Cebu (Liloan) - Cebu City BUS Trip

(as of Jan 2023)

There is only one bus plying this route - Sugbo Urban. Tourist class coach, a/c, comfortable, Sun-Fri (these dates keep changing). P420 for bus, P275 for ferry to Liloan. Larena Port around 5 am, makes a clockwise roundtrip around Siquijor Island - Larena, Enrique Villanueva, Maria, Lazi (stops at Lazi market for breakfast and leaves 6:50 am), San Juan, Siquijor (arrives 8am, P50 from Lazi to Siquijor Poblacion) and catches the 1pm ferry at Larena Port (Sundays at 3 pm) for Liloan, Cebu and resumes its land route. Arrives Cebu City (South Bus Terminal) 10 pm.

Sugbo Urban is the cheapest and most convenient way because it goes around the island (clockwise) along the circumferential road, passing through - Enrique Villanueva, Maria, Lazi, San Juan, Siquijor...and back to Larena where it takes the ferry at 1 pm. This saves you the hassle and high transport cost of a tricycle. Besides, it's a long trip from the other side of the island to be taking by tricycle.

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