Rain on the island of fire

We have now left Siquijor, another island is the Central Visayas. The Spanish colonizers called it the “Isla de Fuego” (“Island of Fire”) due to the glow of the multitude of fireflies that would gather nightly... I find this hilarious as we have had quite a bit of rain since we have been here and only one firefly!

Not sure if the rain and wind (so loud that keeps you up at night!) were due to the typhoon Koppu that was hitting the north island of Luzon a few days ago, or just our own luck.

Regardless of the weather, we decided to go on an island tour... Siquijor is supposed to be home to black and white sorcery, as well as enchanted tree and potions.

Our first stop was a 400year old tree called Century Old Balete tree. The tree is quite impressive and am glad we stopped by - minus the rain. 

We then stopped at a church, a convent that doubles as a school with some impressive Catholic art (aka a Sacred Heart of Jesus rug just out of Father Ted) and went through a forest.

All of this in a tricycle: a small scooter that has a iron seat mounted on and takes you around. This did not help our getting wet but we had a pretty good view of the road/island the whole time and we could wave at all the locals while we were passing by. Filipinos have proven to be extremely friendly and the kids always shout "hello" to us!

We also stopped at Cambugahay Falls. You can swim, jump the ropes and the water was the right temperature. But the stairs were so slippery I am surprised I made it there and back.

The last stop was a mangrove forest. They had set up bridges all the way to the sea and you can have a better look at the tress as you are pretty much walking on water. I really liked it!