Dumaguete City : City of the Gentle People

The City of the Gentle People 

When you're visiting Siquijor Island via land-trip,  Dumaguete City is one of your stop-over before getting to your destination.  Known as the city of the gentle people, I have proven this tagline when I visited this beautiful, clean and simple-living city.  

The Taoist Temple Cebu Philippines

The Taoist Temple is one of the local popular tourist attractions in Cebu City. Aside from nature-tripping in South Cebu, marine sanctuary in Olango Island, La Vie Parisiene, and big malls,  Cebu is also rich in ancient shrines and historical heritage worth visiting. Situated at the Beverly Hills subdivision in Cebu City, I've read that this site was built in 1972 by the Chinese community in Cebu.  Getting there is easy. Getting to the top of the  temple is a bit exhausting since it is elevated about 300 meters above sea level and the stairs are pretty steep. 

Free your mind and soul at Rancho Cancio

Enjoy life at Rancho Cancio 

When it comes to ultimate relaxation, soul-searching or just escaping city life in a bit, the island of Cebu has a lot to offer. Aside from the wonderful beaches and resorts, malls, and luxury hotels, Cebu can also offer nature-tripping with its lush greens, cool waterfalls and mountains that is pleasing to the soul. 

Be prepared to be blessed

Follow my other blog lifewithocean..blogspot.com

I woke up with a heavy heart and sleep-deprived from the constant peeing between midnight and 4AM. I asked the Lord to give me strength today and clear my thoughts from negativity, as always.

Being pregnant is beautiful but mine is different. Life has directed me to this side of the journey. Something that is destined for me. Something difficult, something out of the ordinary.

Even though my pregnancy is different from other moms, I still trust the process for I know this journey is for me. It may not the way I expected it to be but I know in the end I will understand why these are all happening. Today, I learned a few things about my unique journey after seeing a lot of newborn photos on my Instagram feed. The emotions brought about by pregnancy, personal struggles and being alone in the process thought me that nothing in this world is permanent. It changed me. It is consuming me. It made me different. It made me stronger than I could  have imagined.

Siquijor : Mystical Island of Fire

Welcome to the mystical island of Siquijor  

It took over a  month to finally decide which destination I would spend my birthday.  My heart is yearning for Batanes but considering the limited days off, budget and totally unprepared for it, my options were narrowed down to  Agusan del Sur, Bohol and Davao. But after seeing a few Instagram photos, my curiosity and my hidden urge to explore this so-called "island of fire and magic" was triggered; I knew I had to go to Siquijor. 

An island rich in culture and mystery

Siquijor  is known as Isla del Fuego (Island of Fire)  by the Spaniards who discovered the island hundreds of years ago. This is due to the swarms of fireflies that harbored in the molave trees on the island which gives off an eerie glow from afar, much like a burning island of fire. 

The island is known for magic and mystery;  of witches, supernatural phenomena and known as the source of medicines and herbs prepared by  albularyos and herbalists. They even held Healing Festivals where healers and herbalist from Visayas and Mindanao come together to perform healing and participate in the preparation of concoctions made from a variety of tree barks, herbs, roots, insects and other ingredients.  It has four municipalities and I was happy that I was able to roam in those areas. 

Siquijor TravelSeries : Cang-Isok Century-old House

Siquijor Island is full of mysteries. Seeing this century-old house abandoned by the beach made me wonder why this hasn't been destroyed amidst the forces of nature. Known as the Cang-Isok House, our guide told us that this hasn't been destroyed even at its century-old age.  Even the recent typhoon that hit the island a year ago, the house stood as strong as ever. 

This is situated along the highway of Enrique Villanueva while we are on the way to Larena. 

Siquijor travelSeries : Siquijor Forests

Siquijor is known as the fire-glowing island  years ago due to the swarms of beautiful-lit fireflies that hovers the island at night. The island's inner land area is full of green forests (even a man-made one) is refreshingly beautiful to see. Here's some. 

This was taken en route Kagusuan Beach. We couldn't help but ask our guide to stop for a while and took some photos for documenting memories. It was refreshing to see a lot of greens and the the cool shades it brings. It has a variety of trees such as mahogany, molave and well, i don't know the others.