Exploring the next island

After three days in Bohol, I went on to the next island: Siquijor. In the morning, the sister of the hostel owner, along with her husband and mother, kindly took me to the port as they had to go that direction anyway.

At 10 am I took the ferry to Bohol. Two hours later I arrived at Siquijor. There I first asked around if someone might have to go to the same hostel as me so that the costs for the tricycle could be shared. Unfortunately, no one was found, which is why I took a tricycle alone. Since the way was quite far, the journey was relatively expensive (600PHP / $16 AUD) and took over half an hour.

Welcome to Siquijor

Arrived at the hostel, I was greeted with a welcome drink. After that I was taken to my room. The hostel cost me $10 AUD a night and for that price it was really good and clean.

First of all, I sat down on the terrace and planned how I would get from Siquijor to Siargao as cheaply as possible in the next few days. When I finally had a plan, I packed my beach gear and went to the beach. There I lay in the sun all afternoon and listened to podcasts. After the last few days in which I was always on the go from morning to evening, this was very relaxed.

Actually, I also wanted to see the sunset on the beach, but since it got quite cloudy in the late afternoon, that didn’t happen. So I made my way back to the hostel. I took a shower there and then ate dinner in the restaurant there.

I also went to bed early because I was tired from the morning trip and wanted to get up early the next morning.

Exploring the Lugnason Falls

At seven o’clock the next morning I borrowed a scooter from the hostel reception. Then I made my way to the Lugnason Falls. Luckily they were not far from my hostel. And Luckily I was the first. That’s why I always get up early to avoid the crowds of tourists. It’s so much nicer to have all these amazing places all to yourself.

I was actually at the waterfall for over an hour and most of the time I was alone. This is of course perfect for taking pictures and flying a drone.

From the Lugnason Falls I drove back to the hostel and had breakfast there. After breakfast it was almost 11 o’clock. Since it was so „late“ I decided to go to a beach 40 kilometers away from the hostel. I would have liked to go to Cambugahay Falls first, but I already knew that they would probably be completely overcrowded.

The way to Salagdoong Beach has dragged on for a while. On the one hand I’m still pretty slow on the scooter and on the other hand I got lost a few times.

At 12 o’clock I finally arrived at the beach. Luckily there wasn’t much going on there. The colors of the water were really beautiful. I then unpacked my drone.

Crashing the drone in the trees

Just as I was taking my last shot, I flew a little too far backwards and the drone got caught in the treetops of a forest. Of course, I immediately panicked because I could no longer move the drone, could no longer see it and the camera was also covered. At that moment I was convinced that I would never find the drone again.

Of course, I immediately ran into the forest and searched the treetops. Of course, I didn’t know exactly where the drone could have been, which is why I could only guess roughly. Again and again I tried to see something on the display or to move the drone, but nothing happened.

Two locals had observed me and asked me if I had lost something. Together we then searched the branches for the drone. They kept asking me if I had the last recording or if I could see the current recording to make our search easier. Finally, another tourist came along and also helped with the search.

After a while I found the GPS search (I also wish I had thought of that idea sooner). So we could at least make a rough direction in which the drone could be. We then continued our search there. I was also able to set the drone to beep. But the time was running out a bit because the drone’s battery was almost empty.

Only a short time later we were able to find the drone in one of the trees. I didn’t know exactly how she got there. One of the locals then climbed into the tree and got her out of there.

I was visibly relieved and thanked my helpers a thousand times. Fortunately, the drone was not damaged either.

Making new plans

After the shock I drove on. First I drove past the Cambugahay Falls. Hoping that maybe not so many people would be there. But as soon as I saw all the scooters in the parking lot, I turned around and decided to come back the next morning.

Since I had only booked the hostel in which I slept until the next morning, I first called the hostel to extend one more night. However, the hostel was already fully booked. So I checked Hostelworld to see if there were any other hostels that weren’t too far away from my current hostel. The next hostel would have been at least 3 kilometers away. For one night I didn’t want to put myself through the stress of moving the next morning.

So I had to make a new plan quickly. Finally I wanted to see the Cambugahay Falls but not when there are a lot of tourists there. Since my next stop was supposed to be Siargao Island and the ferry wouldn’t leave until 1 p.m. the next day, I decided to just go to the falls beforehand.

That afternoon I went to Kagusuan Beach. However, it was closed, which is why I turned around again. On the way back to the hostel I stopped at a local market and bought some snacks. The tiny shops here are literally packed to the brim with groceries, so it’s a real struggle to navigate without tearing down half of it. Things were even scattered on the floor.

Sunset at the beach

From the market I finally drove back to the hostel. There I booked the ferries for the next day. Then I got back on my scooter and drove to Paliton Beach. I wanted to watch the sunset there. But again it was pretty cloudy which is why I drove back to the hostel. I showered there, had dinner and packed my things.

The next morning I got up early to be able to see the Cambugahay Falls. I had already packed my things ready to check out. I drove off at a little before seven.

When I arrived 45 minutes later in Tigbawan, the village where the waterfalls are, I first went to the market and bought a few more snacks for the ferry.

Visiting the Cambugahay Falls

From there I drove to the Cambugahay Falls. When I got there, luckily I was the first again. However, I had to wait another 10 minutes until they opened at 8 o’clock. In the meantime, a few more tourists came.

At eight o’clock I was finally allowed to go down to the waterfalls. Unfortunately, some of the locals were already there at the time. Even though I wasn’t alone there, it was still relatively quiet. I also unpacked my drone again. This time I flew between all the trees with a lot more caution and avoided a crash haha. Over time, the locals also disappeared, so it became quite quiet at the waterfall.

After more than an hour I made my way back to the hostel. There I packed my last things and had breakfast before I made my way to the ferry. Luckily there was a girl at the hostel reception who had to take the same ferry as me. So we were able to ride the tricycle to the port together and share the cost.

If you would like to know how my trip to Siargao was, check out my next post Palm trees, beaches and flat tiers on Siargao – Philippines Travel Diary.