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| Siquijor sunset |
June was a month of traveling. It seemed like we were always on the ferry. First trip was to Siquijor. We were given permission by Pres. Nielsen, the Area President, to visit Siquijor, the island of Elder Caycayon's grandparents so that we could do some family history work. It is a 3 hour ferry ride from Bohol to Siquijor.
"Siquijor's long ago reputation as a place of magic and sorcery both attracts visitors and keeps them away. In hushed talks, locals would share a story or two about folk legends pointing to the existence of witchcraft and witches in the island."
(Many of our Boholano friends were anxious when they learned we were going there.)
"The island was first sighted by the Spaniards in 1565 during Miguel Lopez de Legazpi's expedition. The Spaniards called the island
Isla del Fuego or “Island of Fire,” because the island gave off an eerie glow, which came from the great swarms of fireflies that harbored in the numerous molave trees on the island. The Spaniards were drawn by the vision of the firefly illumination and as one version of the legend recounts, they met the island’s ruler – the legendary King Kihod while they were docking their ship at one of Siquijor’s bays. When asked his name, the king replied “si Kihod” (I am Kihod). The Spaniards, thinking he meant it as the name of the island, adopted the name Sikihod (spelled Siquijod in Spanish) which was later changed to Siquijor because the Spaniards found it too difficult to pronounce. A folk legend also has it that many years ago, when the magical island of Siquijor was still nowhere on the face of the earth, a great storm engulfed the Visayan region, and a strong earthquake shook the earth and sea. Amidst the lightning and thunder arose an island from the depths of the ocean’s womb which came to be known as the island of Siquijor, hence the name Isla del Fuego, or "Island of Fire." Oddly enough, in modern times, highland farmers have unraveled giant shell casings under their farm plots, supporting the theory that Siquijor is indeed an island that rose from the sea." Wikipedia
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| Our mode of transportation on Siquijor |
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| Gasoline is sold in coke bottles |
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| It took 2 "cokes" to fill up our motor. |
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| "Selfie" |
We found Siquijor to be a quiet, lovely little island. The only "magic" we encountered was that of the helpful, friendly people. They were willing to invite two strangers into their home, answer our questions, and go out of their way to help us in our search. We found a lot of people with his lola's (grandmother's) name-Duhaylongsud- but unfortunately we couldn't find their connection to her. We were there for only a day and a half and were not able to visit all of the towns and cathedrals but hope to return again to Siquijor before our mission is over and try again.
Within a couple of days we were on the ferry again this time headed for Cebu. Since Elder Caycayon is a counselor in the Mission Presidency he needed to attend a cluster meeting with the Area 70's. While our husbands were in the all day meeting we decided to visit the Butterfly house.
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| Sis. Booth, Sis. Caycayon, Sis. Robertson, Sis. Tanner |
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| We became butterflies |
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Learned how to use blow darts
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| I am woman...hear me roar! |
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| and kissed a caribaw! |
Our next ferry trip was for our Senior Couple Workshop and Retreat. We were back on the ferry, headed for Cebu where we met with all the Cebu East Mission senior couples-President and Sister Tanner, Elder and Sister Robertson, Elder and Sister Talbot and Elder and Sister Booth.
Our first day was spent at the mission home with all day workshops. The next day we took a ferry to the Camotes, a small group of islands off the east coast of Cebu. We have 6 missionaries serving on Camotes-4 elders and 2 sisters. The work goes well here. If you are transferred to Camotes, you are considered blessed.
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| We finished our retreat at the Cebu temple. A perfect ending to 3 days of fun, fellowship and re-energizing. |
