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On my 80th day on the road I arrived
at Siquijor, an island off Dumaguete
City, famous for its white beaches and
mysticism. To celebrate how far I’d
come, I ordered half a roast chicken,
a local specialty, for dinner and for
the next three days did nothing but
lie on the beach. I didn’t think I would
ever experience contradicting feelings
so strongly but for those three days
I was both happy and sad — I was
elated over my personal achievement
of covering so much of my country
on such a tight budget, but with 20
days to go, the end was also in sight. I
wasn’t sure what I would do once the
whole journey was over.
Stay cool by
the falls!
Clockwise: Cooling off during a
hot day at Tumalog Falls in Oslob,
Cebu; imitating the dog at Boljoon,
Cebu; amazing
habal-habal
in Bohol;
mountain biking with Jude Cabangal
in BayawanC ity, Negros Oriental;
beach-bumming in Siquijor;
Gael and I wandered around Tawi Tawi
until we stumbled upon its best-kept
secret: Panampangan Island where
the white sand is so soft that your feet
actually sink. It’s so remote that only
two families live on the island and
hardly anyone comes to visit. We left
it grudgingly to go to Simunul Island,
where the first mosque in the country
was erected. I’d first read about it in an
old copy of
National Geographic
and
from that time on, I’d promised myself
I would make it there. I’ve always
been curious to learn more about our
country’s Muslim heritage, and this
was the best place to start.
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Day
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