Getting from Dumaguete to Siquijor (our fourth island) was easy. After breakfast at Bo's yesterday, we took the Ocean Jet to Siquijor town, which takes about 50 minutes. Then we caught a tricycle to our accommodation, La Villa Alta (in Sandugan, which is up towards the northern tip of the island).


We're essentially living in a basket (lots of local houses are also built from a material that looks like a woven frond basket).

It's a detached basket (this is essential, as previous experience with this kind of structure has taught us that baskets have zero sound-insulation).

But the price is excellent. We have good internet (somewhat to my surprise). We have a nice big deck, which is blessed with a fabulous view (and on a more practical note, with a big table, and two working power outlets).

The trees around us are full of birdsong.





This is definitely the quieter end of the island, and La Villa Alta's surroundings are pastoral and pleasant.




For two days running, after our activities, we've sat down by the sea, and watched the evening come, with the water lapping gently, and the huge expanse of sea and sky drawing and re-drawing ever-changing colours and cloud patterns.









Two types of cricket and two types of gecko provide our night-music, and as the light comes back, they're replaced by chickens, goats, and finally birds.

La Villa Alta, like most of the accommodation here, also rents out scooters, so today we did a lap of the island. Siquijor's roads are quiet, which makes for very pleasant motoring.


We went clockwise round the island, following (apart from one or two deviations) the delightfully named "Siquijor Circumferential Road".



























And food?

Well, I wouldn't say La Villa Alta's menu was exactly designed with low-carbers in mind. Nevertheless, they do very good omelettes and nice little salads, so that keeps Nigel happy at breakfast time.

But they also do other things... And at breakfast this morning, I have to confess, I fell gloriously and rip-roaringly off the low-carb wagon. First of all, the budbud I'd regretted missing out on in Dumaguete happened along. Unbidden. Serendipitous. How could I refuse? And it was delicious. (But how could sticky rice and coconut cooked in a banana leaf not be delicious? Does PT's "anything-cooked-in-a-banana-leaf-is-fabulous" mantra ever fail?)

As if that were not bad enough, I succumbed to banana pancakes... Now, I know that banana pancakes are down there with elephant pants as marking the really, really infra-dig traveller. But I have had some excellent banana pancakes in my time, and La Villa Alta's were up there with the absolute best. Four individual lengths of banana, each wrapped in its own little pancake, rowed up on a plate, and topped with chocolate sauce... Scrumptious.

If you're going to fail, do it in style, that's my motto...

We lunched at Baha Ba'r. Excellent linagpang (chicken soup with lemon grass, malunggay leaves, ginger, garlic, and red onion) and the best adobo (a pork one) we've had this trip.

So that was a virtuous meal.


And Tanduay rum and chicharon -- than which it would be hard to get more Filipino -- might not be exactly healthy, but was certainly low-carb, and rounded off a really good day.