For 20 years I’ve wanted to travel to the Philippines.
I’d heard of the thousands of islands to explore, the white sand beaches, the incredible hospitality of its people. I loved that few of my friends had been there.
Having grown up with many Filipino friends, it had been on my bucket list for years to see where their warmth and generosity came from.
So with a remote job in hand, I jumped on a plane to explore the Pearl of the Orient.
After an excessive number of planes (4!), I’d landed at my destination – Siargao island.
Known globally for surfing, Siargao is a hotspot for digital nomads. With welcoming communities and plenty of Starlink connections, it’s no wonder that the ‘Siargao Curse’ exists – those who come never want to leave.
Even after a rough start on the island (my bags got lost, someone hit my car back in Brisbane, I’d overpaid for my hostel), I knew there was nothing that a new friend and some local food couldn’t solve.
I jumped on the back of a scooter with a guy I had just met, and we went to the Sunset Bridge to find some balut – fertilized developing duck embryo.
Spending my days working in the sunshine, surfing whenever possible, and eating surprisingly amazing food (so much barbecue!), I spent two weeks having an incredible time on Siargao.
I’d made a little family of friends who did everything together, from planning home cooked dinners to exploring every corner of the island.
It will never cease to amaze me how sharing a few laughs and a dance can turn people you didn’t know into best friends. You look up, and all of a sudden you’re having a toothbrushing party during a monsoon, hundreds of kilometres and innumerable stories from where you were the night before.
A stranger truly is a friend you haven’t met yet.
After a few weeks in Siargao, I’d decided it was time to see some other parts of the Philippines. I’d heard of the mystical island Siquijor, where iridescent blue waterfalls flow and witch doctors practice their ancient magic. Apparently many Filipinos won’t go there as they’re nervous about the shamanistic practices on the island.
So of course I had to check it out.
I didn’t have much in particular that needed healing, but thought it would be worthwhile seeing how witch doctor medicine might differ from aspirin and x-rays.
Healer #1 – The Mountain Man
I’d heard that most of the healers live in the mountain towns, about an hour from where I was staying. I rented a motorbike and picked a relatively mountainous direction, setting off to see what adventure awaited.
After 40 minutes, I landed in a tiny village. Presumably looking very lost, a young kid asked what I was doing. Explaining that I was looking for a healer, he said his grandpa was one, he could take me.
Great!
He motioned for me to let him drive my scooter to take him to his house.
Taking pause, I considered whether this was a bad idea or not. A. I might be getting abducted by a 12 year old and B. I was pretty sure my insurance didn’t consider ‘giving my scooter to a child’ as a valid claim.
But hey. Sometimes, you need to live a little!
Safely arriving at the house, I was welcomed in by a woman who spoke English and met her dad, the healer of the village. An ancient man clad in fake Louis Vitton, excitedly showing me his ‘certificates of appreciation’ from the tourism board. Not what I expected, but pretty fun nevertheless.
I was then placed on a bench, robed in a musty blanket, and a small cauldron was lit on fire underneath my seat. The spiritual cleansing had begun.
The next few minutes involved ancient words mumbled behind me, and my shirt collar being lifted up, followed by my shoulders being harshly blown on.
The energy in the room was fascinating. When I closed my eyes, there was a trance-like something that made me feel a need to sit up straight and lean back.
A bit out of my element, but that’s what we’re here for.
After the experience, the blanket was shook out, and the daughter excitedly told me there were no ants and no flies on it, meaning all the bad spirits had been cleansed. Excellent!
I walked away from the house with my shoulders covered in geriatric spittle, and as spiritually free of flies as one can be.
Healer #2 – Bolo-Bolo
Having read about the ancient tradition of bolo-bolo from a blog, I knew it was something I was interested in scoping out. It seemed hard to find someone who still practiced the ritual, but with my good friend Google Maps and entering the words ‘Healer’, there was one not too far from where I was staying.
Off the main street, I wandered behind some shops into a village where every dog in a 100m vicinity angrily barked at the foreign invader.
After asking a villager where the healer’s house was, I stumbled through their back door and met him and his wife. With little mutual language shared between us, I asked ‘bolo-bolo?’ to which they happily said yes, and sat me down on a bench.
Round two, here we go!
Bolo-bolo requires a special spiritual rock, one glass, one bowl, a straw called a bagacay, and some water. The healer will put the rock in the glass with some water, and blow bubbles through the bagacay as they rub the cup all over the participant’s body.
After a full body sweep, the water will be poured into a bowl and gets inspected for any black dots which are evil spirits. If there’s any black in the bowl, the water gets thrown out and you repeat the process.
You know, just like traditional medicine.
Luckily (?) I only had a single black dot/bad spirit in my bowl. It continued to show up for another two cleansings, and then was finally purged. Apparently some people’s bowls come out completely black, while others are good to go after one round.
This felt about as traditional as it could get. I happily left my donation for the procedure, and went about my day sans evil spirits.
With so many islands to explore, it’s nearly impossible to see all of the Philippines in one trip. One month was enough time to just experience some beautiful culture and meet some amazing people, but you could easily spend years trekking through all its landscapes.
This incredible bucket list destination gave me unforgettable memories – but more importantly, it renewed my sense of adventure, introduced me to a new family, and left me with a deep appreciation for having a 55-year-old man’s belly in my face while he cleansed my spirit.
I’ll be back.
https://youtube.com/shorts/JkJ1KiZgZqw?feature=share
Video of the full bolo-bolo experience
