How Writer’s Block Led Me to a Shaman On a Tropical Island

The Healers of Siquijor

Mr Vicente blowing on my neck — All photos owned by the author

When I read Anne’s challenge for the month of August I looked up from my laptop, at a beach bar in Siargao, and was greeted by a scene that was 98% blue. I have spent over a hundred days riding an electric dirt bike around the Philippines and can say with confidence… it’s about as blue as it gets.

Each of its 7600 islands are surrounded by a turquoise treasure trove of some of the most spectacular marine creatures on earth.

People travel from all over the planet for a glimpse of the whale sharks patrolling the coast of Cebu, or the long-tailed thresher sharks that whip around Malapascua.

On a recent freedive, off the most easterly tip of Siquijor Island, I crashed a party of hundreds of hawksbill turtles, flapping through the warm, crystalline waters.

I leaned forward with my fingers twitching, in anticipation of the ocean-themed story that was about to splash across the screen, when I felt it. The unmistakable tendrils of writer’s block, curling around my brain.

I drank a coffee, went for a ride, then a swim, but every time I sat back down, it felt like my mind was wearing a blindfold.