There are so many things I want to do, but I end up doing not much.

~Before Sunset

Apo Reef: 26th

Apo Reef. Not the Apo Island in Dumaguete. This one is in Mindoro.

I've been reading blog posts about this place and twice, we attempted to reach this place..but failed. Mainly because we booked our two trips on rainy days. Now summer's here, we tried again and boy, was the place sooo worth the wait!

We took the early morning flight to San Jose, Mindoro via Cebu Pacific, which flies once a day only. So missing a flight is not an option.

Tip: Do not take the airport tricycles, which charges a minimum of Php 50. Instead, flag a tricycle at the main road which is just a three-minute walk. Pay the basic rate of Php 8! Yes, I know..

We bought our food and groceries at the San Jose market. And took the two hour bus to Sablayan.

haggling for a kilo of liempo

Arriving at Sablayan, we took a trike, also costs Php8, to Sablayan Tourism Office. Here, we paid all the necessary fees to Apo Reef. See, it's a National Park, thus regulated by the government. So all tours and transactions are settled here.

We head to Apo reef. The almost three hours boat ride gave us a scenic view of the reef with waters changing hues.

And finally, we arrived.

The island was undeniably breathtaking! We were lucky we came in at the right time because yesterday, a group of 30 local tourists were present. The whole island is deserted, only for us. Happy birthday to me!

We went to the light house to wait for the sun to set.

 

There are no phone signals, no electricity. The rangers rely on batteries generated by solar panels. They man the island for eleven days. They get food and water rations. After eleven days, another set of rangers will do the manning. When the weather's not good or there's a typhoon, the 11 days becomes longer. FYI: From Apo Reef, it's a two to three hours boat ride to Coron. Yes, Palawan.

That night, we feasted on grilled liempo, sinigang na talakitok and green mangoes. Yum! And my friends prepared a surprise for me! Wow. Thank you guys!

 

 

That night, I spent my last day as 26 in a paradise.. surrounded with my friends. God gifted me a wonderful evening. Thank You! 

:I feel close to you
:Yeah?
:But sometimes, I don't know. I feel like you're breathing helium and I'm breathing oxygen

~Before midnight

Siargao Island: Habal-habal ride

Siargao has a nice beach vibe..

I particularly love the habal-habal rides. 

The beach on your horizon..
the sun peaking through the coconut trees..
the cold wind on your face..
the warm weather..

Staying on this island..

yes, i can do that..

Surigao del Norte: Sohoton National Park, Bucas Grande Island

Our last stop before leaving Surigao was Bucas Grande Island..
When I was planning this trip, I found out that there were more to see in Bucas Grande than in Siargao..but then again, why travel this long if we are not to surf in Siargao? 

So the Sohoton National Park in Bucas Grande Island became the side trip..

From Dapa, Siargao, we rented a boat to Hayanggabon port with side trip to Sohoton. We took this option because there were no public transportation at the time because its Holy Week. We got the boat for Php4,000 and the trip was a four to five hours not-so-smooth boat ride experiencing a bit of rain showers along the way.

This is what I am frustrated with our local transportation. Boats and buses from almost of the terminals we've been to do not have a fixed schedule. So, for the most part of the trip, we relied on hunches and from the locals, whom, no offense (mawalang galang na po), most were really not helpful. Whenever they learn we're not from around here, they rip us off!! And would often give us vague directions. Now, where is that so-called Filipino hospitality we're famous for?

view from Sohoton National Park Tourism office

We arrived at the Tourism Office. We were looking for something to eat but  no one's selling. We paid the necessary fees before entering the 
park. 

The whole place was really something. I notice a lot of lagoons along the way... and the underwater caves were magnificent. You know those scenes on some movies where they'd go exploring caves and there's a glowing light underneath them? It was like that! 

 Now, we went into this cave where the only way out was to jump off from a not-so-high 15 feet cliff! No choice talaga. Kailangang tumalon.

Jump! the only way out

Save the best for last.

Now we're off to see the famous Bucas Grande stingless jellyfish! They're like jellies!! Swimming with them wasn't aloud. The tourism office has long banned this activity; they noticed it agitates the jellyfish. Just like in Donsol. Same reason why they suddenly implemented rules when swimming with the whale sharks.

You're allowed to touch them but not swim with them
Photo courtesy of Mark Pelobello

Photo courtesy of Mark Pelobello

I was even trying to do some snorkeling before we leave, but time won't permit it. The whole tour took almost five hours, I think. And we haven't had lunch! Heading to Hayanggabon port, where we will be taking a bus to Surigao city, we saw a group of birds feeding.. Mark was able to take some photos. But it was something seeing it out in the wild.. 

Photo courtesy of Mark Pelobello

I enjoyed Bucas grande than Siargao..Bitin. From the stories of our tour guide, there's a lot more to see. It aptly deserves more than just a side trip.

Contact numbers:

09088963975 - Surigao Tourism Office

09394380618 - Kuya Kenny, boatman

09399047019 - Sohoton National Park Tourism Office, Kuya Dodo

Siargao: Surfing in Jack Horse, Cloud 9

And when I tell you to go, you gotta go. You gotta paddle your little heart out. You can't hesitate, you can't pull back, you can't hold back. No fear. Because if you do, you'll gonna eat sh*t

~Blue crush

I was really hesitant and excited about surfing here in Siargao. Well because Siargao is a reef break , that when you fell out of your board, there's a huge chance you may land on one of those reefs. Hurts! But I still went coz I'd look like a loser if I dont. haha.

Instructions were vague. I get to compare coz I already surfed in Baler. That was my first time and it was pleasant. I was surprised that Marga and I will be having the same instructor. Two is to one? That doesn't sound good. But we still went ahead.

We see a lot of people surfing. That afternoon, we were to surf in what locals call Jack Horse. In cloud 9, the waves were huge for beginners. 
So, we paddle on our short boards, yes you read right, short boards instead of the long boards we were used to.  And so I got my first wave. Without warning, Kuya just pushed my board and shouted shortly "Tayo!", "Tayo"! After which, expectedly, I wasnt able to stand up. I get frightened whenever I see the reef underneath my board, so i just couched. hehe. duwag lang. haha. 
I don't know. It was a bit unpleasant. Unpleasant, because I'm comparing to the surfer instructors in Baler, which were so good to me. It was like a friend teaching a friend. Me konting biruan pero they'd encourage you whenever you fall..But in Siargao, my instructor's mad whenever I wasn't able to stand in my board. MAD. as in he'd shout at you and make you feel an idiot. nakakawalan ng gana. Well, I don't know. I don't want to generalize all the surfing instructors in Siargao but mine was not cool. As for the rest of my friends, except Marga, theirs were good. 

Baler pa rin :) But still, surfing in Siargao IS bragging rights! Hell yeah! :))

Siargao: Naked Island, Guyam Island, Dako Island

The following day, we went for our island hopping. The tour costs 1,500. This includes Guyam, Naked and Dako Island. 

Some fisherman selling their fresh catch

  Nothing really. Its just an island with nothing on it, thus naked.

We had our lunch at Dako Island. I manned our things while the rest went for some snorkelling. It was raining and didn't felt like swimming.

Then when we went to nearby Guyam Island, where we saw some marine life, which was amazingly just a few steps from the shore.

The surfing experience deserves a separate post. After all, Siargao is the ultimate surfing destination.

Photoblog: Anilao

Photoblog: Apo Reef

SIARGAO: OCEAN 101, BOARDWALK

I boarded the 32seater plane to Surigao. The boarding was on time but we got held up at the runway for 30 minutes coz of the "traffic". Its Holy Thursday and everyone is on vacation, including me. So my almost one hour flight to Surigao begins. Btw, this is my first time in Mindanao and the longest domestic flight I've had.

We were not able to catch the last commuter boat to Dapa, Siargao. So the option was to hire an entire boat, which will costs us Php 15,000. Luckily a group of 20 people came, also headed to Siargao. Yey! lucky us.

The expected four hour boat travel became almost seven hours, experiencing rough seas at the middle of the trip. It was already dark when we reached Ocean 101, located at Cloud 9, Siargao.

I finally saw the famous boardwalk! which is a 5 minute walk from Ocean 101. There are no accommodations at the Cloud 9 shoreline. One has to take a 5-10 minutes walk to get to the nearest accommodations. And for those luxury or boutique hotels, a few more minutes. Restos are scarce. Or maybe, we came in a bad time. If in Manila, Holy Week means vacation, here, they do observe the Semana Santa. You can hardly see tourists in Siargao and most establishments are closed.

waking up for that famous Cloud 9 sunrise

Expect no nightlife in Siargao. The resorts have their own bar and restos so the nightlife happens in their own backyards. But that's just for the expats. The locals hang at Boulevard. So, we went 'coz there was only a single coffee shop that was open near Boardwalk. Since coming to Mindanao, their choice for food is quite interesting. Wait, you have to hear our burger story.

On our second night, we were really craving for some "real" food (that means fast-food). Anything that tastes familiar and cheap! We see this stall selling burger for only Php35! Let me tell you that that is already a steal coz a basic meal out here costs Php100, minimum! yes, tourist price.. So, we see this cheap burger and we all ordered. The menu says "BURGER WITH EGG". So what do you reckon when it says burger with egg? A burger patty with an egg, right? We waited for a good half an hour. That's fine coz we ordered six. It takes a while for burgers to cook, we understand. Then, our order came. Like kids, we hungrily ate our burgers! with egg! But then, two bites through eating, we noticed there was no patty! DId they just forgot the patty, perhaps? Coz it wouldn't take them that long to cook if it is only eggs!! One of us ask the staff and they confirmed that, yes, that the order was right and no, they didn't make a mistake. We were so pissed offed. Gutom kaya kami!! The menu actually means BURGER BUN WITH EGG with the staff pointing at the bun while explaining to us. At kami pala ang hindi maka-gets, after all. haha.

Now, I wonder what will the rest of this trip has for us.