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.