Going it Alone in Siargao - The Philippines' Surfing Capital

~ Texts & Photos by Aireen Navarro ~

I was not particularly excited about visiting Siargao Island as I’m not an avid surfer. But being home in Iligan City for 3 weeks in September 2005, and having explored most of the nearby points of interest and gone on adrenaline-packed activities on offer – diving/hiking in Camiguin, whitewater rafting in Cagayan de Oro, braving the zip-line at the canopy walk in Claveria and snorkeling in Duka Bay, I began to seriously consider traveling farther to the other end of Northeastern Mindanao – the province of Surigao del Norte.

So, as an avid thrill-seeker in terms of new destinations, I sat down and made friends with the worldwide web and keyed in ‘siargao.’ When given very few search results, it got me hooked and made me want to visit Siargao. This means that the island is not well-developed yet, thus not swamped with tourists!!! I love these areas!!! This means that I can easily find opportunities of having certain parts of the island to myself.

All I know about Siargao Island is its reputation as a top surfing destination. Beyond that little bit of knowledge – nothing else. This further whetted my appetite to learn more about the island before I pack up and go. It was then I realized that the island is not only reputed as a top surfing destination in the Philippines, but THE surfing capital that hosts annual international surfing events!!! Further reading indicated that its waves are comparable to the waves in Hawaii and Indonesia with its powerful rollers even ranked among the top 5 breaks in the world. That’s when I read about ‘Cloud 9’ which is considered one of the world’s top surfing waves. On top of that, I learned from Julie, the American girl I went diving with in Camiguin a week earlier, that the Siargao International Surfing Classic will be held during the dates I planned to visit the island. Just fantastic!!!

Of course, surfing alone did not make me all that keyed up to visit Siargao. I’m still not very keen on surfing, so days with only surfing as my activity are definitely not an exhilarating idea. So I searched more on what other activities I can do on the island and what other places of interest I can visit/explore. That’s when I learned about its surrounding areas jam-packed with mangrove forests, boasting rich marine ecosystems teeming with lush seagrass beds and coral reefs which support a rich diversity of marine flora and fauna. Cool! I can go snorkeling and diving in Siargao!

To add more to that, I learned about the ‘must-visit’ mysterious Sohoton Cove at Bucas Grande Island, about 2 hours away by boat from Siargao Island. Armed with all these information, I was ready to pack up and go.

After a lengthy explanation and assurance to my parents that I will be safe traveling alone, I was finally off to my adventure! Laden with a backpack and net bag for my basic dive/snorkel gear, I took the bus to Cagayan de Oro City, then another bus from Cagayan de Oro to Butuan City. This leg of my trip’s not as tough as I initially thought. Ah, the powers of speaking/understanding the local language can get you miles indeed! At the Cagayan de Oro Bus Terminal, I just asked around on how to get to Surigao City and the bus conductor’s very nice about it, even helping me get a front row seat, just directly behind the driver so that I can ask them if we’re almost to the destination, and pointing me to another bus going to Surigao City at the Butuan Bus Terminal. Even in Surigao City, the driver of the multicab I was on was even nice to a point where he dropped me off the ferry ticket office upon learning that I don’t have a ticket to Dapa, Siargao Island yet.

I arrived just in time to purchase my ticket and board the ferry with the ‘ferry dispatcher’ after which within just a few minutes, at exactly 0600H, the ferry set sail to Dapa, Siargao Island’s main port. The voyage took almost 2 hours, passing by picturesque islands and mangrove areas. The dramatic shades of clean and clear blue-green water were just amazing! At the ferry, I called Jocelyn of ‘Shats Guest House’ to ask for directions to her small family-run guesthouse. I got her name and number from Julie who just left Siargao for Davao days earlier. Jocelyn’s instructions were simple enough – either take one of the only two vans on the island or if already full, take a ‘habal-habal’ – a motorbike, and just tell the driver to drop me off to Shats Guest House – can’t miss it, its along the island’s main road in General Luna – the other side of Siargao Island, about 45 minutes away.

Full of anticipation at finally arriving on the island after 10 hours of bus/ferry travel, I set out to find a place to eat and check out the ‘surfing spots.’ General Luna is a small coastal community with a number of beachfront cottages and resorts. The island used to be a remote ‘fishing village’ way before foreign ‘surfers’ discovered the island’s world-class waves/breaks. From my observations during my first day on the island, the idyllic municipality of General Luna is predominantly a fishing community with fishing boats and nets still spread out along its shores though several beachfront properties are now owned by foreigners, mostly Australians, who’ve built rest houses and small resorts with other prime beachfront plots of land for sale. Fishing is still its main source of income in addition to tourism, and the town has only one road (unpaved) with only ‘habal-habals’ plying its route plus the occasional 2 vans transporting tourists and locals to/from Dapa pier.

I easily befriended Jocelyn and her husband – thanks to the fact that I’m born and raised in Mindanao, albeit on the other side of it and that I can speak Cebuano which they also speak though the local language is ‘Surigaonon’ which I can understand a bit. It was from them that I learned more about the island. I was keen on diving and read about ‘Siargao Island Surf Company.’ I went there and befriended its lead surfer-cum-manager Mark Dimzon and ‘Team Siargao’ composed of local boys for the junior’s team and older guys for the pros team. They were busy competing at the Nationals event – of which the winner will represent the Philippines in the Internationals event set to be held in a few days.

Keen on diving/snorkeling in Siargao, I ended up very disappointed when I learned that their resident dive master is in Manila and there are no other reputable dive operators on the island – it being more focused on surfing, so diving is not very popular yet. Mark is a diver but no matter how I negotiate with him to dive with me, he’s still very adamant about their policy of diving only with a certified dive master. They recommended surfing instead. Still not keen on surfing, I assessed other options – island-hopping, snorkeling and a day-trip to Sohoton Cove at Bucas Grande Island. After finding out the rates for a boat rental for island-hopping and day-trip to Sohoton, I was further disappointed at how expensive it is for a lone traveler with no one to share the costs with. I checked with other resorts on the island, if they have guests scheduled for island-hopping and Sohoton Cove, and no one’s interested as everyone’s into surfing – sun-up to sundown.

Dejected, I walked back to Shats Guesthouse. Its proprietors were quick to help out with my budget constraints and referred me to a local fisherman who can take me island-hopping for a very reasonable amount. With lifted spirits at this new development, I eagerly agreed and set out the next day for a full day 3-island visit!!!

Second day on the island (Sunday) started with a free meal, chatting with the guesthouse’s other guests – personnel from Surigao City’s postal office who were on the island to oversee a philatelic booth in commemoration of the 11th Siargao International Surfing Classic. They were quite amazed to learn that it was my first visit to the island and traveling alone at that! Not common in the Philippines, especially in the southern parts of the country.

Then it was off to a brief discussion with ‘Manong – the local fisherman/bangkero’ on which island to visit first, assessing tide movements and available vegetation for cover from the sweltering heat of the sun. We started with Pansukian Island (naked island). Aptly named for its wide open sand area without any foliage – a sandbar whose size is dependant on the tides. At the time of my visit, low tides were in the mornings and high tides in mid-afternoons. Just perfect for Pansukian! The sandbar is right across Union, another town on the island. There were local girls on the sandbar, waiting for their parents who were fishing miles away from the island, though their boat is still visible. The sandbar’s quite small and I got the other side facing Dako Island all to myself. Currents were quite strong as it churns around the sandbar and snorkeling was not very exciting – a bit sad as I can still see the remnants of unsustainable fishing practices – dynamite fishing was common practice years before and results from recent rehabilitation efforts are not yet apparent.

Next stop was Dako Island (local language for ‘big’). Part of the island is made up of rocky outcrops with a long stretch of white sand beach area. Taking a boat, one can go surfing in front of Dako Island – facing Guyam Island. The island has a small barrio composed of a fishing community. This barrio mainly engages in subsistence fishing and they do not have running water and electricity. They mainly wait for the rains for their drinking water. This is quite disturbing since there’s a luxurious rest house built right at the center of the island’s long stretch of beach – owned by a local politician who just live there in the months of April/May. Further along the island, kids were busy collecting shells – mostly cowrie shells and one girl gave me a bunch of beautiful shells which had put me in a very awkward situation. Weighing my credo of ‘take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but time, leave nothing but footprints’ versus being rude not to accept this friendly gesture – I opted to accept the bunch of shells.

After Dako Island, it was off to Guyam Island (local language for ‘small’). True to its name, the island can be explored by foot in 10-15 minutes. The area facing General Luna has a nice swimming/snorkeling spot. The side facing the Pacific Ocean is more secluded and has a natural lagoon made up of sharp rocky outcrops. I picked this out-of-way-way side and just basked in the 180 degrees view of the Pacific Ocean. You can even see how the earth is shaped – round indeed! And in the distance, breaks are still visible with a lone boat waiting for surfers to finish having the time of their lives on the waves. Had wanted to wait for the sunset, but my boat is not equipped with nightlights and Manong advised on getting back to the main island.

Other islands in the area which are too far off are Caub, Mamon and La Janoza. These islands are said to offer fantastic snorkeling sites. Mamon and La Janoza islands can be easily considered as the easternmost islands of the Philippines, hence its too far off and a bit expensive for me to visit - maybe next time....

Back on Siargao island, I set out to check several resorts at General Luna if they have guests going to Sohoton Cove at Bucas Grande Island the next day or the day after that. I planned on sharing the boat rental with other guests – IF they’re OK with it. It wasn’t my lucky day - no one’s interested as it’s the 11th International Surfing Classic – everyone wants to either go surfing or watch the competition. By dinner time, its time for Plan B – go to Sohoton Cove alone in the most affordable way. Already counseled by locals not to go there alone, I befriended a local ‘habal-habal’ driver and asked him to accompany me to the island. Considering the boat rental cost of PHP 4,500 – I was able to just spend PHP 1,700!!!

The trick? --- I went to Dapa by ‘habal-habal’ then haggled with local fishermen to take me to Sohoton Cove. One finally agreed and we set off to the island. My hired banca for the day was a fairly small one – literally a fishing boat without any overhead covering or roof. The trip to Sohoton Cove took 2 hours and proved very interesting – cruising on clear calm waters, traversing mangrove areas, passing by small fishing barrios on small islands which dotted the area finally the entrance to Sohoton! At the registration area, we learned that we’re the second boat to go inside the Sohoton Caves.

Navigating the area is now turned over to our guide for the day. Very cognizant about the tricky tide movement, our guide directed us to the cave entrance of Sohoton – accessible only during low-tide. Some call it a cove, others call it a lagoon but either way, inside Sohoton is an exciting array of caves most of which are either submerged or half-submerged. We only managed to go inside 2 caves out of 15 caves as water levels are already rising. We had to swim under/through a submerged cave opening to go inside one of the caves. It was eerie and exhilarating at the same time – intriguing stalactites and stalagmites formations. Another cave has a partially submerged entrance where we can walk inside with the water to our waist. We then had to climb and squeeze inside a short rocky tunnel going upwards, leading to a small opening that overlooks the water. We're supposed to dive down into the water to go back to our banca, but given my fear of heights and the sharp rocks below which can be deadly if you hit it, I opted to crawl my way back. We had no time to explore other caves as the tides are quickly moving in, possibly trapping our boat inside. Better be safe and head out to the Sohoton Cove's entrance before it becomes impassable - submerged under water!

The banca trip back to Dapa Pier on Siargao Island was quietly enjoyable, as I was still marvelling at the raw beauty of the Bucas Grande Island which is often compared to the beauty of Palau's Rock Islands in Micronesia. Even the big stingless jellyfishes are in the waters of Bucas Grande at certain months of the year - same jellyfish species as those found in Palau's Jellyfish Lake! We passed idyllic islands and mangroves again and observed how local fishermen catch fish using unique fishing techniques. We actually saw lots of fishes jumping around our small banca! If we had a fishing net, we could have easily managed to catch a few kilos of fish!!!

Before leaving Siargao, I finally opted to try out surfing. I arranged for a short surfing introductory course with the 'Siargao Island Surfing Co' with one of 'Team Siargao' surfers as my instructor (James). It was TOUGH!!! Upper body strength is needed to be able to 'paddle' your surfboard to ride the waves. Balance and timing are crucial as well. I had to do it over and over again on the shore, then shallow waters first, before heading to Stimpy's on the other side of Cloud 9, with the walkway to Cloud 9 as the main dividing reference point - separating these 2 surfing sites.

The pros were surfing on Cloud 9, visible from Stimpys. It's at Cloud 9 that tubings can be as huge as those in Hawaii - really awesome!!! Saw several surfers fall victim to the waves' powerful pull, a few of them emerging with bleeding knees and hands. Still a lot of surfers from around the world surfed the waves with such ease and grace that all you can say is - WOW! As for me? Well, i tried and tried and tried but I got tired of paddling into the waves and falling during attempts to 'ride the waves' again and again and again........despite all the falls and beating of the waves I took, with some very close encounters with the sharp rocky reefs under strong waves, I had FUN :)

Siargao is indeed a surfer's paradise!!! I left the island with a part of me left behind ---- til the next adventure.....