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SUNKISSED & SURF STOKED IN SIARGAO
by Elaine Abonal
ISLAND FEVER
Culture shock. Who would have thought that a person could feel that in his or her own country? But I did. Coming from the hustle and bustle of crazy polluted Manila and arriving in an island where there were barely any cars, hardly any roads, no real hospitals nor any guarantee of electricity or internet I felt panic.
Then I remembered how lucky I was to be there. Siargao Island. It took just one sunrise and one view of the big blue Pacific Ocean with perfect barreling waves from the Cloud 9 tower to remind me of why I went there in the first place. The island is a surfer's paradise. And I was there to experience it. All of it.
LOCO LOCALS
I had been told that Siargao was one of the best places in the Philippines to visit especially if you're a surfer. I finally understood why. People there lived the unspoiled island life. Siargao was what hardcore tropical Philippines is all about. Being there showed me what it was really like to live on an island.
The surf crowd in Siargao is different. Intense. Intense in a way that they know what kind of waves they are dealing with and what kind of danger they can put on themselves. Surfing in Siargao is not just playing in the ocean, but it's surfing against waves that can break your board in a second or crash your lungs against sharp reef. But the locals there didn't care about that. I found that they had saltwater mixed with their blood and they had skin and bones that survived any crash or injury. Most of all, they had hearts that were totally fearless.
At first I was intimidated by the local surfers, even from afar. But once I got to know them, I realized that they were actually pretty sweet. There were a couple of fools who tried to rip me off when they saw that I was from the city, but there were more people who welcomed me as if I was part of their own family. Children followed me around everywhere and wanted to play each time I wasn't carrying around a surfboard or even if I was. Random locals asked me if I was thirsty and if I wanted to drink coconut juice. When I said I did, one of them actually climbed one for me right that very second, crawling up the trunk without any shoes on , as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Talk about hospitality!
WORLD CLASS WAVES
Travel is the bringer of many cultures, different types of people, ages, and nationalities together. And so is surfing. Surfers, bodyboarders and adventure seekers from many parts of the world go to Siargao to surf its world class waves and discover different secret islands. The vibe is convivial, relaxed, and friendly. People who went there were either professionals who surfed in international competitions, hardcore thrill-seekers that came from European countries to shoot for magazines, backpackers on a month long trip to just live on an island, or novices who wanted to have a taste of the surf life. Everyone shared the stoke, people took it easy while living it up, and new found friends made new memories to share when they get home. And anyone who has ever gone to Siargao always does.
One of mine was meeting a group of French people my age who were being obnoxious and being regular we're-on-a-surf-trip-and-nobody-can-understand-us-so-we-can-say-anything-we-want group of guys. Little did they know that when I was smiling at them, it wasn't me flirting with them but me understanding every single thing they said. I went up to them and introduced myself in fluent French and by all the swear words that I remember hearing, I'm sure I had shocked them. Not only did I shock them, but I played a trick on a couple of them saying that I was a princess from one of the islands. They believed me in a second. Hey, I was on a surf trip too!
By the end of the trip my accent had started to change. It was from picking up a lot of Aus-TRAH-lian slang, the "yah yah" and "nah nah's" of the Hawaiians, different European words for "wave" or "How are you?" and the distinct Siargaonon language which I didn't know a word of but pretended I did anyway. All that in one little island north of Mindanao.
PARADISE
During the day and when the sun was out, I woke up to the view of coconut trees, the sound of them swaying against the wind, and the waves roll and crash from the inviting turquoise Pacific Ocean. I surfed for hours or until my cheeks and nose were sunburnt or my arms couldn't paddle any more. When I was bored and wanted to do something else, I went with a group of new friends to a lagoon where we could swim with stingless jellyfish in crystal clear blue water. At night I saw thousands of stars twinkling brightly, fireflies flickering and the moon winking at me against the silhouette of the palm trees.
I got so used to being there and everything there. Being out of my comfort zone. No airconditioning. No internet. Running out of mosquito repellent or sunscreen. Fresh salty mist in the morning. Chocolate banana pancakes. Sunburned bronzed skin. Surfboards on the porch or on the grass. Flowers in my hair. Scorching hot island sun. Falling asleep on the hammock. Making new friends. Riding a motorcycle with 5 people on it to get anywhere. Getting used to the idea that we were far away from the rest of the world. And liking it.
I went home stoked knowing that there was a place where we could surf with the sunset and have the impression that the world belonged to us. Each person probably has that kind of place. Mine was and IS Siargao, my surf paradise.
