Lakbay Norte de Mindanao: Siargao, The Surfing Capital of the Philippines

Siargao Island is located in the Northeastern tip of Mindanao and is the first stop of my Lakbay Norte de Mindanao tour. The island faced the mighty Pacific Ocean and boasts to be the surfing capital of the Philippines. Filipino’s dont have to go to Hawaii to learn surfing because Siargao Island is considered to be a haven for surfers competing locally and internationally.

Immediately after I work from 11pm-7am shift, I rushed to my boarding house in Davao to take a bath and pack my things because I have to catch my 8am flight to Cebu then to Siargao. This is one of my Amazing race moments but thank heavens because I live near the airport. 

When I arrived at Siargao National Airport, tourists must sign in the sheet of paper with their information then after that I went outside the airport hopefully find a cheap transportation that would take me to Dapa, the town capital.

Gloomy weather in siargao island

Here I find unique habal-habal thats on the island, it has a cover on it to protect passengers from sunlight or rains. Unfortunately, rainshowers began to pour again, during this time, weather in Mindanao was wet. I feared this could ruin again my trip to the island. 

I forgot that I have to pass an incident report to my supervisor and thats where LBC Express Courier is located. My plan was to complete my report first so I can have peace of mind and enjoy the rest of my trip to Siargao. Every tourists target is the town of General Luna or locally known as GL where the famed CLOUD 9 is located. 

Right after I mailed my report, I walked around town and I was happy to see 2 ATM sites but for locally issued cards only. Despite its name, Siargao Island maintains a simple countryside lifestyple. So right after, I went to Dapa Public Market to catch a tricycle that would take me to General Luna (GL). Many habal-habal drivers will offer direct rides to GL but I opted to ride the tricycle because its the cheapest at P30 one way. 

GENERAL LUNA, SIARGAO

After 45 minutes, I arrived at General Luna, a very sleepy town nowadays because of the low season. It took me quite some time to find a cheap room accommodation here however my driver gladly toured me around to look for a bargain rooms. I found PESANGAN to be cheapest at P400 a night. Its supposed to be P500 but I begged and got a P100 discount.

GENERAL LUNA BEACH LINE

I love the long stretch of beach at General Luna, the water here is calm but I can see waves forming from afar from what seems to be sandbar. Locals say that during lowtide, I can go to the sandbar where the waves are really strong. 

 What seems to be a very beautiful beach, here lies the public cemetery infront of the sea, just walking distance from my room. When I stayed at Pesangan, there seems to be something going on which I cant explain, maybe the place was too far from the town, there’s a sense of loneliness in the accommodation. There, I find the answer, the place was located near a cemetery haha. 

Fishing remains to be the primary source of income for locals, here a fisherman carefully fixed his net for a big catch tonight.

I was so hungry and thristy from all this walking, here is a footbridge going to GL town and hopefully I can find something to eat. 

Only thing I can find fulfilling to eat here is the burger kiosks near the public elementary school. 

A VISIT TO CLOUD 9

It was 5pm when I visited Cloud 9, I just need to see the waves before I go back to my room. I have decided to transfer here the following day to have a better view.