Our Philippines blog will be short and sweet because we pretty much surfed the whole time we were there. We decided to visit just one of the islands for our entire 3 week stay. We had originally planned to spend a week elsewhere but we liked Siargao so much we extended our stay there. We picked Siargao for its surf possibilities and we are so glad that we did! The island is absolutely beautiful. Some people liken it to Bali 30 years ago which basically means it’s still retained its local charm, there are very few huge resorts and it feels very much like island life at its best. All the cafes and shops are spread out so you have to scoot along on dirt roads in between the palm trees. There are also no helmets on the island, so you scoot slowly!
Beautiful dawn patrolScooting round the island on our trusty green machine
There are plenty of nice places to eat on the island for delicious noms and also a market and a couple of bakeries for freshly baked bread. Rum in the Philippines is also cheaper than coke which is never a bad thing! The only downside is that it’s a 40 minute round-trip to the only cash machine and nobody takes card!
Naked Island …Luckily it’s the island that’s naked not the people!
We stayed in a very chilled out locally-run surf bungalow which had a very comfortable hammock strung up outside and was basically paradise. We also befriended a local kitten which we named Peanut. Peanut was the most affectionate little cat I have ever met. We fed him tuna and in return he gave us kitty cuddles. You literally could do anything with him he was so chilled. We would have taken him home if we could!
Jess and Peanut chilling
The main surf break in Siargao is called Cloud Nine and is reachable by walking along a wooden walkway with multiple holes and missing planks. It is so beautiful it is easy to forget about the holes and you are at constant risk of plunging 10 metres into very shallow water! We surfed a few different breaks on the island with two local surf guides. Our favourite was only reachable by boat and was absolutely stunning at sunrise. We made a video of the trip which I think sums up how amazing our time on the island was.
Rush hour on the Cloud 9 boardwalkExploring the Magpupungko tidal pools
During our stay we also went on an island hopping boat trip to three gorgeous desert islands. The snorkelling was fantastic and we basically had them to ourselves! We ate lunch in a wooden beach hut and watched the local dogs and crabs square up to each other. We also visited the beautiful Magpupungko rock pools in the north of the island. The wildlife was so amazing. I particularly loved the hermit crabs which were everywhere, especially in the evenings. I took to picking up every shell I saw just in case there was a crab inside. Rich also found the most amazing vivid blue starfish whilst we were out surfing. When I wasn’t looking my surf guide picked it up and put it on my surfboard so I could say hello. Best day ever!
Our lunch hut on Daku Island
We absolutely loved our time on Siargao and we will definitely make it back there one day. Hopefully Peanut will still be there!
Peanut strongly objects to any forms of work being done!
Hey guys! Just wanted to ask permission about using the siargao drawing above. I’m editing a video about my trip in siargao and just wanted to use the image for about 2 seconds in my video clip. Let me know. Thank you so much
Hey guys! Just wanted to ask permission about using the siargao drawing above. I’m editing a video about my trip in siargao and just wanted to use the image for about 2 seconds in my video clip. Let me know. Thank you so much