Riding the Waves of Paradise: Our Siargao Experience

Hey there fellow hivers! I am back again from my slumber. Haha

These past few days, I really wanted to write about our trip to Siargao that happened one week ago, but I am still looking for some motivation to write.

As I was randomly listening to my playlist in Spotify, one song reminded me of that trip. It's a song called Uncomfortably Numb by American Football featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore. Uncomfortably Numb is a song that deals with emotional numbness. It talks about how confusing and hard life becomes as you grow up. I was listening to this song while on the plane to Siargao, maybe that's the reason the memories from the trip are associated with this song. LOL

Anyhow, going back to the topic haha. We planned this trip March this year after our Antique-Boracay trip. This trip is also to celebrate @iamcjestrada and Chiarra's birthday, which has become a tradition to celebrate by either camping within the city or traveling outside of Cebu with our friends.

A few days before our departure, I had some doubts and hesitations to go since there was some conflict between the time of the flight and the time I get off from work. The flight is around 5 AM, and I am out from work at 8 AM. I had already asked permission from my superior to be on leave without pay for two days, and I can't ask for an additional one day, so I booked another flight around 12 in the afternoon, which cost me a lot for a one-way trip.

Thursday came, @iamcjestrada, @thestrollingmind, John, and Chiarra were already in Siargao by the time I got off from work. But the day before that, @ybanezkim26 and Jovy were already in Siargao.

I headed straight to the airport from work, and I still had a lot of time, so I decided to commute going there. I arrived at the airport at 10 AM, and my boarding time is at 11:20 AM, so I decided to have my breakfast at the airport. I paid Php 215 for this, imagine! Haha

After having my breakfast, I went straight inside to look for an outlet where I could charge my phone while waiting for J-Ann. Waited for 45 minutes, and we immediately headed straight to our boarding gate.

Good thing our flight did not get delayed because some flights to other destinations that day were delayed, and by 11:20 AM, they already had us lined up for boarding.

Touchdown Siargao! The plane landed at 12:50 PM. Before exiting the arrival area, they will collect Php 20.00 per person for the Garbage Fee. Outside the airport is an ATM Machine in case you need to withdraw cash, but no worries though, since there are a lot of ATM machines scattered, especially in General Luna.

We then headed outside to look for a van that would take us to General Luna for Php 300 per person for 30 minutes.

We arrived at our accommodation and settled down. Chiarra, John, and @iamcjestrada were already outside waiting at Kurvada Siargao, a local karenderia that serves affordable food.

The rest of us joined them immediately since we still had a place to go after that. I ordered sweet and spicy chicken, shrimp curry, vegetable lumpia, and rice for Php 200 only in total. The staff requires us to take a picture of the food we ordered so that the cashier would be able to compute upon paying.

We wasted no time and were already a little bit late for our itinerary. We immediately headed to our accommodation and changed outfits for our next activity. The four motorcycles we arranged from our accommodation arrived, and we were all supposed to ride this motorcycle the entire trip, but @thestrollingmind had a little mishap that resulted in bruises on her legs. So they ended up commuting via tricycle going to our next destination.

First on our itinerary was surfing lessons at Ocean 101 Beach Resort, located a few meters from Cloud 9. We paid Php 500 per head for an hour of surfing lessons plus actual surfing, Php 100 for pictures and videos, and Php 100 for the entrance fee.

During the actual surfing, I didn't expect to balance and ride the waves on my first try. Haha. I'd been overthinking it, doubting my ability to balance, but surprise, surprise—I nailed it! And that just fueled my desire to surf even more. Haha. Everyone was getting the hang of it, showcasing unexpected competitiveness and determination.

After countless wipeouts, a subtle discomfort crept into my back. Haha. I had cramps in my right leg and a slight headache, so I took a breather, chilling on the sidelines while watching the others ride the waves.

Despite the fatigue, we all had a blast. Riding the waves was way more satisfying than we anticipated.

Our time on the water concluded with a mandatory group photo, of course.

Exhausted but elated from our surfing escapade, we were all thirsty and famished. Luckily, Ocean 101 Beach Resort treated us to a complimentary blue-colored drink (I forgot the name LOL) while we waited for the sun to set.

As the sky painted itself in shades of orange and yellow, it served as a perfect conclusion to our first day in Siargao.

We headed back to our accommodation to freshen up for dinner. Opting for a tricycle ride to the restaurant district, we paid Php 30 per person (night rates; Php 20 for daytime) and settled on trying Hapag Siargao. While the food was tasty, it leaned toward the pricey side. Overall, though, we left satisfied, coughing up Php 405 each for the meal.

Still stuffed from dinner, we decided to take a leisurely stroll along the road to soak in the nighttime vibe of Siargao. Along the way, we stumbled upon a frozen yogurt store, and of course, Chiarra, CJ, and I couldn't resist checking it out.

With plans to experience Siargao's nightlife, Jovy had already scoped out the schedule for the night, which conveniently led us to Siargao Bed & Brewery.

Most of us ventured inside, except for John, who's a little bit sensitive to disco lights, so he hung outside. LOL. I, too, had my fill of this kind of activity, so I stood by while the others hit the dance floor. Haha. The DJ's not that good though; her choice of music sucks. Aw, haha! Plus, the crowds are a little bit older.

We wrapped up our night at 10 PM, heading home for a well-deserved rest, knowing a full day of land tours awaited us. J-Ann and Ate Kemy had to work that night. Haha.

And that's just the first day, yet my body's already aching. Haha. I guess that's a wrap for now. I got so carried away writing that I can't squeeze in our second day in Siargao. Haha. Stay tuned for the next chapter of our Siargao adventure.

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Here's the song I mentioned earlier. Haha. Just sharing! 😜