5 Awesome things to do in Siargao

Last August 20-24, 2015, Nikki invited a bunch of us to go surfing in Siargao and do all things Siargao. I've always wanted to try my hand at writing a piece on a certain locality and Siargao is pretty awesome. I wish I could've had more time to spend on the island but a long weekend can only be so long.

Here are some things you must do in Siargao:

1. Surfing

Let's get the obvious one out of the way. Surfing is why people go to Siargao. A week before our trip, I was checking the waves at magicseaweed.com and it surprised me to see the Philippines broken down into 4 major areas of surf spots - Catanduanes, Luzon, Mindanao, and Siargao!

The waves were crazy! And this was on a good day with a fair weather. I experienced the same waves in Baler, Aurora when there was a storm coming! Surfing lessons cost us Php500 per hour including the board and instructor. Not too bad for beginner surfing lessons.

2. Magpupungko Rock Formation

I usually don't enjoy rock formations coz they're just rocks... or huge boulders. That wasn't even the thing that I enjoyed about the place though looking back at the pictures, the rock formations are pretty stunning (see the video).

What impressed me was the tidal pool. I've never seen anything like one before so it was a great surprise for me to see that such a thing could exist. Off the horizon, you could see wave after wave breaking. This made me all the more excited for surfing and to be honest, a bit scared.

3 and 4. Island Hopping (Daku Island, Naked Island)

Where there's an island, there's bound to be island hopping options. We went to three of them though I'll only mention two in this entry.

Naked Island was our first stop and while no one gets naked there (or I could be wrong), it's called that as there is nothing on the island. No trees, no bushes, no grass. I think it's more of a sand bar than an island but regardless of technicalities, it was an interesting sight in our itinerary. The sand was so fine it could've rivaled Boracay sand. You'll notice a lot of birds flying around and occasionally grab something from the island (probably a crab or some other small animal). It's a great place to take selfies. Here's exhibit number A.

Naked Island Selfie

Daku Island was a personal favorite of mine. I've got no pictures of this island but it was amazing. We had lunch here and there were several huts on the island. We got one and just enjoyed the beach from there. Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy the sea more for what's under the surface compared to what's on the shore. This island, however, made me appreciate the beach part of "going to the beach" more.

5. Eat at Kermit

The hotel we stayed at in Siargao was Kermit. The atmosphere was amazing. They have like a little surfing village theme going on there. While you may or may not stay at Kermit during your visit to Siargao, you should definitely give their restaurant a visit. They serve Italian food mostly. For the pastas, you can pick which pasta and sauce you'd want to eat - they even have fresh pasta! For the pizzas, you can pick the toppings.

Funny story that happened there though. Since Kermit is frequented by Western foreigners, when we ordered, I think the chef thought we didn't order enough for our table. But when he saw us, he understood. It's my belief that their dishes were meant to be for one person only but us Filipinos don't eat that way. We usually share so our 5 dishes could feed the 7 of us. When our food was served, the chef said, "This is the best thing about the Asians - Sharing!" and we all had a good laugh.

Siargao seems like forever ago yet I remember it so well. I'll definitely be going back for more of those killer waves. This is my second surfing trip and although I haven't considered a career in surfing, it's something I'll want to try doing well once in my life and this is probably the closest surfing spot to home there is.

I'll leave you with a little LSS before I close. Credits go to Mike Bravo for the pun.

"Cause I really don't care where you are
I just wanna be there where you are
And I gotta get one little taste

You're in Siargao!

Yes please!" - to the tune of Sugar by Maroon 5.

Rest in Peace, Uncle Jim

It's been a while since my last blog entry and I was reminded that I should keep this online journal of mine up (Thanks, Nik!). I originally wanted to write about my recently concluded trip to Siargao last weekend but between the time I arrived in Cebu and this blog entry, something else happened which I feel I need to write about.

Yesterday morning. August 26, 2015 7:45am.

I decided to wake up after snoozing my alarm over and over again since around 6:15. I lazily made my way to the bathroom but it was occupied. I share my bathroom with my parents, you see. I went back to bed for a while then my dad told me he was done with the bathroom. I went in right away so I could be ready by 8:00am. I had just started to shower when my mom knocked on the door yelling something. I couldn't hear what she was saying through the sound of the shower so I assumed she wanted to use the bathroom as well and I just shouted back that I just started showering and that she could use the bathroom upstairs if she needed the bathroom. She left shortly after and I thought nothing of it. I continued to get ready for work.

August 26, 2015 8:00am.

I made my way up the stairs to our living room. Normal scene in our house at this time has my dad eating breakfast with my mom, and my sister and her husband would be in the guest room. Today, however, no one was were they usually were. Not even Anya, my other sister, was in her room getting ready for work! My brother-in-law was there though so I asked him what time we're leaving and he told me what happened.

My parents had gotten a call from my aunt that my Uncle Jimmy (dad's brother) just didn't wake up anymore. In a matter of minutes everyone in the house who could leave left right away to go to their house. Uncle Jimmy had just died and I had no idea. He wasn't even sick before it happened. He had a full day planned for yesterday but he just didn't wake up.

The news of his passing shocked me so much and I couldn't think anymore. My Uncle Jimmy, who seemed perfectly fine just days before just died.

It really reminded me that life is delicate and at a moment's notice, you could be called to the next life. Every time someone dies, this reminder is repeated over and over and over again. "You never know when you'll die," "Live like it's your last day on Earth," and "If it's your time to go, there's no negotiating with God." It's scary really but something we have to live with. We're all going to die. The time, circumstance and place, we don't know. The best we can do is be prepared everyday.

Don't forgo doing something tomorrow something you can do today. Tell the people close to you that you love them and appreciate them being in your life. Don't surround yourself with people whose company you don't enjoy. Have a bucket list? Start crossing things out of it.

Tomorrow is Uncle Jimmy's funeral. The thing about a loved one dying is, life for the rest of us goes on. I'll still expect to see my cousins and my aunt during our weekly family dinner but it will definitely be different without Uncle Jimmy. He and I have a running joke that we greet each other a happy birthday every time we meet. It probably started when he saw me wear a red shirt. Funny thing is, the only day he didn't greet me a happy birthday, was on my actual birthday. We had a good laugh about that.

Uncle Jim, I pray you'll rest in peace from now on. I know you're with Lolo, Lola and Uncle Eddie now. You may have left this life but you've been born into a new one, an eternal life. So I'll greet you one last time...

Happy Birthday, Uncle Jim.

Trek with us, won't you?

A few weekends ago, me and some friends went trekking in Balamban. At the time of the trek, this blog wasn't on my mind so I'm not able to give the full details of the property. You can check them out on their facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Canso.XHBC?fref=ts) you know, for the boring details.

We got our backpacks are ready to go exploring

I'm not the biggest fan of trekking and some of my friends know this. If given the choice between trekking in the mountains and spending the same time in the beach or island hopping, I'd choose the sea any day. But my friends had a different plan. They all wanted to try trekking and for most of them it was their first time to go trekking. A lot of them had just bought trekking shoes a few days prior our Canso X-perience.

We woke up really that day and just bought drive thru food for breakfast. Canso X reminded us that before the trek, we need to have a good night's rest and a good hearty breakfast. It takes about an hour from Cebu City to get to Canso X. It's around 42km from Cebu City and roads are pretty steep. You won't miss it though. Entrance is just along the main highway.

After a mini safety briefing, we were off. The weather was good to us though so the usual stuff I didn't like about trekking weren't present. It didn't rain the night before so the ground wasn't muddy but it was cloudy so the sun's heat didn't get to me. Perfect trekking weather!

River trekking

While I have to admit that I'm not a fan of trekking, I am a huge fan of nature. So the entire time, my eyes were looking at the mountains and the river that we crossed. I enjoyed the river the most since I could cool off at anytime. Just stop beside the river, cup some water in your hands and pour it over your head - Instant relief from the heat! Just being in nature is such a pleasure for me. Several times I would stop to enjoy the sights, sounds and even the smells of the trek. It was definitely a good retreat from the usual sights, sounds and smells of the city : Lush green mountains vs the tall concrete buildings, sounds of birds chirping and the water running compared to the honking of the horns during rush hour, and the fresh air mixed with the scents of leaves and flowers compared to the smoke you usually inhale in the city.

What I didn't expect from the trek was when we had to jump into the water... several times. We found ourselves on the edge of a small waterfall with no other option to move forward but to jump in. It happened probably three times during the entire trek and each time I enjoyed the jump. I do believe that in my past life I was a fish or a dolphin, at least coz I feel so comfortable and at home in water.

The trek was easy and the waterfalls jumping parts weren't at all scary so anyone really can do the trek. If you want to try this experience, expect to get wet because you WILL get wet. After this Canso X trek, I think I'll enjoy whatever trekking experience my friends come up with next. I'm actually looking forward to the next one and it's getting close.

Shut up and Take my Money

Shut up and take my money!

This is basically what my 3 year old nephew told my sister when she came back from Taiwan with some cool looking magnets. Little Mateo was so amazed by how the magnets moved as if by magic that he retreated to his room, went back to my sister's room, placed his piggy bank on her table and said, "Tita, please put magnets in my room!"

Mateo has never seen that meme nor will he understand even if he's seen it but the underlying principle of this meme is this: I see something I want and I'll do anything to get it. There was no fear in not knowing if his money wouldn't be enough. No fear that all the money he accumulated would be gone if my sister had accepted. No fear that he'd just be laughed at coz his gesture was just too cute. Mateo had no fear. He saw something he liked and he went for it the best way he knew how.

This really got me to think about how I usually treat things that I like in my own life. I'm not the go getter kind of guy. I rarely grab opportunities when they present themselves to me. Truth be told, this is the third blog I've started. First two were just forgotten. It was the fear in me that prevented me from posting whatever the hell I wanted to. "Maybe I won't get readers", "Maybe they'll judge me for saying this", "What if they disagree with me?". Fear is a powerful thing and overcoming it requires a lot of strength.

Last night, me and my best friend had dinner and one of things we talked about was seeing this really old lady - probably a mom or aunt - dancing on the elevated platform at Liv over the weekend. She got a lot of stares and even some of our friends made fun of her coz "she doesn't belong here." I admit that I did think that at first but when I looked at the scene again, she wasn't harming anyone, she was smiling. She had no care in the world. She was probably so overcome with happiness that that night she was able to go clubbing with her daughter and maybe even more happy that her daughter brought her clubbing. Again, no fear of being judged, of being ridiculed, or of looking out of place. She saw what she wanted and she went for it.

This is what my blog will be about. Just my personal journal and my outlet for writing - I haven't written in ages. No more fear of people judging what I write, or people judging how I write. I will not fear people pointing out typos in my entries - I'm pretty sure there will be a lot of those as I'm not a very good typist. I see something I want, which is to start a blog, and I'm going in. So just shut up and take my money.