Blogs from Surigao, Philippines, Asia - page 2

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Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Siargao July 30th 2009

Our day started off well in Cebu city with our Maccie D’s breakfast and hot chocolate - we have thoroughly learnt our lesson about drinking coffee on travel days - it makes us need the toilet constantly!! It then turned a little bit hectic as we scrambled to find a taxi to take us to the airport who would actually turn on the metre and then when we were at the airport none of the cash machines were working for us to get a bit of ‘safety money’ out! After a mad dash and looking hot, bothered and slightly sweaty we managed to check in for our flight and had the undignified honour of being weighed along with our hand luggage so they could put the right amount of fuel on the propeller plane! Our destination ... read more
road to the 'village'
Beach at General Luna
in the trike on the way from the airport

Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Siargao April 24th 2009

Es ist schon wieder einige Zeit vergangen, seit ich das letzte Mal geschrieben habe. Aber im Moment bin ich gerade im Paradies, und da hat man nicht so Lust, den Blog zu aktualisieren. Und damit dieser Eintrag jetzt nicht etliche Seiten lang wird, die letzte Zeit in Kürze beschrieben: Seit ich den Norden von Laos verlassen habe, habe ich natürlich schon wieder einiges erlebt. Der Süden von Laos hat mir auch besser gefallen als der Norden und deswegen bin ich nun doch happy, dass ich noch eine Weile dort geblieben bin. Nach einigen extrem gemütlichen Tagen in Vientiane, wo es mir sehr gut gefallen hat, habe ich mir ein Ticket für den Nachtbus nach Pakse gekauft. Vor der Abfahrt habe ich noch Julia aus Deutschland kennengelernt. Wir haben uns sofort gut verstanden und sie hat mir ... read more
Old car in Vientiane
Hophrakeo Temple, Vientiane
Hophrakeo Temple, Vientiane

Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Siargao February 2nd 2009

So, it's time to play catch up! No excuses this time as to why we haven't written in months (literally!)-we've just been too busy travelling, that's all. We arrived in the Philippines December 14th, so we've been here about 7 weeks and have one more to go-the longest we've been in any country on our trip yet! Our original plan was to fly to Borneo the 22nd of January, but the Philippines has been so amazing and there are so many things to see that we extended our visa and changed our flights for Feb 7th. The first 36 hours or so of travelling were a good insight into the travel ordeals we've dealt with the rest of our time here. Our plane left Kuala Lumpur over an hour late, got into Manila at dawn, left ... read more
Cloud 9 Surf Break
one of the many waves...
Habal-Habal

Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Bucas Grande September 25th 2008

“It was getting a little dark and the sky was orange in the twilight. In the islet’s guard house we sat on the edge of the wooden floor, facing the sea. We let our legs hang loosely, tracing the water underneath with our feet going in circles, immersed up to the ankles; feeling the tide coming in, heaving, the water slowly getting cold. Then, later on, we heard something approach fast from the forest. From the right side of the post we saw the rain come towards us, grazing the hills, creating millions of miniscule ripples on the surface of the saltwater lake below it with a cool, racing sound. It pitter-pattered at first contact, then it rushed at once and the islet in front of us became hazy, so we couldn’t really tell if the ... read more

Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Siargao August 7th 2008

Die Faehre nach Siargao Island ist wie die meisten kleineren Boote hier in den Philippinen mit zwei seitlichen Auslegern gebaut. Da es Einschraenkungen von der Kuestenwache gibt, was die Anzahl der Personen auf der Faehre angeht, muessen bei Abfahrt der Faehre alle Personen unter dem Dach Platz finden. Das fuehrt dazu, dass man sich im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes auf dem Schoss sitzt. Sobald die Faehre ablegt, kriecht dann die Haelfte unter dem Dach raus und setzt sich seitlich auf die Stege. Im Travelguide steht geschrieben: vermeide Faehren und Boote, die offensichtlich ueberfuellt sind. Wenn man diesen Rat befolgt, kommt man hier nicht vorwaerts, da alle Faehren kontinuierlich ueberfuellt sind :). Die Fahrt war aber trotzdem angenehm und sehr idyllisch, an netten Fischerdoerfern vorbei. In ein paar dutzend Metern Entfernung springen Delfine aus dem Wasser. Ich ... read more
Boy
Palmen, Palmen, Palmen
diese Fische wuerde man daheim im Aquarium finden

Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Siargao August 6th 2008

Ok so here's how it is. I've been seriously lax in updating my blog for a few reasons, the major one being lack of decent internet access. Other reasons involve the kind of lifestyle Ive been leading here, its pretty laidback and by that I mean lazy. Sorry to anyone who was previously glued to my regular entries (which Im sure are of limited numbers!). Im afraid I wont be able to go into too much detail for the happenings of the past 5 weeks because Tanduay (local rum) has ruined my brain and thus my memory. Im here in the surfing capital of the Philippines and yes I have been trying to learn to surf ;-) The only problem is that I SUCK! People keep telling me it takes a long time, however, it is ... read more
What a coincidence...
Jong and Wilmar
Kretos & Slippers

Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Siargao May 22nd 2008

Something I wrote last year, that I want to share with my Aussie friends. Surf's Up! :) Discovering a Surfing Paradise: Siargao Who would have thought that a small chocolate bar can put a tiny Philippine island on the map of the world? Perhaps it was destiny that led American adventurer Mike Boyam into the shores of Siargao, stumbling on the surfing paradise while on a 40-day fast on the island in the late eighties. Sadly he died after extending his hunger days for far too long. Maybe if he also discovered the Cloud 9 chocolate bar in the local sari-sari store that American photographer John S. Callahan and fellow surfers Evan Slater and Taylor Knox have taken for sustenance while surfing the great waves in 1992, he would have survived too. But who knows? Of ... read more

Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Bitaug October 1st 2006

We checked out of Villa Ernesto at General Luna, Siargao as early as 4:00am. The van brought us to the Port of Del Carmen to take our 5:30am Leonida Ferry Ride. (Again many thanks to Ate Eunor and her connections.) We left for Surigao City, mainland Surigao. Please don’t sneeze or I’ll fall Eloi and I noticed how “personalized” traveling is, here in Siargao. Since they do not have elaborate ladders or bridges that passengers walk on from the docking area into the ferry boat, they have made an improvised bridge. Two people simply hold a long kawayan or bamboo stick on each end -- one on board the boat, and the other on the docking area. As soon as it was my turn to walk through the “bridge”, I prayed neither of these two ... read more
The Mangroves of Del Carmen
Port of Del Carmen
Dragon's head

Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Siargao September 30th 2006

Typhoon Milenyo, a bane or a boon? Today’s our third day here in Siargao Island. It has been very sunny and dry; while Manila and the rest of Luzon has been on blackout due to typhoon Milenyo. This typhoon, though, gave a beautiful strong barrel of waves at Cloud 9, where the surfing competition was held. It was also because of this that the surfing competition we came here for finished two days earlier than expected. It’s okay though, we have already been to a lot of places in this area, plus we have gone surfing the other day, what else could we ask for? Oh, I know… more surfing! We went surfing at Cloud 9 this morning. (Okay, not exactly. But at least, I got your attention now! HAHA) Then, we drove around Siargao Island ... read more
This is a map of Siargao at the wall of Ocean 101
Our tutors for the day
Yes, this is me!

Asia » Philippines » Surigao » Bucas Grande September 29th 2006

Today, we have planned to go to Sohoton Cove, Socorro, Bucas Grande Island. It is 2 hours away from Siargao Island so we hired a double engine boat that can cover the long distance and withstand moderate waves. Bucas Grande is a less popular island compared to the other major islands of Surigao namely, Dinagat Island and Siargao Island. I have not seen much pictures of it from the internet so I did not have a clear image of what to expect. Little did I know that it turned out to be one of my favorite places here in the province of Surigao. Feeling small amidst a chessboard of green cliffs We left the resort at 9:30am. On the way, we were again able to see Guyam, Dako, and Naked Islands. Within an hour’s time, we ... read more
The clear waters of Sohoton
This is what you see when you get out of Crystal or Bolitas Caves
Passing through Sohoton Cove




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