Sept 28 – Oct 01, 2017

One in my long time bucket list is to visit Siargao Island, long before it was known to many. Unfortunately, before, it was inaccessible and flights are expensive. But, say no more, thanks to Cebu Pacific, once again because of their piso sale I was able to book a back and forth flight for just 799 pesos! All you need is patience, friends. Trust me haha. Unluckily, I was not able to pursue my flight due to personal or more for work reasons. So I decided to book another one, persistent eh? The flights are not on piso fare anymore, but it is still at a lower price. Booked another one and it only costs me 1200 pesos. Damn right! This time I decided to really pursue because duh September is the month of their yearly surfing competition. This is not coincidence y’all, I really made sure I’ll be right on time when I get there, I really checked World surfer league’s site to know when’s the exact date. Later did I know, they changed it and started the competition a week ahead, bummer! So when I was on my way to the airport I wasn’t really expecting anything since the competition has already ended, BUTTT surprise, surprise we were told by our trainers that we’re right on time for the parties that’ll be happening every night for the awarding ceremony. Hooray!! My plan was to travel solo to find myself ( that’s what they said ) and to experience, once again, the freedom and adventures including odd ventures when you travel alone. But, all of this has changed when my close friend, Vannia and her husband, decided to tag along.

First things first, airport shot :

Take note that you can either book a van in advance or you can just ride one outside the terminal and just wait till there’s already six passengers and off you go. It takes an hour or less to get to General Luna and longer if you’re riding the motorbike/tricycle.

Van – P 1500 ( whole trip ) P300 / person

Motorbike – P 200 / person

We were supposed to go directly to the house that we booked in advance but, as what the driver said, there’s still a lot of cheaper houses or rooms near cloud 9 ( the surfing spot, btw ) so we decided to check each resort and inns to make an inquiry. After 30 minutes of looking, finally, we found Ronaldo’s and was able to get a room good for 3 for only P1500 with own CR and A/C plus extra bed, there’s still a lot cheaper than Ronaldo’s but at this moment that it’s peak season, all the cheap places are already fully booked! After we checked in, we rented a motorbike so that we can go to Magpupungko pool.

It was one of the craziest rides ever, we can’t fit in on the motorbike and the travel was about two freakin’ hours. Imagine the agony being seated last. It was a supposedly thirty minutes ride but it took us about an hour and a half, ’cause we had a lot of breaks during the trip.

All the pain and numbness both in my ass and legs vanished when we arrived at Magpupungko. It was definitely worth it!

Magpupungko is facing the Pacific Ocean, so be prepared for strong current and waves. It is called Magpupungko because of the formation of the rock behind me, it is like sitting, watching the waves. Pungko is the Bisaya for sit. The best time to visit here is during the afternoon where the tide is low so that you can fully enjoy the pool and you can also jump and dive from the rocks in front.

The most common itinerary people do when visiting Siargao Island is to visit Sugba Lagoon in the morning and Magpupungko in the afternoon. And I can say, it is the best way since Sugba Lagoon is a two-hour drive after Magpupungko. So if you’re planning to visit Siargao, I recommend you to take the itinerary most people take for you to be able to enjoy all the places Siargao has to offer aside from surfing.

I’ll end my post here, and hope to see you on my next one.

Siargao Part II, coming up!