Off to Siargao to see Cloud 9

My last morning in Moalboal dawned early. I had arranged for a pickup at 5am, which worked totally fine. The hotel guard was waiting for me with my key deposit, as was the taxi. Of course there’s a bus as well, but it was already nearing the end of my trip and I decided to splurge (again). It took about 3:30 hours to get to the airport, it’s quite a long trip on a bus.

I arrived in Siargao without delay and the flight was really quite beautiful. So many small islands on the way that you can see from above.

flying to Siargao @Philippines

I had arranged a pick-up with my hotel, the Happiness Beach resort, and with a couple of other people was on a bus in the direction of General Luna. The Happiness beach resort didn’t really make me happy, but at least I shared this misery with Dominique.

Even though there was a beach right in front, it was not meant for swimming. In low tide the reef was coming out, as can be seen here.

beach in low tide and rain @Happiness Beach resort

But even in high tide the water was shallow and with the reef difficult to get in. I never even tried it, there are better places to go swimming. The plan was nevertheless to make the most of it, Siargao was my beach vacation part after all. At least the Happiness Beach resort hotel had a pool, although rather puny and it looked a bit dirty.

pool time with Dominique @Happiness Beach Resort hotel

I had picked Siargoa, because it’s famous for its Cloud 9 surfing area. So on this first evening we made our way to Cloud 9 to check out the surfers and see for myself what I wanted to achieve. There was a small fee to pay to access the board walk, which you needed to walk all the way to the end to even see the surfers. Quite a bit disappointing that the surfers were so far away. There was nothing really to see.

Cloud 9 boardwalk @Siargao

lots of reef @Cloud 9

The good surfers were really far out, while all the beginners surfed to the west of the boardwalk. That was the moment I decided I would definitely not surf here and make a spectacle out of myself. Because who knew how I would fare. I hadn’t been on a surfboard for about 20 years and even my younger self hadn’t done well. So why should this now go any better?

sunset and surfers @Cloud 9 General Luna

surfing until the last rays of light @Cloud 9 General Luna

As motivated as I was to learn how to surf, I didn’t succeed. With the help of a teacher I managed to stand upright for a couple of seconds and feel as if I was surfing. But it was never long enough to get a good shot for a picture. What I achieved though was to burn my booty and after two days I had to give it up. Yours, Pollybert

Let me know what you think

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