It's March! And it only means... IT'S SUMMER!!! At least here in the tropics.

Reliving island days in gorgeous Siargao. This post is in no way an updated travel guide. This was back in early 2017 when everything was calm in the province, before the film Siargao hit the screens, and 'influencers' brought their drones. 😁 

The island itself, I think, was like Boracay back in the early days when it wasn't commercialized yet.  Back in 2017, I think there were more foreigners than locals on the island. It was like Bali, businesses have a more foreign feel than local in the sense that everything feels upscale--from the transfers, the boat rides, the food, bakeries, cafes, the surfboard rentals, even the souvenir shirts. It does have its pros and cons though.

Anyway, I haven't been on the island since, but here was the itinerary we had three summers ago. Our van transfer from the airport had these island hopping packages so it was convenient. We toured around the island on tricycle (no one was brave enough to rent a motor bike--so many accidents on the island). The island is big, and getting from one spot to another needs transpo. The package prices we checked that time were more or less the same, so we went ahead and booked Kuya!

There were sea urchins clinging on the rocks, that's all I want to say. 😂 I'm not really a good swimmer but I can float well enough so I don't back out on 'challenges' like this. Plus when you're already there, be fully there! 💪

We went to Guyam first. I think among the three islands, it was my favorite. It has that bunch of the most beautiful coconut trees in the middle, surrounded by white sand. We swam for a bit and then went to Naked island at noon. And wow, it was really naked--no trees, no shade of any kind. It was this big blop of white sand and that's it. It was small too so people usually just pass by (intense tropical summer sun at noon and locals=don't count on it 😂). We went to Daku last. Daku meaning 'big' of course is the biggest island among the three so it's where people usually stay. We ate the freshest seafood for lunch and those Philippine summer mangoes--perfect. All of these three though were surrounded by the clearest, aquamarine waters you'll ever see. My god, just typing those words--yum! Need to get my vitamin sea asap.

It took us 45 minutes of boat ride one way from Siargao island to get here and it was a bit expensive. We spent the whole day paddling around the lagoon, careful not to lose balance because it was jellyfish season. They were all lurking on the deep areas, some even brave enough to go near where people jump the plank. Those blobs. 😁

Rest day, finally. We didn't attempt to surf in Siargao because the surf spot for beginners was a bit far. Cloud 9 which is the most popular one had the biggest waves and was not recommended for us, so we just watched the surfers from afar. We hung out by the beach, took photos, and fell asleep under the balmy coconut trees with the sound of the sea in the background. It was a really good last day. 😌

The sad fact is, I didn't spend summer in any of our islands last 2019, nor even explore a different place within the country. Let me turn that around this year.

Happy Summer! 😀