The Siargao trip was fated. No tournament to cover this trip, but to celebrate with a sister from another mother, an ex-Boracay resident. I got a nod to join a road trip with equally safety-abiding travelers. It would be a long trip by land but the good company and a spacious van made it comfortable. 

 


What does one need to enter Siargao? 

1. A negative result RT-PCR test within 48 prior to arrival; 

2. Valid Id; 

3. Confirmed booking in a DOT-accredited accommodation;

4. Traze App;

5. Travel Certification issued by the Mayor of the City/Municipality of Siargao (for those invited by a local resident).

It will be good to see the island again. My first visit to Siargao was in 2002 to write about the 7th international surfing cup. Back then, my friends and I took the bus. Young souls can take the beating by an overnight bus ride and a three-hour or so boat ride (no 1-1/2-hour fast craft rides in 2002, I believe).

It's an 8-hour road trip from Davao to the Siargao port

The Siargao images imprinted in my memory was that of a quiet seaside province that turns busy during the surfing season of September. But busy then was never in the hundreds of visitors. Roads were unpaved, except for a few ones in the vicinity of the General Luna church; wooden, sparsely distanced lampposts lit the dirt roads where giant hermit crabs can traverse; mode of transportation was the habal-habal; you can have the Magpupungko Rock Pools all to yourself and the long stretches of white beaches off General Luna, too; the hottest nightspot was an open-air hut, and the poshest resort was Pansukian, where we had lunch with then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. 

Siargao Island may be a tourism hotspot, but because of its size, much of the island still exudes the countryside charm. And that means the local delicacies still thrive. I found a couple bites that zoomed me back to the provincial life of my mom’s hometown. In the short visit, these are the ones I fell in love with: