april-2012

With its powerful
waves, Cloud 9 has
captured every
surfer’s imagination
S URFING NORTH TO SOUTH
Before Cloud 9 became extremely popular, the number
of travelers to the island didn’t warrant direct fl ights. The
only options then were to charter a private fl ight or to land
in the province’s capital city, Surigao City. You then take an
arduous four-hour ferryboat to Siargao Island’s main port
town of Dapa, followed by a bumpy 30-minute jeepney ride
over rough roads to the main coastal town of Gen. Luna.
There’s a small market by the pier where you can buy fresh
fi sh and vegetables, and right next to it is the Boardwalk,
where karaoke stalls and cold beer outlets sprout up come
nighttime. From there you can already catch a glimpse of the
waves breaking in the distance.
Things have changed since then, with more tourists
making the journey; now you can pretty much fl y directly to
the island any time of the week. I spent that fi rst day kicking
around stones and checking out other places on the island
worth a visit, in between twiddling my toes.
The next day I was up before sunrise and headed out to
catch some early waves before the crowds started showing
up. We had heard the night before that there was a swell
heading our way — bringing with it some good surf — so I
was pretty excited to try out Cloud 9. As soon as I opened
the door of my little room, I knew that the conditions had
changed dramatically overnight. When the waves are big and
slamming repeatedly onto the shoreline with unimaginable
power, it powders the air with a salty mist that you can smell
with every breath.
{ 80 }
From top: The outpost is decked out in colorful fl ags
for the international surf competition; because the
size and power of the waves vary, Siargao has been
dubbed the “Disneyland of surfi ng”