Siargao - The Philippines (Entry 5)

Siargao

Day 6 - 3rd July:

After a full day of relaxation barring a two hour surf at Cloud 9 yesterday, I was re-energized and ready to jam-pack today with more exciting things to see and do in Siargao. 

At 6am when the tide was high Ellie and I went for a surf. The water was freezing compared to the other days we've had here so far. 

In the last week my surfing has improved dramatically. I can't believe it's nearly been a week already, it seems like I arrived yesterday. I laugh at the fact that when I first got here I was wondering how I was going to get through an entire 9 days here without any friends and with hardly anything to do. Things really turned around - they turned out better than I could have possibly wished for or imagined. 

Today was another great day. After the surf I stopped at the side of the road and bought a t-shirt saying, 'I Surfed Cloud 9,' because it's one of the top 5 places to surf in the world! It's a huge thing to check off of your bucket-list. 

We'd scheduled a trip to the Magpupungko Rock Pool which is a major attraction for visitors to the island. We rented the resorts vehicle for the day which cost just over 3000 pesos split between us and to enter the rock pool its 50 pesos per person at the sign in desk. 

Tips:

• Bring booties - although the reef is actually really soft, there's sea urchins all over the place and there's a really sharp, jagged rock you can climb up to jump into the pool.   
• Pack lunch - like Sohoton Cove there are snacks available to purchase like ice creams, crisps etc but if you plan a full day there then it's best to bring a light lunch along with you.
• Waterproof bag - if you bring your backpack with you while you go swimming in the rock pool you have to leave your bag on the reef which is pretty damp, so keep that in mind for if you want to go there.
• Pack a Towel - You'll be swimming. I dried in the sun and wind but I'd have loved a towel for after I'd gotten out. 

We had a really good day there. After swimming in the gorgeous rock pool we went shell collecting on the reef. It was so tranquil and peaceful - a day of pure bliss. 

I have to admit that if I had a choice between the Magpupungko Rock Pool or the Sohoton Cove which you can read about HERE then I'd choose Sohoton Cove hands down. There's just more to do at the cove - but if you have a chance to do both of these activities you really should. Both are incredibly beautiful if you just relax and soak it all in. 

There was an earthquake today. I'm not kidding. It was the first earthquake I have ever experienced and it was petrifying. 6.0 on the richter scale. 

I'd gone to the bathroom when suddenly it felt like the floor was falling from under me and the walls started to shake - the roof felt like it was going to collapse. 

I ran out of there so fast it was insane. The locals were all screaming as they picked up the contents from the shop which had all fallen over and when I chatted to the other visitors that had been down on the reef they said it had felt like the entire reef had moved. 

It was so scary!!! Then everything was back to normal a few minutes later... there wasn't even an aftershock. 

Crazy experience.... and when we got back to the resort I think we all needed a cocktail to relax which is exactly what we did.

Devouring cocktails after the earthquake!!!

On Friday nights there's something called Jungle Disco on the island. It's exactly what it sounds like, a disco in the jungle. Strobe lights are flashing, music is pumping, rum is flowing and people are dancing. There were so many people there that I'm almost convinced the entire population of the island goes. 

It was so fun - boiling hot and super crowded. I didn't stop dancing all evening. A tip would be this though, the bathrooms are pretty vile. As a traveler I have seen my fair share of disgusting bogs - but this one really is high up on the list of the worst. They reek... and there's no toilet paper so bring some with you in your bag. There's also no flush and no sink to wash your hands but there's a bucket of water outside and you flush the loo by pouring a measure of water down the loo and it's also how you wash your hands. 

The party starts getting good by 11pm, we arrived at 22h30 and danced until 2am. We then took some bikes down to Cloud 9 and while the others went for a dip in the ocean I sat on the wooden steps and breathed in the salty early morning breeze. I had a lot on my mind. Sam and I were still in a bad place - the fighting has been getting worse and worse. I realise a lot of it is my fault. I have some major anger built up inside of me from my past - I also have a lot of fear and anxiety. It's never going to be easy for me to let myself be vulnerable to someone. The second I start feeling really close with someone I freak out and form this wall around myself because I want to protect myself from being hurt again. I try so hard to open up and embrace love but it petrifies me to know that someone has the ability to completely tear me apart. It's hard to let someone have that power. From bad things happening when I was younger to being cheated on, boyfriends being stabbed to death, boyfriends choosing drugs over me and all of the other hurt I've been through - it's hard. 

The reason Sam and I have been in a bad situation is because of me and I realised that at 2am this morning while I sat watching the barreling waves at Cloud 9. I need to stop doing things the way I've been doing them. I need to realise my faults and fix them for not only my sake but for Sam's. I love him endlessly. I have loved him from almost the first moment I saw him - on the day I was supposed to have moved to a big scary city. Sam and I should never have met - but we did and I fully believe in my heart that the reason I didn't move to the city and start this new life all those months ago is because that very day I was going to meet him - I just didn't know it yet. 

Life has handed me something amazing - our love is so pure and intense - and that honestly petrifies me... but I need to stop being afraid to let my guard down 100%. I need to let Sam show me that he isn't like all of the others... he's not. I know that.