Getting to Siargao wasn’t the fun part, but we eventually made it. We left the hotel at 0600 and arrived at the airport with plenty of time to check in for our 0830 flight to Cebu, where we would connect with the flight to Siargao. And then this happened:
Which meant we were landing in Cebu almost exactly at the time our connecting flight was scheduled to depart. I figured we were screwed, but when we exited the plane, an agent was holding up a sign for passengers bound for Siargao. I was surprised that, in addition to our group, about twenty other passengers from our flight were booked for Siargao. They delayed our connection until we had all boarded, and we were once again airborne.
In another turn of good fortune, our checked bags made the flight with us.
For some unknown reason, Martin and Joss had booked the next flight after ours to Siargao. We opted to wait for them to arrive at the airport to share transportation to our hotel in General Luna City.
It was nearly 4 p.m. before we were finally on our way to our hotel. That was a LONG day of travel.
We checked in, got our keys, and discovered our room at the Romantic Beach Villas was nowhere near the beach. It’s more like a small house than a hotel room: a yard, a big front porch, a kitchen, and a separate bedroom.
I made a video this morning of the walk from my “house” to the hotel building where our complimentary buffet breakfast was served.
So, first impressions: Siargao has a pleasant, laid-back vibe. It’s pretty and surprisingly clean. Another big surprise is that, at least in General Luna, it is a major tourist attraction. Not only that, but the crowd it attracts is young Westerners. It appears they are here for the surfing, judging by all the surfboards I’m seeing. Honestly, I can’t remember seeing so many youthful white women in one place since I left the USA twenty years ago. Most of them are healthy-looking and relatively slender. Of course, I’m the oldest man around these parts, or so it seems. No complaints, I can always tell those young bucks that my girl is hotter than your girl!
We had a couple of drinks at the hotel beach bar, then went to the place next door, called Barrel, for some grub and more beer and wine. I made it my usual early night and was in bed by 9 p.m. Until I was awakened at midnight by incredibly loud live music from the bar at Barrel, which is almost next door to my “house.” That lasted until two in the morning. A good reminder that I am, in fact, still in the Philippines.
We took a nice 8K street walk to a place on the island called Cloud 9. I’ll share some photos from that and the rest of today when I can. We’ve rented a car for tomorrow to do some touring around the island, so blogging may be delayed. Sorry about that!
John says in a comment:
Kevin, it should be SIARGAO, but I’m a dunce and my fingers like the other way for some reason.
Then in this post, the first thing he writes is:
Getting to Siragao wasn’t the fun part, but we eventually made it.
Do you hear a voice in your head when you read and write? I know a lot of people say that an internal voice slows down their reading speed, but I’m a slow reader, and I always hear the “sounds” of what I’m reading and writing. I see “Siargao” and mentally pronounce it, right or wrong, as “See-ahr-gow” (“gow” rhyming with “cow,” not “low”). I see “Siragao” and mentally hear “See-rah-gow” (Spanish “R”). I’m guessing you hear nothing and just plow on ahead. Sure, even with my inner voice, I make plenty of my own typos and fail to catch them even after a second or third reading. But the inner voice helps at least a little, minimizing the number of such typos.
Second sentence:
We left the hotel at 0600 and arrived at the airport with plenty of time to check in for our 0830 flight to Cebu, where we would connect with the flight to Siragao.
Maybe type “Siargao” three hundred times to develop muscle memory. Si-ar-gao. That second syllable is A-R, not R-A.
You have to love cultures with a, uh, flexible sense of time.
We finally boarded an hour and a half after our scheduled departure.
My first impression of Italy, back in early 1990, was when my intercity train pulled in to Rome’s Termini Station 30 minutes late, and the closest money-exchange office was a dark corner staffed by an old guy with a vintage adding machine. At least your plane didn’t crash. “Maintenance issue” never sounds good when you’re in a third-world country even if it has islands of first-worldiness.
And about an hour later, it was hello, Siragao Island.
Wow, this really is a problem.
I don’t recall ever seeing an airport as small as the one that serves Siragao.
Jesus Christ. Si-ar-gao!
In another turn of good fortune, our checked bags made the flight with us.
Yup. You can take nothing for granted these days, not even in Amurrica.
On the road to General Luna.
It looks very green and lovely out yonder.
So, first impressions: Siragao has a pleasant, laid-back vibe.
This is going to drive me insane.
Most of them are healthy-looking and relatively slender. Of course, I’m the oldest man around these parts, or so it seems.
Sounds like the opening mystery in a horror short story where the reason why there are no old people is discovered to be unspeakably evil and probably involves cannibalism.
We’ve rented a car for tomorrow to do some touring around the island, so blogging may be delayed. Sorry about that!
Just don’t crash and get eaten by tigers or Muslims.
Oh, and what’s missing from your post’s title?
Kevin, that comma I just added?
Kevin, man, that repeated misspelling of SIARGAO was bad, even by my low standards. I’m pretty sure I mispronounce the name, too. Anyway, I’ve fixed the problem for good this time. I took your advice about sounding out SI (yes in Spanish) and AR (are I gonna get it right this time?) as I type the word. I also added Siargao to my spellchecker dictionary.
Haven’t seen any tigers or people dressed like Muslims yet, so we ought to be good. I’m more worried about those cannibals feasting on old folks like me.
Congrats. You got almost all of the misspellings except this one:
I don’t recall ever seeing an airport as small as the one that serves Siragao.
And yes, the comma in the title is now correct. It’s called a vocative comma, and it’s used whenever you’re addressing someone or something.
• Dave, you’re dad’s here.
• Yes, sir.
• Hey, Kevin.
• Dude, pick that shit up off the floor.
• Surf City, here I am!
• Feets, don’ fail me now! (sic)
Check out Bad Online English #11, 23, 28, and 35. At least four times now!
Enjoy your day.
Did you spot my error? My inner voice was of no help, the drunken bastard.
Kevin, nope, didn’t catch your error. Must be my forgiving nature. 🙂
Kevin, you know me, I’m commatose. Still, that one should have been obvious. I think what threw me off was that it was the post title. Lame excuse, but that’s all I’ve got.