From Scuba-Diva to Surfer-Diva

Surprisingly I have a tan after spending 5 days in Siargao. My friends and I were blessed with gray weather, colds and fever yet we all had one of the most unforgettable week of our lives.

Siargao is not a hang out island like Boracay. It is made for those who have a great sense of adventure and is willing to come home with bandages on their feet . The more bandages you have the merrier you have been.

To get to Cloud 9, the premier surfing spot of the island, I had to be on an overnight ferry ride from Cebu to Surigao City in Surigao Del Norte though Cokaliong Shipping Lines. The ticket cost me almost 600 Pesos. We left at 7:30 PM which got me to Surigao City at 5:45 AM the next morning, just in time to catch the first fast craft (outrigger boat) to Dapa. Dapa is the gateway of Siargao Island. We left for Dapa at 6:00 AM which required me to move as fast as Nancy Navalta from the Main Port to the pier where Britphil was picking up passengers for it's first trip of the day. It was a 2 hour trip which cost me 150 Pesos. Once in Dapa I took a tricycle to Cloud 9 with 3 other passengers costing me another 100 Pesos. It took us a good 20-25 mins to get there. Before 9 AM I was checking in at Cloud 9 Resort and met up with my friends from manila who made the reservation for me. Getting there is not very complicated. If I was a millionaire's mistress I would have taken SEA air's 1 hour and 45 mins flight from Cebu to Siargao which would've taken off the cumbersome overnight ferry ride and boat transfer. Since I was on a budget trip I had to endure all trouble and made sure that I make the most out of this trip, which I did.

Siargao is known for it's surf; it's NOT for the faint-hearted. The waves are definitely not for beginners. My scars are badges of honor. I survived Siargao! For those who are willing to learn how to surf in the ruthless waters of cloud 9 make sure you stay away from where the seasoned surfers go. I suggest that you learn surfing in Quicksilver. That's the break to the left of Cloud 9. Luckily, Cloud 9 was kinder during my entire stay so I was able to ride a few waves.

Siargao popped my surfing cherry. The mermaid in me have always wanted to try the sport. I have to say my interest saved me. I searched for how-to video's on line before I even purchased my ferry ticket.

It is advisable that you hire someone to teach you. However, don't expect to be taught the way they show it one TV. Siargao's School of Surfing believes in the virtue of learning by doing. I was baptised by the surf of Rock Island. A 10 min. boat ride from Cloud 9. Misled by the videos I watched prior to the trip, I thought Ali, my instructor, would teach me on the beach, like the way they teach beginners in the rest of the world. Once our boat was anchored, Ali asked me to paddle to the 7 foot wave, which I did. He waited for the waves to get close enough, as the waves approached he pushed my board and yelled for me to stand. Had I not seen any video, I would have died before I was even able to get both of my feet on the board. Luckily I was able to stand on my 2nd attempt.

My friend Mch got her souvenir bruise while conquering Rock Island so we decided to stay close to cloud 9. We did for the rest of the week except for one afternoon when we went to Daku Island. Sadly there was no surf that afternoon. Having told that the island has coral reef I decided to bring my snorkeling set. It was gorgeous. Divers: be advised that there is no dive shop on the island, do not end up bringing your entire gear for nothing. Believe me, it happened to me.

Food is not hard to find. Siargao has affordable chow. You won't feel compelled to look for food outside of the resort your staying in but for travellers who are really on a budget I suggest Surfer's Food and the turo-turo next to it. The turo-turo is also the same spot where you could rent boards. Word of advise, be there early unless you want to surf with a board that deserves the flat iron instead of the waves. Board can be rented for P500/day. I paid Ali P250/hour for his services. The key is to learn quickly so you won't end up spending all your money for someone to push your board.

My entire week in Siargao was one of my best vacations. Now I am into surfing and is constantly praying for a surf spot in Cebu. I learned how to surf in a week despite having fever for 3 days. I recommend it to anyone who has a good sense of balance and an even greater sense of adventure.

Now let's play pictionary.

Boards Galore!
On my way to my first wipe-out.


There was a competition that week. I was not in it.This was dinner.
Have you ridden a habal-habal? This is how you will look like aboard one. Maximum 6 passengers including the driver in one motorcycle. Obviously some of us need to lose weight.

My Siargao Crew: RJ, Mch & Alan.

Spot the fencitor in this photo.
Surf Betty and Me! My board is definitely not butch.

Ali and me, I was so wet coz we were surrounded by surfer hotties. Hot buns baby!
Alan and me looking so "touristy".

Either I was sleepy or drunk. I know I was sad coz I was leaving the island.
This is my new motto:
I guess I should leave you with a taste of Cloud 9.



So what are you waiting for? See you in the assembly line. ;)

Wish List

When I was still a kid and was in ultimate denial about my sexuality I had lots of dreams. Just like any other little fag in the closet I thought that the world is an playground without boundary. I had a lot in my mind. I thought of going places, of doing cool things and of an unending list of desires. Like my list I thought life will never end and that I have all the time in the world to do and have anything I could think of.

Of course I have realized one of life's truths. That nobody makes it out alive. Hence, I have to trim my list of wants into a more feasible tally. C'est la vie! We work and save for retirement, to do what we want to do only to realize that our knees aren't strong enough to do half of what we have saved for. This is only an observation and not from first hand experience. In case you are wondering, youth is still on my side. I'm sure however that most of us will see it the way I do.

I believe all of us have this list. Some of us will be able to fulfill most of our desires, most will satisfy a little, while a very rare few will get to say I have done it all. It is of course dependent on the length of one's list.

I am putting my list on paper (or on-line), including those I have done. I will suggest everyone to do so. Like what your what your Cosmo magazine and those self help books say, this will help you see where you are. I am doing this to zero in on the ones that I could complete soon and the ones that could take a little longer.

Be advised that due to the short attention span of my readers (if there is any) I am publishing the ones that are on top of my list. Besides, no lists such as this is ever constant. It's like a woman with PMS. That's right, nod byotches!

So here goes.

Finish College (I'm laughing at this one)

Work on radio

Write a Screenplay

Become a Chef

Own a restaurant

Own a yatch

Own a White Beetle with rainbow stripe from bumper to bumper

Write for a Magazine

Paint

Watch Musicals in Broadway and the West End

Dive

Become A Dive Master

Learn to Surf

Learn to Kite Board

Sky Dive

Bungee Jump

Travel to Europe

See Egypt

Dive in these (but not limited to the following) destinations:

Palau

Maldives

Micronesia

Malapascua

Moalboal

Anilao

Apo Island

Tubbataha

Bohol

Indonesia

Malaysia Trully Asia

Florida Keys

The Carribean

Seychelles

The Cayman Island

This list goes on….

Do some Charity work

And of course, promote world peace.

This is the most modest version of my list. I am no close to completing half of this but I keep on working on crossing out all of the items above, I guess just like everybody else. We all should hold on to our desires. If you have none, then there's no reason for you to be here.

Is It Time to Upgrade?

This is the time in most people's lives when everything has to be weighted in order to make the right decision. I have grown so attached to you. I don’t know if life will still be worth living without you. I have already placed a permanent spot for you in my life my 1 year old Nokia 3310.

I’m not really sure of its actual age. My then flat mate sold it to me after getting bored with it. It’s only been with him for 2 weeks. I can’t blame him. 3310 became boring after the turn of the millennium. Yep, right after everyone drooled at the then popular 5110. Caller ID was classified as an innovation, 3 minutes later it became a thing of the past.

Mobile phones are evolving faster that anything else we’ve ever seen. A million years from now, paleontologist will call our time the mobile phone era in the epoch of information technology. Maybe I should fossilize my phone and donate it to the nearest museum of outdated technology.

I’m not big on phones. This is due to two separate instances of phone theft. The fist one happened in a bar before I even started drinking. In an instant after a pee break my 3660 was gone. That was my first annual bonus down the drain. It did give me the reason the get stinking drunk. After that I decided to downgrade, thinking that thieves go for models that stink of easy cash. I was wrong. Even my previously owned 5210 was also stolen. This time on a bus on my way home, why did I not take a taxi?!

Not wanting to waste any more money I agreed to buy my ultra basic 3310. Who needs a fancy phone? I can’t even burn a P300 call card in a month. I know how to take advantage of Chikka and Skype. Even yahoo has SMS feature. Why buy a 24/7 call and text card when all my friends buy it? If they need me they will call me. If I need them then that’s the only time I will burn 6.50 a minute.

So is it time to make an upgrade? I guess it is when a 3310 decides to let go of it's ghost. I need a new phone! A 3310i!

I'm in love with a Bear

Yes you got that right. Scuba Divah is in love with a Bear. No, not the kind of bear we queens are familiar with. His name is BEAR GRYLLS.










I was browsing the tube last night I stumbled upon "Man Vs. Wild" on Discovery Channel. He was on a balloon and was talking about surviving in the wild. Before he sat on the edge of the basket he talked about breaking his back in 3 places from a parachuting accident (One true blue Brokeback experience, the closest I have to this is when I broke my back twice in bed, don't ask! It will have a space in here sometime I the future).




Anyway, after that revelation he fell on his back and was hanging on a parachute yet again lading somewhere in Kenya where he was to encounter the African wilderness with nothing but a knife and water container.




On this survival escapade, he drank water from squeezed elephant dung, made fire out of the same excrement and ate some lion's leftover zebra. All I needed is one episode of his show to desire his fingerlings. Who could resist a man's man? I googled him today and read about other thing he did in some of his episodes. Some of them are gross but I admire how he pushes his limit in order to survive.

This is his version of sushi.













His menu consist of sheep's eye on a socket, urine in a bottle and sea urchin for appetizer. However exotic his menu is I will still pay to have dinner with him.

Don't you find him hot yet?









How about a state of undress?









Yum!




I dont think you have seen enough of him yet so here, bask in the glory of his hotness. Trust me, this will make you drool.













Whoever was his cameraman above is one damn lucky fag (if he ever was).

Anyway, not only is he an exciting specimen of a man he also has a heart of diamond. Not only is he fist man to paraglyde above mount everest, he used that stint for charity raising $1 Mil. He's also a karate black belter and was part of the British Air Service for 3 years. That's a couple of costume fantasies for you ladies!

I have a lot of other things to say about him but I will let you just find out for yourselves. Check out his website www.beargrylls.com. Did I say he has written some books too? Any of those will be part of my Christmas wish list.



Mr. Grylls: if you are reading this - I want your babies! Of course copies of your books will do too.





I wish he was a diver. He'd be the perfect dive buddy. I need to learn some survival skills underwater and I'm sure I will remember everything he will say. Especially if he would let me help him get in his wet suit.





I leave you with this fun clip of him with Conan. You ought to excuse me. I think Mr. Grylls is calling me on my mobile. Oh! Did I also say he's British. THAT'S HOT!

Nth Attempt

So why am I here to blog again? I have been infected by this blog virus a couple of times. Both became forgotten virtual pages. You know…when the domain deletes your site due to inactivity. I think I'm here to challenge my ADD. Duh! I now believe people who claim they have ADD are just bored. Like me!

My life is definitely not as exciting as those celebrities who end up in rehab. Not that I want to be in rehab but a stint in an institution as such may add color to my monochromatic life. It really is not as boring as it sound but I will just let you be the judge of that.

Like most of us with functioning cerebral system I am plagued by moments of thought overflow. I need to let these ideas galloping in my head out of their stable. Imagine I was She-ra, my ideas Swiftwind.

I need to stamp my experiences, past, present and future, somewhere. Blogging should fulfill this need. A friend with good ears should suffice but as any person pretending to have writing skills I have to have a place to mix all these letters. I consider this site my kitchen and readers the restaurant guests who will never send their food back (hint!). Criticisms are welcome as long as you keep them to yourselves. LOL!

I am hoping this will be my point of no return. Looking back, I realized having a hundred ideas at a time is not healthy. I should learn how to filter these thoughts to come up with cohesive entries. Maybe, just maybe my mind was creating nothing but brain excrement eventually clogging the flow of neurons. Like stroke it caused my past blogs' sudden deaths. This is surely not the appropriate time to second guess myself! This then will be a battle against myself. Think Kylie Minogue in her "You Did It Again" music video. And while you muster in the brilliance of my metaphor please excuse me. I have to choose which horse to unleash next.