In Love With The Philippines

Some experiences are so incredible that when you get back to reality it feels like it was all just a dream. My most recent trip to the Philippines is one of those experiences. Venturing off by myself in hopes of scoring epic waves, meeting cool new people and seeing beautiful new sights was certain to be an adventure. I met up with Surf with Amigas, an all girl surf and yoga adventure retreat and had no idea how far surpassed my highest expectations would soon be. This video will show you what I mean!

Siargao Philippines Surf Trip 2013 from Chelsea Denning on Vimeo.

The Philippines is huge with over 7,000 islands, so my view of the Philippines having stayed primarily just on the island of Siargao will be very different from others. These are the main highlights from my time on Siargao that I would recommend to anyone spending time on this island.

1.       Sohoton Caves

Boating through the caves

After rockclimbing in the dark through some caves you can jump off a cliff back to where you started!

The group hanging out in the cave

2.       Surfing, Surfing and more Surfing 

Surfing Rock Island

Duck Dive

Shallow reef at Hawaiian Jacks

3.       Playing with Stingless Jellyfish

4.       Tropical fruit and awesome seafood

Had a mango every day! This was a typical breakfast.

Tuna in a banana leaf  dinner

Fresh Coconut

5.       Snorkeling

Be careful not to step on an urchin while surfing

Electric Blue Starfish!

6.       Riding Water Buffalo (Carabao)

Tracy and I cruisin by the rice paddies

A local showing us how it's done

The girls loving our new found animal

7.       Yoga on the beach

Yoga Studio. It's the most peaceful feeling having an ocean breeze while doing yoga.

8.       Cloud 9 Boardwalk

Right in front of the boardwalk is where the most famous wave in the Philippines breaks, Cloud 9

9.       Exploring different islands by boat or plane

The view of multiple Philippine islands from the plane on my flight from Cebu to Siargao

The boat drivers that took us around all week

Setting out to explore some surf breaks

Every surf break we had to take a boat out to.  It's really fun jumping off a boat heading out to surf!

10.   Watch Sunrises and Sunsets

I couldn't believe my eyes when I woke up lying in my bed to this amazing sunrise. I jumped out of bed so quick to be able to snap a few shots of one of the prettiest sunrises I'd ever seen!

Sunset view from the boat after an epic surf session

Sunset view from Cloud 9 

I stayed at a cute little place called The Greenhouse. It has just a few oceanfront bungalows with boats right outside to take us to the surf breaks and on our adventures. It was perfect!

My cute Canadian roomate Sibina playing the guitar outside our bungalow

Photo by Cyd Conner

The beauty and enchantment of Siargao makes it feel almost magical. I'm so grateful to have been to such a special place and met so many amazing people along the way.