by Maria Christina Buo
With countless hardcore reefs, pure sandy beaches, small points, idyllic islets and sandbars, General Luna and other coastal communities along eastern Siargao have plenty to offer in the way of great surf.
The sun was setting across General Luna and my companions Phoebe and Eric and I took a walk farther down the long, empty, white beach until we reached several coconut-wood, nipa-thatched beachfront cottages in search of tourists. Then, not very far beyond us, I spotted a tall, white man coming down from round the elbow of the beach. I approached him directly and requested if he could bring some friends along for a brief, casual interview to be shot on video. "Would you prefer Koreans, Americans or Japanese?" he asked. I smiled at the thought of his multi-national circle of traveling friends. "Whichever," I replied. In half a minute he returned with two goodlooking Japanese guys.
"May I have your name, sir?" I asked this tall, flaxen-haired, soft-spoken tourist in a short interview along the quiet, white-sand beach fronting the Surfer's Choice Cottages.
"I'm JOHN CALLAHAN from Hawaii. I came here in 1992 to do projects for a surfing magazine and Philippine Airlines' Mabuhay (in-flight magazine)," came the reply. Back then, I have neither seen nor read any of his works. So I didn't know I was talking to the man who pioneered surf exploration in our very own hometown in these modern times. The man who literally put Siargao on the world surfing map. I went on to ask him a few more questions before I turned to the two jolly and irresistibly cute Japanese who were among his multi-national crew of surfing travelers who have come all the way down here in this tiny corner of the globe to find and surf the best waves possible.
It was late October 1993 in Gen. Luna, prime time for surfing in Siargao when the southwest monsoon from July to November is blowing, producing clean swells and offshore winds that create beautiful conditions for wave surfing. Located on the southern tip of Siargao, off the northeast coast of Mindanao, Gen. Luna is every surfer's dream -- remote, exotic location, sugar-fine bone-white beaches, virtually crystal seas, laid-back lifestyle, warm, friendly locals, and of course, incredibly perfect waves. Undoubtedly, the best wave here is the outer-reef break, world-class righthander nicknamed CLOUD NINE. Its machine-like marrelling perfection has been compared to "Backdoor Pine" in Hawaii. And when it is really powering, it is rated to be the best right hand barrel tube in the world. A surf tourist once declared "Cloud Nine is as perfect a reef (break) as you could conjure in your most fantastic dream." And not too long ago, an excellent professional surfing photographer called it "a dream wave in a phenomenal tropical setting." John S. Callahan says: "We've had incredible waves in the Philippines, at Cloud 9 and other places on the Pacific Coast. If there's any location on the planet that's holding world class breaks where no one has ever surfed, I would say it's the Philippines." Cloud Nine is just one of a series of powerful surf breaks discovered and christened by John Callahan and his fellow surf explorers on their first major surfing expeditions near Siargao Island in September 1993.
Whenever I return to my hometown in "GL" each visit always seems to be better than the last. No matter how often I come back, the vacation is always full of new experiences and never runs out of wonderful surprises like the afternoon I encountered Mr. John Callahan. I was spending the semestral break there with a group of classmates from Saint Theresa's College to shoot video footages and gather pertinent data for our undergraduate thesis: "A video documentary on the Profile of the Municipal Town of General Luna" when I chanced upon top-caliber US surfing photographer John S. Callahan whose works had often appeared in various surfing publications and whom I had never expected to meet in such a remote place like ours in Gen. Luna, southern Siargao.
When John Callahan and several surfing photographers began publishing dramatic footage of Siargao's uncrowded, world-class waves, word really got around. Thanks to him and fellow surf adventurers like Kevin, Davidson, Evan Slater, Taylor Knox, Derek Reilly, Michael Forde, Jason Nieuwenhorse and Neal Purchase, to name a few, Siargao's high quality surf breaks have received quite a bit of coverage in international surfing magazines. It is no longer a secret. Siargao is a wave-land that is starting to be explored and is gaining an international reputation for world-class surfing.
As a young girl I had spent care-free summers in Gen. Luna where I was exposed to a place virtually untouched by the modern world and untainted by tourism, atown rimmed on its east coast by a 27-kilometer stretch of uncrowded, silky soft, powdery white beach plus a natural fringing barrier reef that protects the lagoon from the huge, powerful waves of the Pacific. Beyond the Pisangan natural barrier lies the Philippine Deep, an oceanic trench with a depth of 37,732 ft. Gen. Luna is a veritable playground for adventurous and nature lovers. Its territorial waters provide plenty of crabbing and fishing opportunities. This is a game fishing area abounding with marlin, sailfish, dorado, whaoo, shark, tuna and yellow fin. With its pristine environment complete with rolling green hills, luxuriant fields, beguiling beaches, rock and coral reefs, idyllic isles, crystal-clear seas and perfect surf, Gen. Luna has all the ingredients for one of the best get-away-from-it-all tropical island escapades. Here, island-hopping is not only extremely pleasurable, it's also inexpensive. The warm tropical waters around it offer excellent conditions for snorkeling, scuba-diving, sailing, kayaking or boating, wind and wave surfing and other forms of water recreation.
Remote from all the hustles and hype of urban living, Gen. Luna is still mysterious, still haunted by legends and dreams.Its wildness makes it easy to find solitude and its isolation makes it a challenge for travelers. It is a great tonic to the world of the city. As kids, we spent most of our playtime on and about the beach, prancing and picnicking on the soft, white dunes of the golden beach of Gen. Luna. Here, I thought was a place so close to paradise. I gaze eagerly at the soaring gulls wheeling around in a graceful arc over the shimmering lagoon. In the sunlight, the water is a pure delight of many-shifting hues -- shades of luminous green alternating with heavenly blue and ethereal rose. When it's all very quite, I especially like to pause and listen to the distant, thundering roar of surf pounding against the barrier reef. "I love to linger for a moment and marvel at those long lines of tubular waves rolling in like liquid thunder," exploding into foam as it breaks onto the shore or reef. There's a wealth of perfect waves out here and along the eastern coast of Siargao, but it was a long time before the area's surf potential was brought to the world's attention.
Back in the early 1980s surf pioneers ventured into this isolated and rugged territory and discovered excellent waves. The surfers were Steve Jones, an Australian and Tony Arroza, a Hispanic-American. Then there was this mysterious tourist by the name of "Max Walker" who settled in a solitary hut on the palm-fringed shores of Tuason Point, Catangnan, within a small distance from a perfect reef break, now popularly known as "Cloud Nine." He was probably the first to surf Cloud Nine and was also credited for discovering Grajagan or G-Land surf spot in Java, Indonesia. But this man was acting so strange that town mayor Jaime Rusillon called him "Mad Max." Looking back, I remember this strange tourist who starved himself until he died on the 44th day of his fast, which happened to be his birthday. He was burried in Tuason Point, fronting Cloud Nine. Eventually, it was known that he was the legendary Hawaiian surf traveler John Michael "Mike" Boyum who was sought after by Hawaiian authorities for drug trafficking. He escaped and settled in General Luna for its remote location and excellent surf.
A second generation of surf pioneers began exploring the area from mid to late 80s. They were mostly expatriates who were in search of hardcore breaks and uncrowded line ups. Until then, Siargao was one of the best-kept secrets on the international surfing map. But not for long. The early 1990s saw the new batch of surf explorers who publicized the high-quality waves they discovered in Siargao Island.
In March 1994, the Dept. of Tourism invited the now renowned international surfing figures, Fred Williamson and Bernie Baker on a fact-finding mission to identify surfing areas and examine the huge potential for surfing development here in the country. The Triple Crown mission help initiate and organize the Daet Surfing Event held last Sept. 1-2, 1995 in Daet, Camarines Norte. This was followed by the First Open Invitational and International Surfing Competition held at Cloud Nine, Gen. Luna in Siargao last September 1996. The surfing event kicked off September 23, a day after Gen. Luna's Annual Celebration of the Feast of St. Thomas de Villanueva.
It was a hard competition considering the nature of Cloud Nine which is very dangerous and although perfect, often unpredictable. On the first day of competition, the waves were approximately 6-10 foot high. During the event, the surf stayed in the 3-6 foot range. The contest, says one of the judges, Mark Douglas was judged according to the wave size, the length of the ride and the number of turns of every surf rider's performance. The criteria include the surfer's high-speed, radical manoeuvers to get aerials. This defines what state of the art surfing is all about. Every surfer has to ride twelve waves, the five best scores which were added together to determine the final result. Gold Coast surfer Neal Purchase, Jr. emerged as champion in the event. Best known for his backhand tube riding, Purchase was a finalist in the World Qualifying Series. Fellow Australian Brenden Margieson placed second. Robbie Johnson ranked third and Stuart Cadden bagged the fourth place. The event enabled surfers in the Philippines and around the world to get together and promote the growth of surfing sport in the country. There is cause for optimism that Siargao can achieve its huge potential for surging and other high-adrenalin water sports. As a potential travel and adventure location, there is a possible and inevitable threat to the environment and culture. Here in Gen. Luna, tourism facilities and infrastructure aren't much developed, so you can find yourself in a pristine environment which offers great hardcore adventure. It is hoped that surfers or tourists come here with respect for the local culture and environment. Tourism officials can enforce strict discipline in saving the precious environment and cultural heritage. And an innovative tourism program can go a long way in providing economic benefits to the local people and in teaching them to safeguard the natural resources.
Watching these foreign snd local surfers stroking their way out on their paddleboards into a vertical take-off was "thrill non pareil." I was part of the media group seated up in a wooden tower on the Cloud Nine surf spot, spellbound and quivering with excitement watching these beautiful-bodied surfers trying to achieve balance, coordination and a sense of timing as they ride the waves. It is truly amazing how the mind, body, surfboard and wave all work together perfectly. Surfing, they say, is the perfect marriage of self-expression, sport and working with natural forces.
Surfers travel the world over in search of a place where they can find spectacular beach break barrels, power rock/coral reef tubes and long, empty point breaks. In Gen. Luna and in other towns along eastern Siargao, the Pacific rolls like thunder in long lines of tubular waves peeling endlessly into bautiful beaches and breaking perfectly on to rock or coral reefs. Here in Nirvana -- the power of the ocean takes hold of you and saltwater gets into our blood. Warm tropical breezes free your spirit and caress your soul. There's a whisper on the morning wind, there's a rainbow in the sky so blue, and the sea is calling ... forever calling you.