I’m at a loss for words to describe just how amazing the last week was–from off-grid adventures in search of waves and to stoked-filled evenings staring at the stars–it was the birthday surf trip of my dreams and more!
This trip took more than a year in the making simply because the logistics and timing of the swell (so we’d have great waves) were challenging. Palawan isn’t that known as a surfing destination compared to the likes of Siargao or even La Union.
Also, I had other priorities at the time—commitments I couldn’t say no to, and so Palawan had to wait a little bit. Come November 2018, I was stuck in Manila and as timing would have it, All Saints Day and All Souls Day fell on the weekends—perfect for a trip without having to take leave off from work.
Palawan wasn’t immediately on my radar then when I was choosing to book. I just wanted to have a great time surfing without the crowds. Siargao was not an option, and neither was the nearby surf destinations in Luzon like Baler and Zambales—the rest of Manila would probably be in these places, and I cannot spend the next five days with too many people.
I remembered my good friend, Shan Cabiguen’s invitation to go surfing in their home break and I knew that would be the perfect place to spend the long weekend. My birthday was coming up anyway, and as it had always been my tradition for four years, I’d go on a surf trip.
I invited my roommate, Danica, to join me. I knew she probably wanted to surf anyway and I loved the idea of having another female join me on this densely-male populated sport.
Having booked our flights from Manila to Puerto Prinsesa, we were set and excited for the day our flight would depart. The weeks led up to days and three days before our departure, the storm Rosita hit the Philippines. With all sensitivity, the world country doesn’t agree with me when storms come but a small minority—us surfers—welcome a solid swell like this.
Everything started to fall into place. The waves were pumping, our flight wasn’t going to get cancelled, and there were boards I could rent in the spots we were visiting. I couldn’t sleep out of sheer excitement!
Landing late in the afternoon in Puerto Prinsesa City, we had to stay a night before we traveled to San Vicente—this was recently hyped as the next tourist destination so I expected to see a few souls who’d take the road-less-traveled.
Shan recommended Sheebangs Hostel for us to spend the night. He was right. The crowd was a mix of fun tourists and friendly locals who had a Halloween party, so we had lots of food and a karaoke machine without limitations! I was surprised that the dormitory bed space only cost PHP 250 a night—not bad for a funky hostel with all the right vibes.
We checked out around 7:30 am the following morning and traveled around 30 minutes to the nearest surf spot to the city. Nagtabon Beach is already known as a surf spot among the local surfing community—which is slowly growing as more people become interested in the sport and lifestyle, and as more boards are becoming available in the area.
Nagtabon Beach was beyond my imagination despite seeing photos a drone shot! I’ll talk about this more next week so stay tuned!
