To freedom

Rum and coke in hand, with a little calamansi lemon frozen into an ice cube, finds me writing about my travels once again. To think I nearly cancelled this trip… time and thought tells me it was the fear of getting carried away again by the life of travel, of easy riding down the coast of a white island, surrounded by only sandy roads, fishermen in their wooden bangkas and the smell of Pandan fruit falling from the trees.

A week in Siargao island has enchanted me once again. Perhaps this time more because I realize that with a little bit of saving, I can buy some land and build a house eventually… or maybe even a spa and restaurant – which is missing on the island and has been a business idea on my mind for a while. The more time I spend here, the more local I feel. Yes, I wish to be part of the others who have chosen this as their seasonal home. I fear that if I do not act soon, others will take over, mass tourism will turn it into a makeshift Boracay, and the charm and magnetism will be lost. It really is a pearl in the orient one wishes to keep precious.

Billabong sponsored the surfing competition there this year, which has helped the island get massive coverage and millions worth of publicity. They have a 3-year contract so I envisage myself there this same time next year, cheering for the young 20-something year old surfers who ride the waves in style and make it look so simple, and then sharing beers and a night walk on the beach during a blackout with the older surfers, who may be overshadowed in the water by the younger guys, but have nothing to envy them when night falls. And so life goes for the traveling single female who prefers to sit in front of her computer at her leisure and share snippets of how her alternative life unravels.

To freedom
(pictures to follow)