Early morning at Socorro Port
Upon arriving in Dapa, we arranged four habal-habals to take us to Cloud 9, General Luna the famous surfing location in Siargao. The drivers, who were very friendly and accommodating, took us to Ocean 101 Resort but the room rates were too deep for our pockets so the search goes on for other cheaper resorts. We settled at Point 303 Resort where we were able to find a room good for 5 people at P1,250, we rented two.
Point 303 Resort
The Gang at Point 303 Resort Souvenir shop
Entrance to Point 303 Resort
Point 303 Resort is not a beach side resort (must be why it is cheaper) but it is still within close proximity from Cloud 9 Boardwalk. Aside from the large rooms, the resort also has a souvenir shop, a restaurant with billiard table (free use), and a kiddie pool (they are currently changing the water when we were there).
Point 303 Restaurant
Green ambiance of the resort
Small kiddie pool
Since it is already past 8:30am, Kuya Dario (the lead habal-habal driver) suggested that we should go to another famous spot in Siargao, the Magpopongko Beach and Lagoon, first and have the surfing session early in the morning the next day. We agreed and went on to Magpopongko Beach after having breakfast at a carenderia in General Luna.The trip to Magpopongko Beach was long and agonizing. Imagine sitting in a bumpy habal-habal ride for more than an hour. We took a longer way, through Dapa and passing the Siargao airport, since the road is much smoother and paved. We reached the beach at around 10:15am. We relaxed our legs for a bit and then head on to explore the place. Before we went far to the lagoon, we had our lunch prepared.
Our habal-habal convoy
Some parts of the road are not yet cemented
My friends holding on to their ride
Arrival at Magpopongko Beach
Distant view of the lagoon at Magpopongko Beach
The calm lagoon and the wild waves not far away
Clear waters of the lagoon
Pigging out under the coconut tree after lunch
White sand beach of Magpopongko
At around 4:00pm, the tide is getting higher so we decided to call it a day. Going back to Cloud 9, we took the shorter but bumpier road. Construction of the road is still ongoing and one part of it is too muddy that we needed to take off the habal-habal and walk.
Muddy road going back to Cloud 9
On our way back to Cloud 9, we stopped by at Dapa wet market to buy pork, hotdogs, and eggs for our dinner and breakfast. We also asked Kuya Dario to take us to souvenir shops along the way.
It was already dark when we arrived at Point 303 Resort. We asked the staff of the resort to have the food we bought cooked for a fee. We washed up and had a refreshing shower while our dinner is being prepared. After our stomachs are filled, we chilled at the restaurant with some rounds of billiard games and a bottle of beer.
How did our third day in Siargao take a toll to our wallets:
- Socorro to Dapa - P100/Person
- Point 303 Resort, Non-AC room, P1,250 good for five - P250/person
- Breakfast at General Luna (1 rice, chicken, afritada, softdrink) - P70
- Cobra (for added energy through the day) - P25
- 4 Habal-habals (Dapa-Cloud9-Magpupungko-Cloud9) P1,000/habal-habal - P400/person
- Magpupungko Beach entrance fee - P50/Person
- Lunch at the beach (lechon manok and sinugbang baboy) - P132/person
- Dinner (bought pork, crab, and taklobo at Dapa market, rice P35, mango shake P60) - P151/person
- Cooking charge for the food we bought - P400 - P40/person
- San Miguel Beer - P35
