Siargao #2

Hello family and friends! We hope that everyone is doing really well and having an awesome summer. I was shocked to find that we are now entering the month of August!! It is crazy how time flies by. Jesse and I are really enjoying our time here on Siargao Island. By now we have settled in well.

Jesse and I rented a motorbike that we now use to ride to the surf, to our friends' houses and to the market. Our room at Renaldo's is cozy and convenient. The woman here Ate Alda (Mamma Song) is very kind, and always is making us our meals. She teaches me how to cook traditional dishes and I also use her kitchen to cook on my own. The "family" of people where we are staying consists of Mamma Song, B-Boy, Gin-Gin, Di-Di, Janet, and Hero (from Japan). Jess and I have not been fishing yet but Jesse is working avidly setting up our fly rods to make them fish worthy. We have been surfing every day. The past two days we have had a great swell come through. Jess has been stoked on trying waves other than Cloud "Croud" Nine. Today and yesterday he went to Touson and had fun. The day before, he surfed a spot called Cemeteries (it is directly out and across the reef from the cemetery). I really like surfing Cloud Nine and go out there most of the time. Yesterday morning at 0600 our friend Ballong came by and got us up to go out on the brothers' boat to Rock Island to go surfing. We went out at 0630 and enjoyed the boat ride then found no waves on that particular island. We hung out at their house the rest of the morning and surfed Touson later with them. I took photos.

There have been a few cultural dances and get togethers that we have seen. There was a sail boat race a couple of days ago. We went out on a boat to go snorkeling about five days ago. We snorkeled from the boat to a small island and found aa family having lunch. They had us join them. The Philippino culture is amazing for it's hospitality and kindness, among other things. We have continued to enjoy our time here and are thankful for the great friends that we have made. Love and miss you all at home! Jessica