Detour Issue No. 06 by No Barriers Just Horizons

DETOUR ISSUE NUMBER SIX

SIARGAO

ISSUE NO.

SIX THE ISL AND LIFE

04 | WAITING AND CHASING

The two states that you are in when you live in a big city.

06 | THE ISLAND LIFE

The beach, the people and the lifestyle.

28 | KOMINE GK 157 SMART TIP GLOVES

This is the Komine GK 157 supposedly “Smart Tip” gloves. You might be wondering why “supposedly”?

33 | FLOW

The default state of the people in Siargao.

Cover: En-route to a surf spot when, when cloud 9 is not available.

Detour Moto x Travel is an online publication under the No Barriers Just Horizons Moto Journal project. Motorcycles, travel and stories of people told in a humble and curious manner.

PHOTOGRAPHY DESIGN C O N C E P T U A L I Z AT I O N WRITING

by Marvin Geronimo

C O N TA C T

Facebook: @nobarriersjusthorizons Website: www.nobarriersjusthorizons.ph E-mail: no.barriers.just.horizons@gmail.com

Humble in tone, genuine in cur iosity.

ISSUE NO. SIX | PUBLISHED APRIL 2018 C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 8 ÂŠ D E T O U R M O T O X T R AV E L , A L L R I G H T S R E S E R V E D

FOREWORD

WAITING AND CHASING

by MARVIN GERONIMO

When you live in a big city it seems like your life revolves around just two states… waiting and chasing. Waiting in a cab stuck in traffic or a line getting your overpriced coffee while trying to chase a career with high paying job and the last shuttle on your way home. This is the life for most of us… it seems that we have accepted this routine as our reality. We all have our own reasons why we choose this kind of reality, I don’t think it is inherently bad for us. But sometimes it makes me wonder if there is a different kind of life outside of this. If there is, what would it be? Can that kind of life be rewarding for both personal and financial growth? I do not have an answer to that. But Siargao gave me a glimpse of what it could be.

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THE ISLAND LIFE

ISSUE NO. SIX

THE ISLAND LIFE SIARGAO I arrived at Surigao at around 8 in the evening. Tired from the boat ride I tried to look for a place to stay, I checked a couple of lodges looking for the cheapest one. I found a lodge that looked cheap so I went on to inquire how much it is for one night. The guy that was guarding the parking area said itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s 500 per night. I then asked if he will be up all night guarding the parking, he said no. He will go up to the lodge at around 10, which means no one will be guarding my precious motorcycle for the remainder of the evening.

THE ISLAND LIFE

That’s when he started asking about me… the usual stuff. Where I was from, what I was doing there, where I’m going, honestly answering the same questions is starting to become annoying. Then she called an old lady that was sweeping the front of their house and said “This guy is from Manila and he is going to Zamboanga!”. Then the old lady said “Don’t go there, you know? With all the bombing and firefights there I don’t think it’s a safe place to go to.” I then asked if she has been there, she then said “No”. This has been a recurring theme during my ride here in Mindanao. When I was still in Luzon they told me that Mindanao is not a safe place to visit, the same thing was said when I was in Visayas… I was hoping that things would change once I’m in Mindanao, apparently, it didn’t. The ironic thing was people who claim that a place is unsafe to visit haven’t even been there.

Now knowing that there wont be any security for my motorcycle tonight made me look for a different lodge. I asked the security guy if he can recommend another one. He then told me that there’s another one with a gate and 24 hours of security. That sounds like a good place to stay for the night, I went on to find it. It indeed has a gate, a red one, upon entering I got the vibe that this will be expensive. I was right… it was 800 a night! Tired I decided to just take it, will just look for cheaper places to stay next time. The room was nice, air-conditioned with its own bathroom. Enjoying what for me is a form of luxury, I was able to get a good night sleep and a nice shower. After having some breakfast on a nearby cafe I asked the security guard if he knows a nice place that I can visit (by asking people for suggestions is how I get around). He said visit Siargao there’s a lot of really nice places there, I then asked “How do I get there?” he said I have to take a boat. After quickly researching about Siargao on my phone, I deemed it worthy of a boat ride. I arrived at the port, there were some fixers out side, I asked one of them as to how much it would cost for me to get to the island of Siargao. Now if my memory serves me right the total cost was around 1000 php, but I would still have to wait a couple of hours before the next RORO leaves. Then someone approached me and said that if I want to leave earlier I can just take the smaller boats to get there. After asking for directions I went to find the small boats. When you first see the boats you will immediately ask yourself “This is it?”. The boats were small it seems to only load a little bit of cargo and less than 50 people. I asked one of the guys there if it’s possible to load my motorcycle on those boats, he said “Yes! We do it all the time”. They seem pretty confident with their answer so I decided to take it. When I asked how much it costs that’s when it hit me, it’s almost 1,500 php, that’s expensive!

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I had to pause a little before deciding if I’m going to push through with Siargao, 1,500 going there which means 1,500 going back. This alone would put a big dent on my budget. I then asked myself “When will I ever have this opportunity again? Probably never…”. Then I realized it’s just money, I will figure out the rest once I get there. With a heavy heart, I paid every fee that is asked of me. They loaded my motorcycle into their boat, I’m no stranger to this, but every time that my motorcycle is transferred to a boat on a piece of wood that’s just about a foot wide without anything to catch it, I clenched my fist and hope nothing bad happens.

But these guys are pros, I asked if it would help if I remove the side bags so they can transport it easier. They said “Yes!”, so I got it out of the way and they started lifting it. It was a bit of a challenge to them as the XR 125 is quite tall and long, in order to control it better one guy rode it… and yes he rode it while it was still in the wooden plank. I was only able to breathe again once they have loaded my only means of transportation, they tied it down securely and then off we go. The boat was divided into two, one was a small tight room with like 10 people inside below it is wide room with a lot of seating capacity, that’s where most of the passengers are. The captain told me that I can stay in that small room, so I did. The room was cramped and a bit hot, I tried my best to be comfortable even though filled with people and their belongings. Then the boat started to move, we are leaving the port now. I went outside to get some air and to watch as we rode by mangroves. At first I thought, they were islands because they were just ridiculously thick and lush with birds coming and going. After a couple of minutes we were in the open sea… the captain advised us to go inside. He told us that we are going to get wet if we stayed there because the waves were a bit high. Everyone in the small cabin was curious as to who I am, why I was there and what I was doing. Who wouldn’t? I was sticking out like a sore thumb all dressed in black motorcycle gear. After a brief interview, I tried my best to sleep, simply because I was getting sea sick. The waves were indeed high and my insides want to come out my mouth. I tried my best not to vomit, but I can’t help it. I went outside to the back of the boat and puked all of my breakfast into the sea… that’s the only way I know how to cope up with motion sickness. Instead of going inside I opted to just stay out, wind breeze and horizons usually help in preventing from getting dizzy.

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THE ISLAND LIFE

After 3 hours, we finally arrived at Siargao. My bike got unloaded and I was advised by the crew that the first thing that I have to look for was a bike wash… as sea water is not kind to metal and chances are my motorcycle will corrode if I let the sea water settle, good thing there was one nearby. After a brief chit-chat with the guy who washed my bike, I started asking him if he can suggest a place where I can stay in. He told me that there are a lot of places to stay in Cloud 9, I wasn’t sure what he was actually talking about. He then said it’s the place where almost all the tourists go, that’s where they surf! I then asked how far it is, he said about 15 to 20 mins ride. A 20-minute ride is really not that far… although I really wanted to look for some place that’s just near so I can change into dry clothes and get some rest. That’s when he suggested a small lodge that’s like a couple of blocks away. I got there fairly quickly. At first, you won’t think that it’s a lodge as it looks more like a regular house. I got in and asked if there was a room for me to stay in and how much it would cost. Luckily there was an available one and only costs around 500 per night to stay. I quickly said that I’m going to take it, I was about to pay them but then they said

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just pay for it once you check out. After asking some help with my stuff I got into my small room with a bed a fan and some Christmas lights. It was a rainy morning, from what I have been told we are currently experiencing a signal no. 2 storm. No boats are allowed to leave and the island. We are closely being monitored as we are on the storm’s path. I was bummed out, I have nothing else to do in my room. I definitely can’t stay here all day, even though I’m sick and tired of getting wet I decided to go out and ride, where? To be honest nothing in particular. I just don’t want to spend my time locked up in my room staring at Christmas lights. I packed some of my gear, leaving the non-essentials in the room. Even though my riding gear is still wet I decided to still wear it. I wore my rain gear on top of it, one thing that a lot of people ignore when riding in the rain is the possibility of hypothermia. Wet gear plus wind chill can lower your core body temperature to the point that you are already shivering, I have been there once and I don’t want to experience it again. Wearing your rain gear helps cut down the wind chill by a lot.

THE ISLAND LIFE

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My belongings.

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THE ISLAND LIFE

Without any destination in particular, I decided to just circumnavigate the island. Good thing there was decent internet connection as I was able to use Google maps to locate how far and how long it will take me to get the end of the island. The winds were strong and the rain didn’t stop. Good thing I only had to pass by a road with no trees once, because the wind was literally blowing me away and I had to huddle just so I won’t get hit by the strong wind blasts. I thought the whole island of Siargao was filled with resorts and hotels because from what I read it’s a haven for surfers especially foreigners. Apparently, that’s just on one part of the island. The rest of the island looks like any other province. Simple homes filled with helpful smiling people. Everywhere I go there seems to be some road construction going on, I was told that the priority of their local government was to finish paving the roads. When it’s done there would be paved road looping the whole island of Siargao. It would greatly improve the travels of the locals as well as boost tourism.

I just followed the GPS, sometimes it directs me to a lime covered off-road challenge, other times it takes me to a paved road. There’s really not much to see but it’s a novelty for me to ride these kinds of roads, so that’s ok. I did stumble upon two very interesting places, one was a waterfalls and the other was a bay. I was told that If you are in Siargao and you get tired of surfing, you can just go here and enjoy the falls. But that clearly is not an option today as the waters are raging, there were some local children when I got there but even they aren’t swimming. Rather they are just on the sides of the falls getting their feet wet. After taking some photos I left the place and decide to go back and check out the famous Cloud 9. Going back I noticed one amazing beach, it looks like a cove. But there were really big rock formations and the waves were strong and high, it was hitting the rocks violently and relentlessly. The whole scene was one beautiful chaos, when I showed it to one of my Australian friends who likes surfing he said “A pretty little bay filled with danger.” Indeed it was. I was already famished and tired, riding in the rain takes a toll on you as you have to be extra focused. Somewhere near Cloud 9, I found this cafe/restaurant which has a bohemian vibe to it. Everywhere there are positive messages written in colored chalk that reminds you to just chill and relax… I was surprised to see a lot of foreigners when I got in, the menu was very similar to the cafes that i visited when I was in Cairns Australia, it has this western free spirited vibe to it… enough of that. I’m hungry, I ordered a very big breakfast meal enough to fill me up til lunch time. I was planning to ride again after eating, but my plans changed after I got into a conversation with the owner.

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Her name is Kitya, a bad-ass morena veloptous woman who smiles through her eyes. She was curious about me and wanted to hear my story, I told her the usual stuff. Then I asked her about her story, believe me hearing it was amazing. It was like a story that came from a summer adventure movie. Hopefully I remember the details right… She told me that she used to have a corporate job and has worked in Metro Manila for a time… but she felt that something was missing. She was already surfing back then and frequently visits Siargao whenever she feels the need to unwind.

Coming back again and again made her fall in love with the place, the people and the laid back culture. It made her decide to give up her corporate job to put up a business here. I admire her courage as not a lot of people have the guts to actually do what she did. Then she told me that we wouldn’t be having this conversation if not her friend. She survived a life threatening stroke two weeks ago, if not for Babal (will introduce him to you later) things might gotten worse, because there are no hospitals here. She was in a lot of stress lately, mostly in her personal life. She did tell me about it, but as sign of respect I will leave it at that. . She was going through a tough time, and that probably caused her mild stroke. Babal came wearing a blue polo with curly hair and wild but positive attitude. Kitya itroduced me to him, when I tried to take a photo of him he quickly said what is that for? I just told him it’s for my blog then he smiled and said “ok”. Then the three of us talked, mostly about kitya’s ordeal, but it was a fun conversation simply because of Babal. He was one crazy fun dude! He talks with incredible enthusiasm and smiles like there is no tomorrow. The moment i spent with both of them was nothing but laughter, fun and craziness. Kitya said that Babal was a surf instructor and if I would like to try i can go with him later. He said he’s teaching a family later and I can tag along if i want. He said we will leave at 1pm. People have been encouraging me too try it out since I have a good foundation in board sports and swimming. I honestly wanted to but I cant really afford it today, just getting here already took a toll on my budget, I think watching them will be enough for me.

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I still have an hour or so before I join Babal. I went back the lodge to get some more of my documentation stuff, I don’t want to miss anything with this experience…when I got back he was already preparing for his surfing lessons. He then told me that we just have to make one stop before we head on. Then a guy approached him and asked him if he can get a ride, he said his friend will be with him and asked if I can take him instead. since I left one of my bags at the lodge I’m free to take on a passenger, so it took him. At first I thought it was just a short ride, it took us almost 30 mins to get there. The road turned from concrete to beige powdered limestones that went through mountains, swamps, and small forests. I was told by my passenger that the local government is looking into finishing the concrete roads all throughout the island in hopes to further boost tourism. Babal and his friend were just amazing took look at, it’s like being in a summer movie wherein the main character meets two free spirited individuals who take him on a journey of a life time. I usually condone riding motorcycles without a helmet, but I will let this one pass. Both of them were just cruising the wind going through their

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long curly hair and from time to time Babal’s friend would extend his arms as if he was flying. I do that too, when I feel just ridiculously free and I bet that’s exactly how he is feeling. That short ride was just really meaningful for me, it one of those rides that seem to celebrate freedom, adventure and going into the unknown, cliche as it may sound. We got to our destination, if not for the parked motorcycles with surf racks you wouldn’t think that this is surf spot. There are no resorts like it was on Cloud 9, not even a sari-sari store nearby. My passenger alighted from my ride and signaled that I could just park beside the other motorcycles. I asked him if it was possible to get the motorcycle in. He said yes, but it’s going to be difficult. Then it started to rain…. Babal and his friend already left me as they still have to attend to their guests so I was left to ride to the spot alone. At first, I thought it was going to be easy until I dropped my bike twice in 10 mins. It was not overly difficult to get there, but the mud and rain made sure that it would give me a challenge. Everybody was surprised when finally got the spot, who wouldn’t. I was the only guy there wearing a two piece motorcycle riding suit while everyone else is either on board shorts, bikini or wet suits. THE ISLAND LIFE

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Everybody’s eyes were on me, I just gave everyone an awkward smile as well as a nod. The beach was nice but there was hardly a shore there a very small sand bank and then its open water. Damn, there were a lot people surfing and they quite far as most of them are just black dots on the horizon. I really didn’t have anything else to do while I was there, after shooting a couple of photos. I just sat there and watched. Surprisingly most of the people surfing are foreigners and only a few of them seem to be newbies. Most look so sure of themselves and only a few look like they don’t know what they are doing. My guess is, they have been doing this for a long time.

Everybody there seemed busy, it’s either you’re surfing or you are assisting those who are. I did feel a bit out of place, but that’s ok. New experiences have a tendency to make you look like a fish out of the water. When Babal came back I told him that I’m going back to the lodge so I can have some lunch. Then he told me that I should come back to Kitya’s place later, someone has a christening and there’s going to be Lechon (roasted pig) and that I should come and dine with them. I went back to lodge not really to have lunch, but really just to take a rest. Just to take a break from being out of place, when my tummy started clamoring, I remembered what Babal said. I went back to Kitya’s place and there I saw him, about to wear a shirt and signaled me to follow him. He said the same for the rest of the foreigners who were hanging out. When we got to the place where the feast is prepared, the host looked very surprised as if she was not expecting us. Then Babal said “Go, eat.” everyone just came from surfing so naturally, everyone was starving. So they all dug in, bare hands picking the Lechon bit by bit. I saw the host frown as she looked at Babal. He then just looked at her, mouth filled with lechon and smiled. I just shook my head and smiled… because I just realized, we weren’t actually invited there. After the unintentional party crash that I did with Babal, I had this conversation with Babal. He told me that he is living the life here in Siargao, it’s simple uncomplicated and he can do the things that he loves in life. He has a lot of motorcycles which he purchases via financing and rents it out to surfers, which then pays for itself aside from that he also teaches surfing which is his passion.

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His words sounded exactly like Kitya, you know the cliche of people chasing their dreams? These people are living theirs, everyday every hour and every moment. Their lives are not something exceptionally grand, they don’t have expensive cars, huge houses or a lot of money, but what they do have is a sense of contentment. I feel that vibe all throughout the island and through them, that’s probably what I can really take away from this experience.

I went to the port early morning to catch the first boat out. I really wish I could stay here for a bit longer but, I only have a limited time in this trip and there’s still a lot of ground to cover, as I’m just starting to explore Mindanao. The sun is out and the storms are over, but apparently were still in Signal no. 2. The boat will not leave until it gets the green light from the coast guard, to pass the time I lied down in the concrete steps of the port and reflected on the past 2 days. For some reason I kept on thinking about Babal and Kitya, most probably to them I will be just a fleeting guest, someone who they will forget after a couple of weeks, but for me I will never forget them. Probably in a persons lifetime, one can only meet a handful of people who have given up professional careers to choose to live out their dreams in island or find a person who has built a life and earning around their passion and I met them both here. I have a feeling that I will be meeting a lot more interesting people with equally interesting stories, but for now I have to go. The coast guard just cleared to boat to go and I have to get myself ready for 3 hours of preventing myself from puking my insides out.

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REVIEW

KOMINE GK 157 SMART TIP GLOVES by MARVIN GERONIMO

This is the Komine GK 157 supposedly “Smart Tip” gloves. You might be wondering why “supposedly”? Read on to find out why. This is not a long term review of these glove because I stopped using it after my Travel by Heart PH Tour. This is more like a long-ride review as I have done more than 10,000 km’s on this gloves. COMFORT

This model is extremely comfortable, the materials used in the upper and lower part of the glove seem to be all breathable. It’s a treat wearing them on hot weather as air just flows through and through. There’s also some form of cushioning on the palm part of the gloves to help reduce vibration and can provide minor protection in an event of a crash. One of the best things about this model is not really its features… but rather its fitting. Familiar with the term “Fits like a glove.”? This actually feels like a glove because it fit’s my hand perfectly. One of my issues with other glove brands is their fitting, I’m usually a medium but on brands like Dianese medium still feels a bit too big, go for a small then you can’t even fit you hand in it. Fitting is very important for me because it greatly decreases or increases your dexterity. Fine hand movements are usually hampered by an ill-fitting glove, making you want to take it off when trying to look for something in your jacket pockets. This glove just gives me all that dexterity that some gloves seem to lack. I think part of the reason why this glove fits me well is, it’s made for asians as far as I know Komine is a Japanese brand and they, well cater to the Asian market. Which is a noticeable a bit smaller in terms of everything to our western counterparts.

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KOMINE GK 157

SAFETY

This is more like an everyday glove so it’s not packed with extreme safety features one might find in race gloves but personally, I think it’s adequate for its intended purpose. The bottom part is made up of textile and some kind of felt material, which I think in an extreme crash would probably easily burn away due to abrasion against concrete or asphalt. There’s also additional paddings on high stress areas such as the bottom of the palms which could provide cushioning effects on low impact crashes. 34

Textile mesh makes up the upper part of the glove, doesn’t give the best protection but does give a lot of comfort. The knuckle guards are made out of rubber, again it provides comfort, dexterity and flexibility but I doubt that it will do anything even in a low impact crash. BUILD QUALITY

Komine as a brand is known for quality products and innovations, and the same goes for this glove. However, there are just some things that they seem to have overlooked when choosing the materials for this model. Even after using it for 10,000 km’s, day in and day out for 2 months the stitching held on even the wear and tear parts that are usually in contact with the handle bars. But the “Smart Tip”? well that’s was gone by like the 4,000 kms. Yes, it did work as intended. Using touch screen devices was a breeze with this glove, but as you can see it did become more touch friendly when it was all gone. So what caused it to deteriorate that much? Velcro. One of the most used form of temporary adhesion material in motorcycle gear is the main reason this glove lost its (ehem) touch. I noticed that velcro slowly tore away the felt material every time it came contact with it, now some might argue that this is avoidable. But given that pretty much most of my gear has velcro, it seems inevitable. AFFORDABILITY

This glove is not cheap, from what I can remember I purchased this at close to 2,000 php. R E C O M M E N D AT I O N

I wouldn’t buy this glove again and avoid other gloves that use this kind of material for their touch friendly tip. I expected much from the brand, although I don’t hate the gloves, I think for this price they should have thought of using something else. My “Smart Tip” is to look for newer models as from what I have seen they seem to have sorted out this problem.

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CLOSING

FLOW by MARVIN GERONIMO

The conversations that I had with Babal and Kitya made me question my whole reason for being in mega city like Manila. Kitya an intelligent, educated and beautiful woman who traded her corporate job to stay in Siargao to cook delicious meals, said that she has no regrets and the she is happy where she is now. While Babal a street smart entrepreneur, surfer instructor, said that he can earn more in Siargao, more than anything that a big city can offer. And the best thing about it… is that he still gets to do what he loves. It seems like both of them are not stuck in the waiting and chasing state, it is as if their reality is different from mine back in Manila. I don’t know if its the island or the laid back surfing culture, but one thing is for sure. They are not in the state of waiting nor chasing… they seem to live their lives in a flow state, taking it one wave at a time. Just like how a surfer would wait for a wave and ride it. As I left Siargao a part of me wished that somehow that kind of reality... would rubbed off on me.

THE ISLAND LIFE

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Humble in tone, genuine in cur iosity. ISSUE NO. SIX | PUBLISHED APRIL 2018 C O P Y R I G H T 2 0 1 8 Â© D E T O U R M O T O X T R AV E L , A L L R I G H T S R E S E R V E D