SurfEXPLORE Taps Into The Philippines

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Filipinos are nothing if not friendly. When a carload of foreign surfers suddenly arrives in a village, it always draws a crowd. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Phil Goodrich starting to freak out while checking the bend at a new right reef, one of many unsurfed waves on this coastline. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

We came back and surfed the wave on a higher tide and afternoon light, fast rights into a deep channel. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Sam Bleakley leans into a glassy evening wall on his German engineered Hydroflex longboard. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

All the kids came out from the village to watch, escorting Erwan and Phil across the coconut-log bridge and back up the track. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Erwan Simon gets in a clean carve on the end bowl section. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Emiliano Cataldi enjoys the empty lineup and afternoon light with an audience of local schoolchildren. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Throwing the rope as Phil Goodrich throws evening spray. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Team surfEXPLORE walking out at low tide to catch the incoming tide at an outer reef wave with massive ancient mangrove trees growing on the reef, something we had never seen before. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Bathtub-warm clean water, a few friends sharing an empty lineup in Mindanao - one of the rewards of getting off the beaten track. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Phil Goodrich tucking into a tropical tube. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Sam Bleakley, getting on the nose and meeting local kids, who came out in droves to watch as they had never seen surfers before. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Phil Goodrich swings his keel-finned Mini Simmons off the top. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Local children at a sari-sari shop, with gasoline for motorbikes sold by the liter from Coke and Pepsi bottles. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Erwan Simon finds the power to launch an air over the end section. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

The wrapping bowl section was perfect for carving, Emiliano Cataldi draws a curve with his quad.

Sam Bleakley fits his longboard rail into the bowl section and throws a fan. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

$Team surfEXPLORE takes a break at a local shop. Cold Coca-Cola in recyclable bottles goes down well when it\'s hot and sweaty at 8am. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore$

Team surfEXPLORE takes a break at a local shop. Cold Coca-Cola in recyclable bottles goes down well when it's hot and sweaty at 8am. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Local shops sell everything from the notoriously pungent durian fruit to vegetables to fresh-caught fish. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

First session at this wave after a long hike in - an excellent hollow right reef break.

Emiliano Cataldi works up an appetite burying his rail and chooses a fish for lunch. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Erwan Simon lost a few inches off his nose to the reef but found the juicy, hollow waves in Mindanao much to his liking. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Phil Goodrich slides into a glassy afternoon barrel - on a major swell event, this wave could be amazing. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

For local people, their lives revolve around the sea. Johnny the Guide with some speared mudskippers. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Sam Bleakley, out of the barrel section into a cutback on the shoulder. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Phil Goodrich, up on the lip on his Mini-Simmons. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Sam Bleakley, speeding over the sharp and shallow reef. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Phil Goodrich, another cobalt-blue afternoon barrel. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Hiking back at dusk - on the beach, over the rocks and through the cave. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

Erwan Simon, pausing at dusk in a coconut grove. Photo: Callahan/SurfExplore

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: On the east coast of the Philippines, there are many quality waves that have never been seen by surfers, let alone ridden. On a recent surfEXPLORE project to coastal Mindanao, we tapped into the potential of this vast area, finding several high-quality waves in a short stretch of coast that had never been surfed.

This area (and Mindanao in general) has suffered from a reputation for violence and political instability for many years, but recent changes appear to be beneficial to the local people. The coast highway has finally been finished, great improving access and a rural electrification program has brought electricity to many villages.

Surfers are only beginning to venture into this area and with the improved infrastructure, and many more discoveries await. Stay tuned.

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