Riding the Sumilon waves

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Sumilon Island, just off the coast of Tan-awan, Oslob, Cebu evokes calm seas, serene travel and idyllic relaxation for the weary traveler. It was the perfect destination for our company summer outing.

However, I was fortunate to have seen a different Sumilon Island on May 10, 2008.

A storm was brewing somewhere, dark clouds were hovering over the entire Cebu province, and rains were threatening as we left the mainland shortly after lunch for a 15-minute motorboat ride to Sumilon Island. On the way, we were plagued by the big waves over the dark blue deep waters. Upon reaching Sumilon Island, we heaved a sigh of relief to be on land, whew! The rest of the afternoon saw us pre-occupied with the teambuilding activities and challenges.

When we were finally able to relax, we decided to check out the Sumilon sandbar, where big waves, surf type waves, greeted us! Good Lord! Too bad, we left our surfboards! Ha ha ha! I am not one for extreme sports that I initially avoided the huge waves. Yet seeing my colleagues jumping into the waves as high as six feet felt exciting. After frolicking on the right portion of the sandbar where smaller waves rolled by, we were ready for a big adventure.

My colleagues and I, all women, decided to brave the waves. We started from the leftmost portion of the sandbar, jumping into the waves or at least attempting to jump in until we were caught in one breaking wave after another that we ended up slammed against the sand, barely able to stand up to run for dear life before another breaking wave caught us!

My next attempt was smoother, as our boss, Mike Tyler, a Kiwi, an avid fan of extreme sports coached me. He taught me to jump in as soon as I saw the wave about to break. The trick, he said, was to jump into a breaking wave and then pop out on the other side. Well, it seemed simple enough as he made it look easy. Sure, I wasn’t dragged by the waves, I was able to ride another one, so to speak, except that salt water burned my nostrils and throat every time I jumped in and popped out to the other side of a gigantic wave.

As I found myself where the sandbar curved, an undercurrent pulled me in every direction. I rolled around and started spinning viciously amidst the waves and sand for what seemed like eternity. I must have taken in about five liters of seawater in my seemingly never-ending struggle with the waves. Miraculously, I ended up standing, back up on my feet on the sand!

That was my cue. I had to call it quits but not after, I had a grand first time riding the waves! There was the adrenalin rush, the exhilaration, the high! So this is the reason why extreme sports was created. This was the reason why some people were hooked to the thrill!

The Sumilon waves provided the perfect venue for me to try out my first adventure. Now that I know how gratifying it could be, I vow that though this was just the first, Sumilon will definitely not be the last adventure I will plunge into, no pun intended.