Catanduanes
The Land Of The Howling Winds First Landfall For Pacific Typhoons, And A World Class Reef Break Nobody Surfs · Virac, Catanduanes
CATANDUANES IS CALLED THE LAND OF THE HOWLING WINDS AND IT EARNED THE NAME: SITTING OFF THE PACIFIC SIDE OF BICOL, IT IS THE FIRST LANDFALL FOR STORMS CROSSING TOWARD LUZON AND IT TAKES THEM BEFORE ANYONE ELSE DOES. IN NOVEMBER 2020 TYPHOON ROLLY - GONI - ONE OF THE MOST INTENSE LANDFALLING TROPICAL CYCLONES EVER RECORDED, CAME ASHORE HERE FIRST AND FLATTENED MUCH OF THE ISLAND. THE SAME EXPOSURE PRODUCES PURARAN, WHERE THE BREAK KNOWN AS MAJESTICS IS A GENUINE WORLD-CLASS RIGHT-HAND REEF WAVE - and almost nobody surfs it, because getting to Catanduanes is a ferry or a small plane and the season, roughly AUGUST TO OCTOBER, is typhoon season for the same reason it is swell season. THE ISLAND IS GREEN, STEEP AND QUIET, produces most of the country's abaca, and sees very few visitors of any kind. Ferries from Tabaco are cancelled frequently and the flights into Virac are minimal, so build spare days at both ends and come in March to June if the surf is not the point.
Catanduanes, Bicol, Virac, Catanduanes, Philippines
CATANDUANES IS REACHED BY FERRY FROM TABACO IN ALBAY to VIRAC or SAN ANDRES, roughly THREE TO FOUR HOURS and WEATHER-DEPENDENT, or by SMALL AIRCRAFT INTO VIRAC from Manila, with very limited service. THERE IS NO GATE ANYWHERE; the island is covered by jeepney, van or hired motorbike on roads that are steep and winding. PURARAN IS ABOUT AN HOUR AND A HALF FROM VIRAC and has a handful of simple resorts; THE BREAK IS A REEF WAVE AND IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS. THE SWELL SEASON IS ROUGHLY AUGUST TO OCTOBER, which is also typhoon season - those are the same months for the same reason. BINURONG POINT is a walk of about thirty minutes for the cliff view. FERRIES ARE CANCELLED IN ROUGH WEATHER, frequently.