The windiest spot in Asia is located in the very north-west of the Philippine main island of Luzon. Pagudpud is a completely different world again. In the 70s, the Markos regime sent many people here to Hawaii to obtain foreign currency. Today, they are a good deal richer than the rest of the Philippines. The houses are solidly built, some of them real castles, and many of them are fronted by really big cars.
I put up in a cheap homestay. Seas of green rice fields stretch from the village to the high mountains in the south. Saud Beach is pretty much the most idyllic tropical beach I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, Amihan is fully covered by the wind from the coastline.
Few tourists stray here, but many expats have settled down. The British owner of the next restaurant sits down at my table every evening, doesn’t want to disturb me for dinner, only to come back straight away to chat. I am grateful for every conversation. Life is infinitely quiet up here.
The meteorologists have just confirmed that it’s El Niño again this year. The Philippine summer is breaking out early. Since the beginning of February, I’ve had just five kiteable days with 15 to 18 knots during the main wind season. Normal would be 75% with more than 17 knots. I work a lot, fade into the most beautiful colours and miss the wind.
On the last day, the Amihan finally comes back. With the nice local Jun Balon, I drive a few kilometres in his old surfer van, which sings a synphony of interesting noises, to the beach next to the very unfriendly luxury bunker Kingfisher. The day before, they scared me away on a motorbike tour. I had dared to ask for lunch. My broken visor flips upwards at 80kmh in the wind of my rocket scooter and rips the Xiaomi Yi off my helmet. The casing shatters on the road.
The beach next to the Kingfisher is also private. The entry fee for one month is 1000 PHP. Here, too, I am chased away at first. Only after Jun intervenes am I allowed to stay. The wind is too weak in the morning. From midday, around four hours before low tide, slabs of rock look out of the water everywhere on the 200 metres in front of the outer reef. The wind would now be strong enough for me for the first time in a week. But just climbing 20 metres into the water with flip-flops for a few videos over height differences of half a metre is enough for a few nice coral cuts. I’m writing off kitesurfing here.
The kitespot is only reasonably safe at high tide. It is absolutely unsuitable for beginners. At low tide, the wave breaks quite powerfully today at just under two metres, unfortunately it doesn’t have a favourite direction. It breaks at full width very quickly and at short intervals on the outer reef.
If you still want to try Kingfisher (“STRICTLY NO WALKIN GUESTS!”): nearby Pebble Beach looks good. No shade, but also no rocks and no reef. The season in Pagudpud starts earlier than in the Visayas, and you can expect good winds from November onwards – although there are also some heavy rain showers at the beginning. It’s all over by February at the latest.
In the evening, all the kiters and surfers meet up for a big barbecue at the campsite. We all cook and eat together. Fresh grilled tuna and parrotfish, chicken, black rice and some delicious salads form a good basis for the following feast. It gets very late.
“Drunk driving is no problem up here?”.
“Not at all. You just have to wave at the police men.”.
A nice Filipino insists on buying me another beer in the beach bar. I’m already at my limit and thank him with SEO tips for his vaporiser shop:
“Yes, sir.”
“No, sir.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“I’m just Frank.”
“Yes, Sir Frank.”
Pagudpud Pro:
- usually the strongest wind in Asia with 20 to 35 knots in the season
- nice but hard to use waves
- ultra relaxed secluded quiet place
- very nice beaches
- beautiful green surroundings with waterfalls and high mountains
- many cheap and nice homestays, also directly at Saud Beach
Pagudpud Contra:
- Kitespot is only reasonably safe at high tide, 4h around low tide is dangerous due to rock slabs
- depending on the position of the moon, the kitespot is sometimes not usable at all
- Kitespot is a few kilometres outside Pagudpud, you need at least a scooter
- absolutely unsuitable for beginners
- you have to pay at the main spot, Kingfisher is unfriendly and far too expensive
- little nightlife
- long journey with 10h night bus from Manila
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.