First there is always a dream. The dream of a perfect guesthouse. A place where the world meets in one magical spot.
Of all the places, our story starts in East-Timor, a small island nation most of the world has not even heard of.
After wandering around 100 countries Alex ended up in East-Timor on his quest to look for a perfect place to set up his guesthouse or call it a small resort. He wanted to find a place that was not yet too busy and too well known. An emerging destination.
He had looked for land in Sri Lanka, Indonesia’s Nusa Penida and eventually he arrived in East-Timor. The former were already too touristy, but East-Timor was too far away, he found out.
But by chance, in Dili, the small, ramshackle capital of East-Timor, he met his countrymate Andy, a travel writer, who over a few beers told him about a place he might have just been looking for.
Surigao in the Philippines, his wife Leotes’ hometown.
“You can swim with dolphins there! And whalesharks! And do trips to the most amazing deserted islands in the Philippines!” Andy was foaming over the place.
“Surigao is still totally out of the travel radar but has great potential. Just next door there is the Siargao island which is getting more popular by the bay. Yet from there you cannot do any of those wonderful things you can do in Surigao. Do you see my point? First the travelers enjoy traveler scene in Siargao, then they come to Surigao to experience the real Philippines.”
Alex was sold. Few months later Alex went to Surigao, found a perfect piece of land with the help of Andy and Leotes and started building in the early 2020.
At this point is the time to introduce a few more characters to the story. We have gotten great help running the resort from Niko and Teija, a Finnish couple who used to manage a dive resort in Cebu.
Yet the story of the perfect guesthouse is not yet finished. Far from it. There are still many new actors to step to the stage. The best of them all.
That means you, our dear guest. The guests make the house. We have set the stage. You are the story.
