Getting There – My Siargao Adventure (Part 1)

Okay… so… guys, I just went to Siargao last week. Interesting? Hope you are excited to read my story because I can’t wait to tell you my whole experience. Duh. lol

It was my first time to visit there. Lucky or maybe God is just so good to me because He gave me a friend/co-worker who hails from Siargao. Yeah, everybody wants to experience Siargao since the place is coined as the surfing capital of the Philippines. When Ivan (the co-worker I just talked about) invited us to visit their place, I had no second thoughts of going. He was willing to accommodate a room at their house for us for free. So I thought this trip would not be a pain in our pocket. They booked a flight from Cebu to Siargao at a promotional rate. I was told late so I was not able to book that same flight. Okay, that did not stop me. Days passed after they booked their flight, I instead booked a flight Cebu to Surigao City for myself. It was a promotional rate still. PhP 912.00 back and forth. Thanks to Cebu Pacific Air! I just love their promotional rates!

Feb 8, 2012 After our shift. 7:00AM We headed from our office to Mactan International Airport. The trip began. The schedule of my flight was different but I had to join them just to save my taxi fare. I don’t know what time they departed Cebu but I received a text telling me that they just arrived Siargao at exactly 10:00AM.

We were 7. 6 of them took the Siargao flight. I took this picture right before we separated at the airport.

The schedule of my flight was 11:45AM but we departed Cebu as early as 11:30AM. I then arrived in Surigao City airport at around 12:10pm. Fast huh?

I hurriedly picked a tricycle that would take me from the Airport to Punta Bilang Bilang. Pakyaw I paid the tricycle driver PhP 150.00

Punta Bilang Bilang is a place where small sea vessels that travel Siargao – Surigao City route usually docked. I expected to catch up a fast craft that would take me from Surigao City to Del Carmen, Siargao at 1:30PM but when I arrived locals at the said place informed me that there were no more sea crafts available. Next trip would be the 6AM in the morning. I guess the information I read at this website: http://www.surigaoislands.com/fastcraft.html is not updated.

Surigao City Airport

This is Punta Bilang Bilang

Britphil Express. Riding in this vessel is more comfortable than riding in the Kanter. The boat that I took is smaller than this by one fourth (estimation).

Sunny four and a half hour journey. The tip of the Kanter. This is near Surigao City so you have not yet met the waves.

One of the beautiful islands I saw while cruising in Ramon’s Kanter. This is around 5PM.

That was a slight problem since I need to be with my officemates on that same day or else  there would be minor changes of our plan and for sure I missed something big due to this stranded travel.

Apparently, Ivan’s uncle named Ramon who is a fisherman from Sapao, Sta. Monica, Siargao came into the city that morning to deliver fresh fishes and ought to go back home at 1:00PM. Ramon is willing to let me ride in his Kanter. I had no choice but to take a hitch and ride in his Kanter or else I will be stranded in Surigao City for the night.

The Kanter was just a medium sized speed boat with no roof at all. Well, there was a small roof enough to protect the boat’s machine. I had sun burns because I was not able to apply a sun screen. Like I said, taking a hitch in Ramon’s kanter was unexpected. It was a four and a half hour painful journey. The huge waves are terrible. I can imagine how noble the work of a fisherman. I was slightly engrossed by the surroundings as we passed many unknown islands. But the waves and the sun were not comforting at all.

LESSON LEARNED: As much as possible, travel to Siargao by plane and not by boat.

While I was struggling on my way to Sapao, Sta. Monica, my friends who already arrived in Siargao spent their four and a half hours on eating their lunch, exploring the mangrove forest and island hopping to Virgin Island and Naked Island (so many named Virgin and Naked Islands in the Philippines but these islands are near to Sta. Monica). I told you I would miss a lot (which I did) if I had to stay in Surigao City that night.

I arrived in Ivan’s house in Sapao at around 5:30PM. That was a relief. I finally had the time to rest. Imagine we did not had sleep yet since we traveled right after our shift. At 8:00PM we had a sumptuous dinner prepared by Ivan’s family. At around 9:00PM, I started to close my eyes to sleep while my mind was excited for the next day trip.

This is only part 1 of my Siargao trip. Other parts of the story are yet to be made. Just watch out. Thanks for reading!