5 Apr '05
Siargao travelogue
I spent Holy Week with a couple of friends on Siargao Island. We’d originally planned to go to Boracay some months before, but then I got caught up in my work. My sweet friends, they canceled the Boracay trip altogether because they didn’t want me to miss out on the fun. And so Alex, Bamba and I, we went on a mini-Amazing Race to one of the northernmost islands of Mindanao. (Mindanao: a land replete with diversities it’s easy to see why it’s so misunderstood.)
Siargao is world-renowned for its surfing. Around September there is an annual surfing competition that sees Filipinos from as far away as La Union, and a whole lot of surfer dudes and dudettes from Australia, the States, Spain, etc. But we didn’t go there for the surfing. And Siargao isn’t a tourist trap during Holy Week, thank goodness!
We took a non-aircon bus from Davao City to Surigao City on the night of 23 March, around 7:30 PM. The route is via Butuan, which is known for long stretches of bad roads, and so we expected the trip to last 10 hours. It took us 12. Non-aircon buses have too many stopovers, and this particular bus took its sweet time indeed! Good thing it was nighttime, so we were asleep (or trying to be) most of the time.
We got to Butuan City past 4 AM. And to Surigao around 6:30. It’s a good thing that the bus terminal in Surigao is clean and has a number of shops and eateries. I can’t remember the name of that karinderya, but the carabeef (carabao meat) stew they served was superb! Or maybe we were just hungry… The bad thing about the terminal is that, it’s too far from the city proper. It took us I think half an hour by jeep to get to the seaport from the bus terminal. Surigao City is by any stretch still a small town, although they do have Jollibee; and it’s definitely a city because they have One Network Bank and Julie’s Bakeshop! 
Since the boat trip to Siargao wasn’t leaving until 12 noon, we decided to stay at an inn to rest and freshen up. We found two near the plaza. The first one we went to wanted to charge us P150 for wash-up… but their "short-time" rate was good for only–check this out–5 minutes. Huh?!? In all my years as a hotelier and a traveler, that was the first time I’ve ever heard of a preposterous charging scheme. So we went to the next inn. There we were charged the same rate, but this time we were given the standard 3 hours. 
It was a hole-in-the-wall affair, with one narrow, rickety bed and an electric fan that had seen better days. But we didn’t care, we were too exhausted to complain or even worry about rats.
The boat trip to the island of Siargao took 3 hours. That means, our whole one-way trip from Davao took roughly 15 hours! That doesn’t count the tricycle and habal-habal rides. From the port at Dapa, it took another half hour by motorbike to Cloud 9, that stretch of beach where most of the surfing resorts are. But it was worth it: when we got to the strand, the cramps and fatigue simply evaporated.
Since this was to be an adventure for us, we slept in a large tent, which Alex brought. We were given camping space in front of the resort, and it was right in front of the beach, less than a stone’s throw away from the water! So each night we could hear the rolling waves in the distance — an experience so alien but at the same time so exhilarating!
It wasn’t peak season there, but there were still a few tourists, mostly from Manila. There were still foreigners around, and I think some of them have actually been living there already. We also met up with a pair of friends from Davao, Kash and Maej, who were also on an "Amazing Race" (we all won).
That place, Travelers Lodge, felt like you were in your grandma’s house in the province. It’s actually a huge 2-storey Spanish-style house with about ten rooms or so, with a spacious dining area and a separate dirty kitchen. Oh and the bathrooms are in an outhouse (decent enough for the adventurous). Fronting the beach is a cluster of huts for day-trippers. And beside the resort is a cozy bar and surf shop, the Siargao Island Surf Company. The whole place is made of native materials (mostly bamboo and nipa) and the floor is covered with white sand. It’s a great place for lounging around even when the sun’s still up.
The people of Siargao seem used to tourists, and they don’t gawk at foreigners like locals do in other Philippine tourist destinations. They’re generally friendly, not extremely helpful, but easy-going around visitors. Beware of habal-habal (passenger motorcycles) drivers who try to overcharge, though. On the other hand, they’re the best source of information for places to see and where to eat or have a good time on the island.
The fish market was a great find for my two companions. Bamba and Alex were ecstatic when they found out that lapu-lapu (grouper) was being sold for only 80 pesos a kilo! In Davao the going rate is around P320. The two ended up doing some last-minute market shopping and brought about 8 kilos of fish back to Davao, but it felt like 20 kilos (I was the one who lugged the ice box all the way back to Davao!). The market places also had a bunch of other fresh fish which we had for lunch and dinner. My favorite was the mahi-mahi (Bamba says this is what’s known as dolphin fish), which when grilled is even better than tuna or marlin.
We stayed only until Easter Sunday, and had to leave really early at that. There was only one boat trip back to Surigao City, so we dared not miss it. We were on the island for only 4 days, but only had 2 full days really. The days zipped by too quickly and we all felt sorry to go home. But it was a very refreshing vacation! We got home tired from the trip back, but also quite recharged and ready to face the rigors of work and city life once more.