LATE
IN COMING TO a famous place that have been frequented by friends in
the past doesn’t mean that I can’t have that monopoly of
enjoyment that they have experienced then. In fact, I don’t need
enjoyment because my going to a place is not for pleasure but of
work. Besides, I know where to look for enjoyment in the course of
my work.
Work
means that I don’t need to spend a single cent because my company
have taken cared of that. The job just entails the retrieval of a
package and bring it back to the office in Cebu. The focus of this
work is no other than going to Siargao Island. When you talk of that
place, white powdery beaches come to mind. Then Cloud 9.
Siargao
is an “island in the Pacific” in the closest term of the word.
About a hundred kilometers off the coast of Surigao del Norte, it is
part and parcel of that province and can be reached by motorized
banca
and roll-on-roll-off vessels. The island is dotted by beach resorts
that host pristine white sands and clear blue-green waters best for
bathing, snorkeling, diving and deep-sea fishing.
It
is composed of the municipalities of Dapa, General Luna, Pilar, San
Benito, San Isidro, Burgos, Del Carmen and Santa Monica. A ninth
town – Socorro - is found on an adjacent island of Bucas Grande.
While Dapa is the port of entry, Gen. Luna is the star of the island
for it is there where the big international surfing events are held
every May and September. Those tourneys are called Cloud 9.
How
to get there and when are the two biggest questions hanging in my
mind ever since I ditched the offer of Dedon Island Resort last March
for a free two-week working stay. And so, I decide to make the trip
on the night of June 13, 2012 bound for the Port of Nasipit on board
the MV Princess of the Earth. I like these old ships formerly
owned by Sulpicio Lines for these have wide spaces and gives me more
room to move around – especially the cots.
The
boat will have to stop first though for four hours at the Port of
Cagayan de Oro the morning after on June 14. From there, the boat
will berth at 2:00 PM in Nasipit, Agusan del Norte. Why do I have to
go to Nasipit when steaming directly to Surigao City would be much
simpler and more direct? Good question. The answer to that is I
cannot retrieve the package without processing first for a permit
which can only be done in Butuan City.
Nasipit
is no more than a ghost of its own past when the timber business
ruled the course of the port in its heyday. I have passed by here in
1995 when I went the other way around going to Cebu from Davao and it
is almost the same save for a new terminal building. Need to process
those papers before the sun goes down and I need to go to Butuan
pronto.
It
is still 4:00 PM but the office is empty when I arrive save for an
old lady who doesn’t have a clue of the location of its occupants.
I may have to do it first thing in the morning and I may have to look
first for a place to sleep and then shop for some things that I may
need like soap, shampoo, razor, bottled water and toothpaste. I
found one at the Emerald Villa Hotel and Restaurant.
Just
like Nasipit, Butuan City is a remnant of the timber business but it
refused to slow down. It throbs and pulsates and growing to become
another mega-city of Mindanao. I did not have the opportunity to
step upon its pavements in 1995 while I have the chance then but,
this time, I make it sure that I would and so I tour the side streets
and ended up joining local parishioners in a Holy Mass inside the St.
Joseph’s Cathedral at 6:00 PM.
Standard
dialect used in business and on street conversations is Cebuano but I
could hear smatterings, here and there, of Boholano, Higaonon and
Sinurigao. Everyone could alternate any dialect as they wish just to
keep up a steady exchange of understanding and rapport. Anyway, I
take time to update my Facebook account inside of a local Internet
cafe well into midnight.
The
room I checked in is located upstairs at the end of the hallway and
the window is facing Villanueva Street. It has an airconditioner
unit and cable TV with own toilet and bath. A uniformed security
personnel stands guard on the entrance giving you sense of security.
All these for Php600 a day. Quite cheap and safe and I would
recommend this hotel to my readers if ever you visit Butuan City or
its environs.
The
morning of June 15 found me glued to cable TV watching Gary Cooper in
High Noon. Although prepared to check out of the hotel early,
it was not to be. I leave at 8:00 AM instead and I found myself
inside yesterday’s office an hour later. The good thing is
everyone possess cooler heads and my permit is processed faster than
I have expected with free coffee to boot!
My
next stop would be Surigao City and I had never been there.
Unfortunately, the “roro” boat will leave at 12:30 noon from
Surigao Wharf to the Port of Dapa and I cannot be there fast enough
short of a rocket to take me there. Going to Siargao today is out of
the question but I may have to go to Surigao and find me a cheap
hotel there – later. The Bachelor bus made the 199-kilometer trip
effortlessly over half-finished highways, several towns whose names I
could not recall and a good glimpse of Mainit Lake.
Okay,
I make a little tour of the side streets of the city taking pictures
there and smelling something new here, just enough to satisfy my
quench of sightseeing as a first-time visitor. As I sensed that dusk
is ready to envelope the city, I do found a cheap hotel good for
Php500. Although I have an airconditioned room with own toilet and
bath, it left a lot to be desired especially the TV set which picks
up signal on only one channel.
Getting
up early at 5:30 AM on June 16, I checked out and directly went to
the port terminal only to find that it is closed. Getting directions
from a security guard who speaks Sinurigao, I transferred to a
boulevard by the sea where a lot of motorized banca are
moored. I chose the biggest one – MV LQP-1, paid my ticket
and take my place on a vacant seat when a crew announced that all
trips to Siargao have been cancelled by the Coast Guard.
I
could not have chosen the best time to travel to Siargao Island
except during the oncoming path of Typhoon Butchoy into the
country. Instantly, the launch was disgorged of its passengers into
the streets, including I. So, that means, I have to stay another
night in Surigao City but I don’t want to return to that cheap
hotel I slept in last night. It’s a virtual firetrap. I need to
take breakfast first before deciding where to stay.
I
make another little tour and found a small but presentable restaurant
called Bethlehem beside the San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish and take
my meal there. At that moment, I entertained the idea of spending
the rest of the day inside the MV LQP-1 instead since it is
empty anyway and I don’t have to spend for a hotel. Smart
thinking. So the 120-seater launch became my home for the day and I
kill time reading Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods
after securing a return trip ticket to Cebu scheduled for June 19.
Finally,
on June 17 (which is a Sunday), the boat leave for Siargao Island at
exactly 6:00 AM. The weather is fine although stray gusts of wind
left behind by Butchoy
are still present but not of an intensity as yesterday’s. The boat
pass far away from the old nickel-mining island of Nonoc before
turning southeastward to another recently-mined island of Hinatuan.
From afar, the island had been strip-mined with the ores transferred
by barges to a big cargo ship anchored far away.
It
is high tide and the boat steered into a narrow channel bounded by
mangroves then, after that, more open sea. Across are bodies of land
that seem to look like these are connected to each other until the
boat moved at a different angle where different islands now begin to
shape. Fishing villages are now more pronounced as we approach
nearer one island.
The
launch turned one more time starboard side and clusters of concrete
structures could be seen from five kilometers away and closing until
a wharf hosting several boats is now very visible and, much closer
now, people scurrying about. The launch blow its horn thrice and
then the wooden retractable bridge is pushed above the prow linking
to concrete pavement and people streamed out.
I
am now at the Port of Dapa and it is almost 10:00 AM. I walk the
main avenue and look for something to fill an empty tummy which I
found at the town’s terminal. I hired a motorcycle to take me to
Dedon Island Resort where the package is found. The resort manager
gave me the item but I need to stay for two days in Siargao since I
still have lots of time before my departure to Cebu.
I
am referred to Engr. Ali Taganahan and stay at his rented house
located in Gen. Luna for free. He and his wife work at the resort.
I am shown my room by Ali and promptly leave my Habagat Viajero while
retaining my Samsung ST500 camera with me to do a little sightseeing
on this small island town.
I
hit the beach and it is now low tide. A lot of paddle-powered banca
are secured to either their steel anchors or to some coconut trees.
I take pictures of the beach activity: an old man teaching his
grandson about nets; a hog snoozing under the shade of a coconut
tree; a girl digging seashells; two women hooking baits on a thousand
lines; running child on a boardwalk.
The
small beachside public market contain fresh bounties from the sea
which are up for sale. Beyond it is the municipal hall, the police
station, a cultural center, a greenhouse and the town park where a
tree house is built atop a flame tree. Below the tree are three
girls enjoying natural play. In lieu of fire hydrants, hand-pumped
artesian wells are located on every street corner. Generally, the
locals speak Sinurigao and could understand Cebuano, Tagalog and
English. People are very gentle and live life at a slow pace.
I
return to the Taganahan’s place but something caught my attention.
Displayed at a small store is coconut wine for sale frothing at the
top in its orange-colored splendor! Paid Php70 for a gallon and
bring it to my temporary home. There, I shared the native wine with
Ali and Julius, his wife’s cousin, over food of grilled squid,
sliced for easy picking.
Getting
tipsy as the last glasses of wine are consumed, I change to a
swimming attire and walk to the beach. It is 3:30 PM and it is now
high tide. Surface-floating sea grass leaves drift aligned and
standing indicating that there is another bad weather coming. The
water is warm but a thousand jellyfish swimming helter-skelter
everywhere restrict my swimming to mere dips, done guerrilla fashion,
when I find small water space free of these for a few seconds.
After
a half-hour, I return to take a shower then change into something
comfortable and sleep early with wet hair and all. In the early
morning of June 18, I sweep the backyard of dried leaves and return
to the beachside market to buy fish. Some of the fish (blue marlin),
I process in coconut vinegar and spices to be consumed raw; while
half of the other fish (rabbit fish), I cook it with soup. These
became my meal for noon and evening.
The
rest of the day I finish reading the book and do some more
sightseeing and picture-taking. The thousand jellyfish are still
there and I begin to look for that tiga
tree which grow in abundance in Siargao. The tiga wood is
prized by the locals for its hardness and beautiful sheen and as a
good substitute of the Philippine ironwood when the latter was
classified as protected.
On
the early morning of June 19, I bade farewell to my hosts and the
town of General Luna. The motorcycle driver take me to Dapa and I
take breakfast while waiting for MV LQP-1 to leave for the
mainland at 10:30 AM. The port terminal have a functional x-ray
machine with very strict security procedures and I could not
comprehend why the whole mainland of Mindanao is protected from the
people coming from Siargao Island. It should have been the other way
around.
Siargao
hosts international surfing events and the influx of foreign
participants, spectators and visitors is great and it should be
protected of threats coming from the mainland like political thugs
and their goons, spoiled rich brats, criminal syndicates, terrorists
and the like. You could enter the Port of Dapa at will by riding in
a motorized banca from the streets without the hassles of
being subjected to security checks.
After
paying Php250 for my boat fare, I sit at the lee side away from the
wind. Since it is low tide, the motor launch take another route that
goes around the other side of Hinatuan Island. This part of the
island is not mined but traces of environmental damage could be seen
from the boat. The sea is calm and flat until the boat enters an
open sea.
I
have heard people say that the most dangerous sea in the country are
found on the Surigao Strait. That becomes true when I personally see
the sea dotted with whirlpools as tidal currents clash and swirl
among each other during low tide. A fellow passenger speaking in
Sinurigao, explained to me where the currents pass and where it would
merge while the craft shudder and shake from under. I could still
relate what my grandmother’s brother told to me about this strait
long ago when the boat he was in capsized.
Midway
along the strait, another craft overtake my boat and it rocked and
yawed during the passing of its wake. My boat reach the coastal road
at 1:00 PM. My departure for Cebu would be at 7:00 PM and I could
see the MV Filipinas Dapitan being loaded with cargoes. After
a full meal of tender buffalo skin, I spend the rest of my afternoon
inside an Internet cafe.
By
5:00 PM, I am already queuing past a security check inside the port
terminal and walk a hundred meters into the Cebu-bound boat. Owned
by Cokaliong Shipping Lines, the MV Filipinas Dapitan is the
opposite of what I rode in six days ago. This boat has very narrow
alleys and short cots as what I have experienced with their other
boats plying other routes. Besides that, my cot is located near the
engine-room door. That means, I got all the noise and the heat from
the engine.
I
am sweating and I have to move around the ship to find a cool place.
The boat is full of passengers who have to shout at each other to be
able to understand what they are talking about and it is like you are
inside a big marketplace. I couldn’t sleep because the ship is
like a hot tub and I have to wait at 12:00 midnight when the
passengers settled down into their respective cots. It is at this
hour that I steal a vacant cot on a different level of the boat that
lets in a little cool breeze.
I
wake up when the first streaks of light begun to break the dark sky.
The boat pass by Punta Engaño then make a starboard turn to the
direction of the first bridge linking Mactan Island with mainland
Cebu. After passing by the second bridge, it travel the whole length
of Cebu Harbor and heave anchor near the Aduana where an old Customs
building is still standing.
It’s
good to be in home territory again, smelling the familiar odor
inherently of Cebu and hearing my own dialect in its pure state. I
opt to walk the distance to my home passing by ML Quezon Boulevard,
V. Sotto Street, GL Lavilles Street and CJ Cuizon Street so I could
embrace better my hometown. A little while, a door opened wide and a
smiling wife give me a tight hug.
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