Philippine Travel Notes

I heard many things about this monastery, the latest wasn't that good at all. You probably also heard of that news where a priest was expelled from the convent and said priest was telling of untoward things, and so on. Never got interested in seeing the place for myself (am not that religious) until a friend asked me this morning if I wanted to tag along as he was going there for his monthly "devotional visit". I said yes of course and off to Simala we went! How did we go there? I was already on the phone with a taxi company arranging for one of their cabs to fetch us from where we were, bring us to Simala and back to the city. But the friend cut me and said "never mind the taxi, let's just commute like everyone else does". Oh okay, so we still took a taxi but just to Cebu's South Bus Terminal where we took a non-air-conditioned bus to Sibonga. My friend did not even say Sibonga to the conductor. He just said "Simala"! It's that well-know...

When anyone talks about Siargao Island, this town’s name always comes up. And for many travelers, the two names have even become synonyms! But General Luna is just one of 8 towns that comprise the whole island of Siargao. And general Luna is not even the commercial hub. But yes, it is the surfer’s paradise – meaning it is where most accommodations for surfers are located. Thus, it has become a resort town. While there, I thought of roaming around this quiet little town just to see for myself what else is there aside from the surf. I had my fill of unusual things to awe me by. Really! Here we go… Ramble-rumble. One of the very first things a first-time visitor to Siargao should notice is that unending thunderous sound from a distance. At first, it got me a bit alarmed, but since no one seemed to mind, I told myself to calm down and let that tidal-wavic sound be. THAT is the constant sound of the waves from out in the pacific rushing towards the surf area. Oh my! White line. Looking at t...

Everywhere in this archipelago, an arriving boat attracts hoards of folks eager to take you on as passenger in their jeep, van, bus or habal-habal. Thats almost the same case at Dapa Pier on Siargao Island, BUT it is way far from the chaotic Batangas Port. Drivers, dispatchers, barkers all wait outside of the arrival gate. Then they approach passengers not shouting nor shoving and pushing their way as in the ugly Batangas Port. At Dapa, if you ignored them, they get to the next prospect and leave you alone. So they left me alone and I watched them for a while. Most were habal-habal and tricycle drivers so I asked one of them where the jeeps were. The reply was “walang jeep dito”. I knew that was generally a lie or a purposely-misleading reply so I would ride his tricycle. If one would be technical about it though, his reply was a fact. Translated, that meant “there are no jeeps here”. True, because a guard told me that the jeeps are parked and waiting for passengers at the other side (...

By outrigger boat… and that was a practical choice since I was already at Surigao City. I asked around the previous day and concluded that the best way was to hop on a boat called Bretphil at 6AM. I saw that boat … a big outrigger where there are two levels or decks. The early departure from Surigao meant an early arrival on Siargao that would afford me more time to explore the place. Nice plan but it did not happen hehe! Why? Well, when I woke up 5AM on my intended day of departure, the skies were very dark and there was a heavy downpour. Everywhere looked like it was still midnight. Gosh! Either I still wanted to sleep or was afraid to sail at such a weather condition… but that was it… no-go! Over breakfast though (still at Tavern Hotel), I did get some encouragement from the crews and the sun that played hide and seek with the clouds. The hesitation was still there since light drizzles were not totally off! There was a 1030AM schedule via a boat called Argie 2, and I could see it fr...

Oh, the fruits of having nothing to do hehe! It was an almost dead day in Surigao City as my plans to hit the nearby islands were thwarted by the now you see them now you don’t combination of clouds, sun and more clouds. It rained last night and yesterday so I doubted I would enjoy going to them nearby islands. Reasons? Well, how can I walk about under the rain, how can I take pictures, how can I enjoy lazing around and so on. Who me? No am not afraid of the big waves… I’m frightened, okay?! Ah hehe so I thought of things… What if I go to Tandag? Hmm, pwede! How about returning to Butuan? Fine too! But wait… I remember there was a resort that I saw by the side of the lake when I traveled from Butuan to Surigao sometime ago! Ah yes, it was named Almont! That was just it... next thing I knew, I was already at Surigao City’s bus terminal waiting for my Bachelor Bus to go! Whoa! Problem, the conductor couldn’t recognize what or where it was that I wanted to go, so he wasn’t sure of how muc...

Seemingly nothing more of interest to do in Surigao City on a gloomy afternoon, I hired a tricycle (pakyaw basis) to tour me around the outskirts of the city with the Mabua Pebble Beach as my main objective. On first attempt at a tricycle… no deal. Flagged another, this time, the jolly driver said okay, and I was off to roam the western fringes of Surigao City! Trike driver’s first question was why I wanted to see Mabua and if I was someone from the government. I said I just wanted to see it since I heard from some people that it was one of a kind. I told him, I would also like to see other places along the way, like Sabang, Lipata and so on. He enthusiastically said “no problem! Hmm, I instantly knew I was going to enjoy the company of this old man! He said I can call him Eugene (I expected that since I could read his ID hanging inside the trike and in front of me). It says his name is Eugenio D. Dalagan. We joked and laughed about his surname for a while. He said he was proud his sur...