Surigao City

I was able to get a little time off from work as our hotel opening has been delayed further so I immediately booked a flight back home last February. Home for me is a little town called Madrid, a tiny municipality in the province of Surigao del Sur.

It is still a long way to go before I can arrive at my final destination. First, I have to pass through Surigao City --- aptly called “the gateway to Mindanao” as it is located on the northeastern tip of the island of Mindanao.

The city of Surigao has started to really metamorphose into a more bustling place with modern conveniences like daily flights from Manila or Cebu and twice daily boats from Cebu. Lo and behold! There is a Jollibee branch right smack in the middle of San Nicolas Street, just in front of my dear old alma mater! Even Greenwich Pizza and Chowking! Wow, bigatin na talaga kami! hahaha

If you are coming from Cebu City, you can either take one of the boats from Cokaliong Shipping Lines (daily at 7pm, except Sundays) or Cebu Ferries (owned by Aboitiz Shipping Lines) which departs Cebu an hour later than Cokaliong but arrives faster! Another option gaining popularity among local travelers is the entry of budget airlines like Cebu Pacific and Airphil Express. If you purchase in advance, you can even get rates cheaper than the fares offered by the shipping lines. But make sure though that you travel light otherwise the excess baggage rate is around 120-150 pesos per kilogram!

From Manila, there are twice-weekly trips via Superferry and Sulpicio Lines. But yet again, if you don’t have heavy luggages (only 15kgs baggage allowance on domestic flights unless you fly via Philippine Airlines) and can purchase the tickets in advance, then you can take the flights from the budget airlines.

From other parts of Mindanao, there are direct buses from Davao, Butuan, and Cagayan de Oro to and fro the city.

The city itself doesn’t have much to offer. You can easily circumnavigate the place by asking the tricycle driver to tour you around in under 2 hours. But it is the entry point to the surfing capital of Siargao (although Cebu Pacific offers direct flights now to Siargao from Cebu) with its perfect waves, astounding stalactite caves and white sand beaches.

For me, Surigao City used to be my residence for the last 2 years of my high school life (I studied my 3^rd & 4^th year at the then-San Nicolas College now St. Paul University Surigao). I still visit the city regularly every time I’m home for my holidays to catch up with old school friends. Or kneel and pray at the Cathedral where I used to hear mass every day (di ko ma-imagine inaraw-araw ko sya noon!) after school.

It also means that if I’m in Surigao City already, I am only just 3 hours away from my ‘home’.