Story & photos by Bernard L. Supetran
IT is the dream of every tourist destination to be a byword for travelers and go trending on social media.
Surigao City, one of northern Mindanao’s emerging escapades, has become an overnight media sensation of sort because of a 6.7- intensity earthquake that struck on February 10. It got more than the media exposure it ever dreamted of, only in a rather unfavorable light, as various reports have portrayed it as a city in rubble.
The scenario resulted in the cancellation of tours and conferences—compounding the city’s lost economic opportunities.
But even before the tremblor struck, Surigao has been quietly making its way into the league of the Philippines’s top travel getaways. It, in fact, registered the highest tourist arrival in 2016, based on statistics from the Department of Tourism-Caraga region.
To counter the negative impressions on its safety, the city government, led by Mayor Ernesto Matugas, embarked on a charm offensive, dubbed “Suroy to Surigao”, to show to all and sundry that it is business as usual, and its natural attractions are unscathed.
The Surigao Airport, which suffered cracks on the runway, restored its daily flight from Cebu Pacific, while Pal Express inaugurated its new route from Cebu.
Hotel Tavern, the city’s top accommodation, underwent repairs and recently opened in time for summer. Except for a few buildings that needed major face-lifts, Surigao was like its old self bustling with activities.
Dubbed “The City of Island Adventures”, Surigao boasts of 17 islands and islets and 21 villages, scattered in northeastern Mindanao. This means an infinity of beaches, multiplied 20 times over with coves and crystal-clear water even in the middle of nowhere.
Among its main come-ons is Day-Asan Floating Village, tucked in the middle of a 550-hectare mangrove forest and quaint houses on stilts. The two-hour cruise has neatly concealed patches of white beaches, snorkeling and kayaking areas and aquaculture farms of premium lobsters. While it is part of the mainland, the meandering river creates an impression that Day-Asan is an island on its own.
The twin beaches of Looc and Mabua-Ipil teem with smooth, multisized pebbles and rocks dissected by a cape that affords a sweeping view of the sea and mountain.
Some 30 minutes away from the city is Hikdop Island, home to Buenavista Cave, which will capture the fancy of those getting their taste of Spelunking 101 with its impressive stalagmites, stalactites and the so-called King’s Throne, where the caving for beginners ends.
On the adjacent cove is the Pagkasawan Beach where tourists usually laze around for lunch and snorkeling in the coral gardens just a few meters away. The shore is just about a hundred meters long, but its solitude seems to take you away to a different time and space.
The main barangay of Buenavista, which means “good view”, offers a soothing panoramic view of the string of idyllic islands—Zaragoza, Berok, Danawan, Sumilom, Sibale and Sagisi, which are as alluring as their exotic-sounding names.
The neighboring islands take visitors to the postcard-pretty wooden footbridge, which snakes through a narrow channel and connects the villages of Cantiasay and San Pedro. At 391 meters, it is the longest of its kind in the country and is jocularly called the city’s own little version of the San Juanico Bridge.
Surigao is also a promising dive spot with its lush life, where scuba divers can plunge into Punta Bilar’s marine sanctuary, teeming with dense coral reefs, nudibranchs, notably the “Spanish dancer”, juvenile bamboo sharks, moray eels, cuttlefishes, octopus and a profusion of aquatic life.
The Silop Cave System is a terrestrial wonder that has 12 chambers and awesome limestone formations, which are fit even for beginners, and has caught the attention of Philippine Speleological Society, which gathered here for its annual congress a few years back.
For a glimpse of the City’s living past, walk in at the Museo nan Surigao Heritage Center, which showcases the archaeological and geological treasures of the Surigao provinces.
The Battle of Surigao Strait Museum at the Luneta Park chronicles World War II’s last major naval encounter, where US forces routed the Japanese Navy in 1944 after Douglas MacArthur’s return. It has a collection of vintage photos, scale models of warships, excavated war materiel, which take you back to the historic battle.
Surigao might have been shaken by a strong quake, but visitors are up for more earth-shaking sights and experiences when they journey to the City of Island Adventures.
Image credits: Bernard L. Supetran