Fishing in the Philippines - Surigao/ Siargao and further south (1)

A picture is emerging. Take a look at the following Google clickable map that I have been making. This is being added to and improved constantly.

https://goo.gl/B47huj

This region is greatly influenced by the winds and currents coming uninterrupted from the Pacific. Coast lines may be that much cleaner, as a result...

Anyway, the grand picture seen by me at the moment is this.

                     

There is a clear corridor of journey for foreign visitors, west of Surigao. We could use part of this corridor to get to Surigao, clockwise or anti-clockwise.

Alternatively, you could make it into a complete set of articulated trips and be happy with it. If I haphazard a guess Surigao is a very large town and is probably worth spending a day or two there for civilised eateries.

That apart, we see blocks of areas of interest, potentially 3 blocks of them. B1 is Surigao centred. B2 is Siargao centred. B3 is something more off the beaten tracks, perhaps and more interesting about B3 is the fact that although it is part of Surigao del Sur it is already reachable form Davao (or Tagum).

Zamboanga down to General Santos line is now too dangerous, due to Islamic extremists being rampant there. Manila-Davao air route should be OK unless you walk into downtown Davao near the river and People's Park area there and instead go straight from Davao International Airport to regions.

These are the basis upon which I contemplate on my next fishing trips in the Philippines almost everyday I am bathing in the infinity onsen pool at my gym.

I am mindful of the knowledge that the bays north of Mindanao are rich in yellow fins and other tuna spices. Perhaps, I should go for it? In January 2017?, before my planned Taiwan (south) visit in February and my March visit in Palawan north?

It all remains to be seen...

Fishing in the Philippines - You Tube videos only

What follows contains movies.

https://goo.gl/UHDGB0

If locations are known they are placed in their vicinity. If not they are clustered together just south of Taiwan.

River/lake fishing and netting are excluded.

Fishing trips in the Philippines - Samar (3)

We now have a much better understanding of this region, generally known as western Samar and what I call "Inland sea of Samar", if not much in terms of information on fishing. To go any further we will have to visit this place and talk to people there.

Inland sea of Samal (coined):  https://goo.gl/DRSx4V 

So, what do we know now? There are many, but the most important is the overwhelming importance of Cebu International Airport on Mactan and the ferry port just across from it on the island of Cebu.

For your information we noted earlier that the port of Cebu is best reached from Mactan by a very short (20 minutes) ferry. Taxi ride will be PHP 400 and takes much longer in time.

                    

To get to western Samar the key place is Ormoc and to get to Surigao and beyond it is Maasin. Cebu is that important and is the corner stone of everything in the Visayas and south. We will be looking at Surigao and surrouding areas separately.

Let us take a closer look at western Samar, as follows.

           

There are three blocks of interest. B1 and B2 are connected by bangka boat, apparently, but there was very little I could discover about this short crossing.

Whether or not B1 and B2 are connectable about the only realistic way of getting to them is via Omroc and then by bus and ferry. Block B3 can only be reached from Catbalogan by ferry and by land from Ormoc.

Here, we note that the land sections 1,2, and 3 by bus are all more or less 3 hours and that there is no ferry between B1 and B3.

We also note that block B2 is best reached from Calbayog and there still remains the question of getting there how.

From my experience of Cebu-Dumaguete by Ocean Jet (4 hours plus) my guess is that the route Cebu-Ormoc will be very similar in time and if you add the bus ride from Ormoc it is certain that you will have to stay overnight in Tacloban.

From Tacloban to Calbayog will be another day by bus, so there is always this temptation of going to Naval in Biliran by bus from Ormoc and keep our fingers crossed for the ferry from Naval to block B2.

While I throughly enjoyed my 3 hour bus ride between Davao and General Santos in Mindanao the mere thought of 6-7 hour bus ride from Tacloban to Calbayog is daunting.

Actually, I have since found the following:  https://goo.gl/0ToQY5

This article by, presumably a retired American, I think, is very, very good. I only had a very quick look, but he does mention Maripipi - Almagro - Calbayog line of movement by boat in some concrete and plausible manner. He also mentions land route options with costs.

See also: https://goo.gl/zR54HO

Anyway, the food for further thoughts is all here. We will now be looking at Surigao/Siargao areas in the next few artcles.

Fishing trips in the Philippines - Samar (2)

https://goo.gl/5eaEDr :　Western Samar in general

https://goo.gl/cJy7MK :   Catbalogan in general

https://goo.gl/03pdYZ :   12 things to do in Catbalongan

Above 3 shortened URLs carry rather mundane information, the 3rd in particular. Who wants to do caving? I do not. On the other hand you cannot always get information on fishing trips and island hoppings.

What you really need to do, therefore, is to form an impression on this vast area from various sources and at the end of the day conduct your own information gathering, by actually visiting the area and by talking to people there.

Following clickable Google map is meant for assisting you in that direction.

Inland sea of Samal (coined):  https://goo.gl/DRSx4V (now available for universal viewiing)

This is still very much under construction and is expanding day by day. Clickable sea routes will generally give you information on boats, either ferry or bangka boats.

Markers on each island are meant to give you a lot more information, sometimes even you tube movies. Positions and colours of the marker does not mean much, except that they are about the island they are placed on.

Yellow coloured inverted tear drops contain You tube movies and those in chocolateow contain still pictures.

Following map, actually a world map, is very, very useful to find minor ferry routes in the Philippines. I came across this by accident.

https://goo.gl/fS6w0p 

(World map, btu very details and useful in finding minor ferry routes)

I have been particularly impressed by the articles on the island of Biliran, by a Pilipina motor bike rider. I think they are superb. The same girl also contributed two articles on her experience with the island of Bohol, as follows. 

Articles on Bohol motorbike tour:  https://goo.gl/01iYPc　

I myself did my own motor bike tour of Bohol in April 2016 and yet the area covered by her is a lot more extensive, beautifully narrated.

You will be able to find her other articles within the island markers.

Fishing trips in the Philippines - Samar (1)

1. Manila based routes:  https://goo.gl/iiS1jJ

2. Non Cebu/non Manila based routes (1):  https://goo.gl/GCZPGh

3. Non Cebu/non Manila based routes (2): https://goo.gl/9f0X2a

4. Cebu based routes (1): https://goo.gl/gxHE2f

5. Cebu based routes (2):  https://goo.gl/tJIXZm

6. Cebu based routes (3): https://goo.gl/dMOlQW

We need these maps. We need them to understand and make sense of island denser regions of the Phyls from foreigners' point of view.

Let us first take a look at the area surrounded by the islands of Masbate, Leyte, and Samar. Let us also turn on every single layer on our clickable maps.

Turning on all the ferry routes does not mean we want sea travels only. We initially want to see what kind of pictures we get if we do that. We also want to see traffic density because at the end of the day we want to go to seafood restaurants. They are more likely to be found at the ends of heavy traffic lines.

                             

This is the area we are potentially interested in. Island denser sub-regions are in three squares. At this scale of the map noticeable towns are found only on the island of Samar.

We expected, naturally, that there be a fairly large town where Samar is ferry linked to Luzon. There is none. It means that the area in the topmost square will drop out.

We are not interested in towns in the outer fringes of these islands as it will mean bus ride of consirable distances. We also note that if there is a system of island hopping with fishing then Calbayog and Catbalogan must be the key ports.

Now, with that in mind and if you turn on the Manila based map you will find that there is no ferry service from Manila to these towns, which is surprising. And, there are only two ferry operators looking after these two ports and they all operate out of Cebu.

(Cebu based 2 and 3)

Take a look at the following map. 

                                    

This map came about because my gut feeling was that in order to reach this region one easiest way was to fly from Manila to Calbayog. There is an airport there, but flights are few and far between and are rather expensive.

You can plan better if you fly to Cebu instead, but there still remains the question of what next then from there. Remember we are interested in the small islands and seas around them for our fishing and island hopping within this polygon in red.

One way seems to be the trip by bus from Cebu to Bogo, and there is a clear indication on this Google map that Bogo and Cataingan on Masbate are connected by ferry. So, if we can cross over to Calbayog from Masbate then we can start thinking about our fishing expedition there.

Unfortunately, there is no ferry service from Masbate to Samar, which is surprising. So, in oder to get to Samar we will have to take a ferry direct from Cebu to Calbayog or Catbalogan. (See Cebu based 2 and 3)

By the way, the easiest way to handle these clickablle maps is to start from the bottom layer and work upward. That way you will have a better view, Start by having all layers turned off.

From my seperatre searches the bus ride between Calbayog, Catbalogan, Tacloban, and Ormoc is just under three hours each. Tacloban is where Samar is bridge connected to Leyte.

So, we now have a grand picture of trips for this region. Fly Cebu and ferry to Samar. Do your fishing and island hopping down Calbayog/Catbalogan and somehow reach Ormoc by bus and ferry back to Cebu, and fly out to Tokyo from there.

In the next article we will be looking at what actually may be done in this region.

Philippine ferries, routes, maps, island hoppings 2016

To my mind there are only two countries in the world, Indonesia and the Phillipines, which we can truely describe as insland nations. Japan is not worth being called one. 

For touristic travels in these two countries you need user friendly route maps. I have uploaded clickable maps for Indonesia. They are hadly user friendly because the source information is all in Indonesian.

With the Phillipines it is somewhat easier as information is available in English.

Following Google maps for the Phillipines are all clickable. Maps are constantly updated and added to with information only useful to foreigners (repeat, only foreigners) wishing to spend time in the Phillipines. URLs have been shortened.

1. Manila based routes:  https://goo.gl/iiS1jJ

2. Non Cebu/non Manila based routes (1):  https://goo.gl/GCZPGh

3. Non Cebu/non Manila based routes (2): https://goo.gl/9f0X2a

4. Cebu based routes (1): https://goo.gl/gxHE2f

5. Cebu based routes (2):  https://goo.gl/tJIXZm

6. Cebu based routes (3): https://goo.gl/dMOlQW

Routes and ports are clickable and in many cases further information can be found by clicking on the lines. Alternatvely, you can do so with the legend.

We note that the sheer number of Cebu based routes is indicative of the fact the Cebu is the hub of all places for tourists wishing to spend time in Visayas and areas further south in the Phillipines.

You could start out from metro Manila to places, of course, but I would not advise it primarily because it takes a lot of time, generaly. The only exception may be the trip down to the northern half of Palawan.

Even that can be replaced by air. There are regular daily flights from Manila to Coron and El Nido and once you are there there are now regular fast ferry connections between El Nido and Coron, something like 3.5 hours one way.

The slower Bangka (?) boats take longer, 8 hours, but their operations are stable.

By looking at these route maps and from reading a number of Phyls related blogs it daunts on me that the islands of Samar (bigger Samar) and Leyte are rarely visited by foreigners, much less so by the Japanese.

It may be because of the lingering memory of the largest air/sea battle in history fought between Japan and US/Australia in these waters. I personally think that it is about time we went to these islands in large numbers. That will help local economy of the region.

Ferry companies come and go. I noticed that while collecting information. One of the Lonely Planet's interest was the two international sea routes, Zamboanga (Mindanao)-Sandakan (Northern Borneo, Malaysia) and General Santos (Mindanao)-Manado (Menado) (Northern Surawesi, Indonesia).

I did go to Gen San in July this year to check out on this route. It is closed. With Zamboanga-Sandakan it is my conclusion that this is also closed. These two routes used to be operated by the same company, but it seems to me that they have shrank their operations considerably since.

A few additional and sporadic/unrelated comments are:

1. Dumaguete-Tagbilaran by Ocean Jet is alive. I took that ferry myself in July to catch my flight from Cebu back to Tokyo. Actually, it is Dumaguete-Cebu as I did not need to change boats on the way back.

2. The El Nido-Coron is now OK. The ferry company there, Montenegro, stopped their fast ferry service a few years ago, but they are back in with 3.5 hours one way.

3. Metro Manila-Corregidor trip, one hour one way, is good. It is a flower island littered with legacies of the War. It is very much like Capri minus the furnicular.

4. Puerto Princesa may be too risky at the moment, so are Zamboanga and even General Santos. Davao should be OK, unless you walk into down town area near the river there.

Finally, an extremely useful world map is added here.

https://goo.gl/fS6w0p

This map is actually useful in filling the gaps which my own maps cannot carry.

 

Tourist places in the Philippines - personal overview (1)

I have no personal interest in the island of Luzon, except the old part of Manila called "Intra Mullos" and the small island of Corregidor at the mouth of Manila Bay.

I am not interested in the northern half of the Phillipines, either. It rained virtually everyday and all day while I was last in Manila for a week or so.

On the other hand islands much further north, almost bordering with Taiwan, they look very interesting. I noted with pleasure that up there you can have coconut crabs, surprising cheaply.

Tropical regions are often associated with beaches. However, one other thing I am not interested in is beaches to lay your back on. It is the tropical vegetation and sea creatures I am most interested in and that is closely related to small islands.

Ideally, any one of these islands should be entertaining a few King Kongs hiding in the mountain area. These islands should also have streams/falls and large ponds if not lakes.

These are the criteria and the basis upon which I am going to form my impressions on certain regions in the Phillipines.

There are blog articles about places. They are usually "I visited such and such places and they were like so and so" type descritions. I will go further than that, by first form ing an impression, then actually visiting those places and finally evaluating the visits for general readership.

Now, the Phyls itself is an island country. That is why all these clickable maps were produced. However, within the Phyls there are island denser regions with many small islands.

Typical example is the northern Palawan, between el Nido and Coron.

                                  

Southern half of Palawan, particularly south of Puerto Princesa, at the moment, will be too risky due to the insurgence of Islamic militants.

About the area enclosed in the square in red I have read extensively and there is no need for predictive formation of impression. I will simply go there within the next few months, if not few weeks.

If you cast your eyes further south then you have a similar chain of islands between Mindanao and northern Borneo.

                            

Unfortunately, although location/climate-wise by far the most interesting of all island denser regions, this chain of islands is infested with Islamic militants. It is a no-go area. So, you must look further north.

The first thing you notice is a number of small islands around Bohol and between Bohol and Cebu, in particular. However, these are not islands. They are simple flats. There is no elevation to speak of. In fact, I know this area very well by now as recent result of going up and down there many times .

                                 

So, if you take a step back and look wider you will notice that there are a few other regions. One is the sea surrouned by the islands of Masbate/ Samar/Layte. Other areas are around Surigao and Siargao.

It is these regions that there is not much informtion about , made available, yet, by foreing tourists. In the articles to follow I will be looking at issues that must be understood before visiting these regions.