I am not sure if my travel companions sensed my relief as we boarded M/BCA Seahorse Express one Friday morning not too long ago. We were then on our way to San Jose, the capital municipality of Dinagat in Southern Philippines.
The tiny island province has been on my bucketlist since 2015. I remember that around the same time last year, I already had a ready itinerary, established contacts with the local tourism officers and ironed out the logistics as well. Unfortunately I did not have enough headcount to push through with the journey.
This year however, I was determined to set foot in Dinagat, even if that means that I have to travel solo just to get there. Thankfully, it didn't come to that because two of my friends joined me at the last minute.
Well, everything about this trip was last minute. What made it more excruciatingly memorable was when I realized that I left our tickets at my apartment, 2 freaking hours before our boat's scheduled departure.
![Enroute to Dinagat]() |
| If we shelved our Dinagat trip, I would also miss this view of the old Mactan bridge. |
"What if I can't find the tickets? Can I charm our way past the inspectors? Will this Dinagat trip be shelved once more?" I tried hard not to entertain these questions as my habal-habal driver and I wove through Cebu's afternoon rush hour traffic.Needless to say that it was the scariest and longest 2 hours of my life. But to make the long story short, I was able to retrieve the boat tickets on my desk, rode the same habal-habal on my way to the port and caught up with my smirking friends.Compared to yesterday's Jack Bauer-esque moment, I was visibly zen while we waited for more passengers to fill-in our motorized bangka. We were also amused by the wares peddled by various vendors. In a span of an hour or so, we saw quail eggs, corn, bread, fruits, bottled water, peanuts, towels, hammocks, headphones, doughnuts, boxes of pizza, Php20 balloons, bootleg DVDs, SD cards and powerbanks paraded around the Seahorse.It seemed that anything can be had here, even at the last minute.The LCD TV was turned on as soon as we left Surigao's boulevard. They didn't air the NBA game we hoped for but showed instead Undisputed, a movie about prison fights in Russia. It's not the best action film in the universe, but I somehow managed to sit through it because there was nothing else to do.I would have wanted though to strike a casual conversation with the ladies seated beside me. They had distinct rings, similar to those worn by almost every other passenger onboard with us.Collectively termed as singsingan by most, they are members of the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association, a non-profit and non-sectarian organization founded by the 'Divine Master' Ruben Ecleo Sr. in Dinagat. Aside from Lake Bababu, this organization is also the other reason why I am curious with the place.Our boat then docked at San Jose a few minutes after the movie credits rolled. There were a handful of eager habal-habal drivers waiting at the wooden port but we chose a trike which could transport the three of us to Bahay Turista in one go.Even from our our room balcony, the midday sun was just as relentless. But I am not complaining at all as I've finally set foot in Dinagat. I let out a silent sigh of relief and then joined my friends for lunch.----------How to get to Dinagat ProvinceDinagat is located off the northeastern coast in Mindanao and can be reached by taking a public bangka (motorized outrigger boats) stationed by the boulevard at Surigao City. Fare is Php100 and travel time is approximately 1 hour.You can reach Surigao by taking a commercial flight from Cebu or Manila. Alternatively, you can also take an overnight boat trip from Cebu.
