Road Trip: Lanuza (Part 1)

This trip to Lanuza, Surigao del Sur, had been suggested last November but we really didn't know what to expect.  All we were interested in was that when my brother, Joey, has a destination in mind -- especially one which we haven't been to yet -- we wanted to go, too.  It turned out that, not only did he intend to go there to surf, but also to determine if his expertise in events management could be put to good use for the promotion of a relatively unknown destination.

We set off at 5:00 am on the chilly morning of January 2, 2010.  We were: Joey, Chi-Chi and Maite Abellanosa, Edgar (driving) and myself, and Mama.  Chi-Chi and Maite are close family friends who also work as sports events organizers and trainers for safety programs based in Malaybalay City.  They, too, had never been to that part of Mindanao and were only too willing to join us on this excursion.  Who knows?  Maybe their knowledge and experience would come in useful as well.  So that was our group: an adventurous and enterprising surfer, a sports enthusiast, a safety advocate, an all-around mechanic, a traveling travel coordinator, and a 78-year-old lola.

We made good time, passing through Gingoog City just as the world was waking up, and entered Butuan City  before 8:00 am.  It was easy to spot McDonalds and Jollibee, both located at the corner of Gaisano Mall along the highway.  After breakfast, we were back on the road, passing Cabadbaran (9:20am), Lake Mainit (what a view of such a BIG lake), and into Surigao del Norte.  At a junction just before Surigao City, we took the right fork headed for Tandag and at which a notation said "Lanuza 70km".  At Claver, Surigao del Norte, we were welcomed by the panoramic view of the ocean and a sighting of Bucas Grande Island.  Our pleasure was short-lived though because the whole coastline was tainted with red silt, apparently coming from the nearby Red Mountain (a.k.a. Iron Mountain).  As more and more of the sea shore became red, we realized with shock that this was the area we'd heard about that had just become the new mining haven of foreign mining companies, particularly from China and Korea.  (Note: pictures and more comments on this in future blogs)  Heaving a sigh of relief to be out of the mountain and back on concrete road again by 12:12pm, we cruised through Carrascal and Cantillan, had lunch in the van (with Joey driving so that Ed could eat his sandwich), passed Madrid and Carmen, and finally, Lanuza!