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Let me get straight to the point: if you’re going home to Tago, never go the Nasipit way if you can help it!
We’ve heard horror stories about porters, tricycle, and jeepney drivers out to skin you alive at Nasipit Wharf. For instance, porters demand to carry your luggage despite your protestations and make you pay ransom. Refuse to pay up and the tricycle driver (who takes you to Nasipit Jeepney Terminal) will say, “bayri na lang na; di man ta ka larga ug di na nimo bayran.†The same thing happens when you reach the Jeepney Terminal where it’s the turn of the jeepney driver (who takes you to Butuan Bus Terminal) to say, “bayri na lang na; di man ta ka larga ug di na nimo bayran.â€Â
Yes, everything’s scripted at Nasipit Wharf!
Let’s backtrack a bit, to Cebu City where you take the boat to Nasipit.
The assigned pier for Nasipit-bound passengers is far from the city, which means additional taxi fare. Worse, the place is unlit, dingy, and isolated, making you paranoid holduppers lurk in the dark.
Bedlam starts at the pier’s entrance as passengers bound for Nasipit, Iligan, and Dipolog elbow each other to advance on the narrow passageway. And just when you emerge from the crowd in some stage of sweaty undress, you realize you have to scamper for the shuttle bus that takes you to your boat of choice.
There’s no system on how to board the bus, so anything goes. Lucky you if you could board the bus through the door; chances are, you have to go through the window, which is quite high. And it's here where things can be unwieldy especially if you have a kid slung on your left hip, and two heavy bags dangling from your right hand and another four from your left.
And so, if (bad)luck finds you taking the Nasipit route, here are some tips for you:
1. Go to Pier Cinco not later than 4 PM, never mind if the boat leaves at 8 PM.
2. Don’t carry luggage more than your hands can carry; you’ll be sorry God gave you only two hands.
3. Upon arrival at Nasipit Wharf, don’t join the rush to disembark where porter-thugs are at their fiercest. Take your sweet time.
4. The tricycle fare from the wharf to the jeepney terminal is P10 but the driver will charge you P10 per bag without telling you in advance. He’ll do this later at the jeepney terminal for the jeepney driver to utter his dialogue I mentioned above.
5. The jeepney fare from Nasipit to Butuan Bus Terminal is P25 but the konduktor will charge you P35 for some “terminal fee.â€Â
6. Somebody said that there's now a taxi parked to the right of the exit that ferries passengers from Nasipit Wharf to Butuan Terminal at P150 per head. This eliminates a lot of transfers and yes, headaches.
If you want a taste of hell, take the Nasipit route. If not, beat the path to Surigao City where everything is relatively easy.
(* based on my past and recent experience)
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"Most claims of originality are testimony to ignorance and most claims of magic are testimony to hubris." -James March-
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Thanks for sharing.
peace ICE ](./images/smilies/eusa_wall.gif "Brick wall")
