Tourists wait for their turn on an island-hopping trip. (Photo courtesy of General Luna Mayor Sol Matugas)
ILIGAN CITY — Nature-loving tourists on Siargao Island on Good Friday faced a shortage of boats for island-hopping adventures, leading Mayor Sol Matugas of General Luna to apologize for the long wait times.
“Thank you for loving Siargao! (But) sorry for the shortage of pump boats for the island hopping,” Matugas said in a message on social media.
“We are trying to invite fisherfolks to offer their boats and requesting pumpboats from the neighboring towns of Dapa and Socorro just to accommodate everyone. Rest assured, contingency measures are being done for all,” Matugas added.
Matugas said the situation only showed that “Siargao is truly a paradise.”
Throngs of tourists flocked to Siargao for the extended holiday, prompting General Luna’s local government to station security and medical personnel in popular spots. Meanwhile, coast guard members monitored passenger boarding on outriggers.
Matugas said they aim to provide tourists “a vacation that they will never forget.” — Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao