Enchanted River (Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur)

"Huwag maging dayuhan sa sariling bayan"....as they say, don't be a foreigner in your own country.

I know there are a lot of tourist spots which are becoming popular in my own neighborhood that I am very ashamed to say I haven't even visited.....and to think that I've been to other countries like 5 times! Well, once I'm in my hometown I tend to just spend my days lazily, ensconced in front of the TV or reading a novel and practice the art of being on holiday ---- and a total slob, at that! So of course, no travelling around other towns.

Janeth went home also for her mother's birthday so we thought, hmmm perfect timing, why don't we visit at least the 2 most popular places in our province --- Surigao del Sur. First stop will be the Enchanted River in the town of Hinatuan.

Although we are from the same province, my hometown of Madrid is closer to Surigao City (from Surigao del Norte) than to Hinatuan. We were so adamant that we are going like backpacking tourists! Hahaha

So off we went, after being woken up by my mother at 4am (she kept on asking me whether I'm sure I wanted to go that early!) I was able to meet up with Janeth at our rendezvous --- the roadside terminal --- to catch the 5.30am Bachelor Express bus bound for Tandag. I put my Ipod on and just slept right through it.....till we arrived in Tandag around 7am.

We were supposed to have breakfast at the bus terminal but then there was a passenger van which is departing immediately and its already almost FULL so we decided to just hop into it and maybe we can eat something when we arrive in the town of Barobo. But alas, when we got to Barobo there were only a few stalls there and the restaurants are on the other side of the terminal and we were hesitant to go out coz we might miss the next bus/jeepney heading to Hinatuan.

After almost an hour wait, we were able to board a jeepney bound for Mangagoy and the driver said it will pass by the junction going to Enchanted River. Perfect!

We arrived at the junction at around 11am and was able to find a waiting "habal-habal" driver who is willing to take us there for only 50 pesos each. But it was more than worth it, the ride was uphill-downhill and cringe-worthy! It made me think, what the heck! The place could not be worth this much, for us to endure this harrowing ride in a motorcycle!

The sight which greeted us was a picnic sight with a lot of families and excursion groups occupying the cottages dotting the entrance area. I thought at first there was nothing......but then when we came closer and further into the place, the more that the place weaves its magic....

At the mouth of the river, the bluish clear water looks really inviting and you can even be swimming with the fishes as there were some small fishes in it (they also have feeding times). Beginners can also rent life jackets as currents can be a bit of a challenge due to the fact I think that its a huge drop at the bottom. Or baka bottomless sya, as the legend says....

But the more you venture farther, the color of the water also changes dramatically from bluish to this greenish hue which is so clear that you can even mirror yourself in it! This part was prohibited from swimmers hence the water remained so calm and ripple-free.

Our meeting time with our driver (he is picking us up again for the return trip) is at 1pm, hence we decided to have lunch there instead prior to departing. Just right across the picnic area are seafood stalls (just about 4-5 different stalls) where you can choose the fresh seafood items that you want, weigh it in, and then you can have it cooked whichever way you want it --- adobo, sinugba, kinilaw, tinuya.....

I definitely felt lightheaded after polishing off 1-kilo of adobong Saang (i think its from a mollusk family, i'm not sure but its a local delicacy in our province). But the credit goes to our driver, who is such an expert at navigating the tricky and challenging ride (on a rainy day pa!) while balancing his bike with two heavy passengers at the back! Hahahaha