Enchanted River, Hinatuan

Enchanted River, Brgy. Talisay, Hinatuan, Surigao Del Sur

"What a river" - you can use that expression to mean so many things. Let's start with this..,

That's not a metropolis parking area. That's the road - about a kilometer before - the Enchanted River!

I was already "pre-warned" by my driver that the place would definitely be more crowded than Tinuy-an Falls, but I didn't expect it to be this crazily crowded at 10:27AM. If you arrived in a 4-wheeled vehicle and this late, you'll be unfortunate to be walking about a kilometer from where you may park your car.

Those who come in motorcycles have a shorter way to walk - only about half a kilometer hahaha!

That's because motorbikes are allowed to a certain nearer point to drop passengers and/or load, then exit back to a designated parking area. Eto pa, for some reason rain stopped and sun shone harshly!

Here here, for posterity shots (after the long walk), smile even if you are panting hehe

I can say that they have overdone the size of those letters. There is no respectable vantage in the area where you can fit the complete "HINATUAN ENCHANTED RIVER" in one shot of your camera. So, DUH!

After paying the entrance fee, you walk down the stairs as the river is just there, down below..,

But.., OMG your butt, where will you respectably position your self? Look, Walang maupuan!

Even all the way down. Other than the water itself, no place to rest or while your time away. As in wala!

We went back up near the entrance: me to look at the "hordes of people", my driver to look for "lunch"!

You can't easily focus your camera on anything without someone crossing your sight! But, if you want to take a pic of throngs of people visiting this place, just raise your camera in any direction and click!

Speaking of lunch, you can't easily find a restaurant or eatery that has available "seats". If you brought your own food, it's also not easy to find a place where you can setup everything like in a picnic, and let all of your companions gather around to enjoy the food and drinks! You'll need to arrive early for that!

Now, if you were alone (with a driver in tow), or if you were a habal-habal driver (with just one guest in tow).., where do you go for lunch? Ah, my driver's mettle and experience was tested this time hahaha!

You see those huts lined on the side? They were all full with crowds of hungry customers, we couldn't find even just a little corner for just the two of us! But my driver had a better idea and brought me to..,

This place! I mean, up there! The best find and the best place to be, at this time and situation of day!

This place is a little hill or mound, behind those huts - the stores and eateries lining the road - which is generally a "back of the house" where they do food preparations and other "back-office activities" like laundry, cleaning/repair of tables/chairs, crew-rest-area, even dishwashing or wipe-drying of utensils.

Naturally they have tables and benches at those back of the house areas for purely back of the house activities, right? But at overcrowded times like these, they could be your best & breeziest dining areas!

That is if you know how/where to ask! And BE surprised your food might come faster than usual!

That is fried fish, fried liempo, a trayful of steamed rice and a bottle of coke each, served at 11:02AM! And, we were up at this back-of-the-house area only at 10:55AM! Need anything more? Mahangin pa!

Note: there were nothing irregular or illegal or immoral in how we were able to wing it easy as above!

It was just a combination of knowledge of surroundings, luck, charm, and well, a little white lie! I have to tell you that the most crucial was: my driver propositioned it as HE was the one looking for a place to dine - he is "only a habal-habal driver" and does not need to sit in a 'restaurant table'. Pa-humble ba!

When permission was given, he jokingly said "may kasama akong hapon" (that's me) hahaha! So GO!

There was also a technique (or tactic?) we resorted to, when ordering our food. We avoided anything grilled as that was what most customers were ordering, and all of them were wailing it was taking too long hahaha! I just said "fried fish" and "fried pork" as I could see the frying pan was not yet very busy!

We were at the back of the house kaya! I could see that aside from the big grillers down at the eatery's frontage, there were also grills up near us - all were busy! Plus, I know the Bisaya or Mindanaoan style (culture) of fiesta or picnic - kinahanglan gayud na'ay inasal! Sugba-sugba ba! The grills got real busy!

With a little banter with the "back-of-the-house" crews, our orders were always promptly served!

Look! She's what everyone calls "mommy" - probably owner of the place. She was up here to check on some of the "back-of-the-house" activities, and also on us, their guests at the back of the house hehe!

Note her head angle, it indicates how high this hill is. Where my foot rested was about the level of the roof of the eatery. And btw, we could even see part of the Enchanted River from up here! Hayahaya oi!

There was fish-feeding (that I did not catch on camera)! I knew about it as my driver reminded me that at 12NN there is "fish-feeding" down at the river. From where I was seated, I could even see part of the commotion down there when it was about to begin. I slithered going down, thus I got there a little late!

I still actually caught it, but I didn't have good vantage as there were just so many people in that small an area where a manong was throwing fish food? down the river. The crowd was incredibly too much!

I shouldn't blame just the thick crowd. C'mon.., magpakatotoo.., aminin.., I was also dumbfounded for some moments there! Natulala ako ng sandali lang naman! I was all wide eyed looking down the clear blue water surrounded by hundreds of cheering humans.., yet still.., big marine fish came to feed (plus juvenile stingrays and sharks). Yes I clearly saw them but I don't know if naka-nganga ako while tulala!

Anyway, I remember that the manong and another kept shouting for the people not to jump-in or swim yet as fish could be alarmed and don't come up or even move away. Too many assholes won't listen!

Immediately after the feeding, people started "pouncing" on the water, some giving chase to the fish!

But look at the edges of the picture and try to imagine if you were there, saan ka pupwesto diyan?

Even the rough edges at the other side are also full with human beings of all sizes and shapes!

Ah yes, I did a few video clips and I'll put them somewhere here when done. So please check back!

So that's it, and I did not stay long in this place, because I couldn't (walang ma-pwestuhan). But for the sake of "compliance purposes" hehe, I did go down to the water. Ah yes, it's truly amazingly seawater!

Alright, out of the river..,

Up at entrance, waiting for driver to come down from the hill, I saw this multicab I must take a pic of!

I was trying to take a pic of the baby. But everything was moving! Look, as I took aim, the man in black shirt suddenly blocked my subject (the multicab was already moving too). And this man in stiped shirt at left suddenly appeared in the scene walking fast and he looked at my camera as if ready to kill me!

I still wasn't able to take a better shot of the baby, so I persisted, and here's what came next!

I was aimed, but at the time I clicked, manong ventosa-markado suddenly blocked my subject. Argh!

I persisted.., and there! I was able to capture them, but oops, it looks like the father saw me hehe!

Anyway, this bearded manong in black reacted too late by stopping right there, even backing away as if to courteously not block my view. I said thank you, but I already got his balbas in my picture hehehe!

Last picture of the "size" of the red multicab, and the baby is clear - for us to ask "why"!

Why did the father (I assume he is the father) who is just hanging on the jeep, have to carry the baby with him. Doesn't he have any companions seated inside who can carry the baby for him? Even if we say this is just for a very short ride, it is still unsafe therefore dangerous, against the law of the land therefore illegal, against the law of common sense therefore stupid! Why is he allowed to do that?

I took this series of pics to say "only in the Philippines"! No need for confrontation as we already know what the man's response would be, right? Wheh, that man in black shirt has big government-issued ID hanging as necklace. He apparently could not also tell the father of the baby to get his acts together!

Anyway.., long story short.., it was my time to get out of this place. How? Cadillakad hahaha! Walk!

And as said above, the walking distance isn't easy with the sun baking everything up on a humid day!

I can't help but make my "one last glance" as if to say goodbye at the row of stores and restaurants!

Well, though monotonous, Tanduay (and Derek Ramsey) does make the whole row look orderly neat!

'Intermission' as we walked: there was a big lump of black ants that fell from somewhere there!

My driver explained to me that those dry brown leaves up there are home to ant colonies, but red ants bite more painfully. I just walked briskly away from under that tree. Red or black, I don't want ant bites!

Walkathon pa more! Went swimming at the Enchanted River and you forgot to bring a towel?

No worries, if you were walking back to your vehicle.., because of the distance, by this time, dry ka na!

It is at least a consolation that police visibility (presence) in this area is/was reassuring!

But oops teka wait! Isn't that red multicab the one we just talked about above? It seemed to be waiting for passengers to board. I stayed a bit (even if the sun was already baking my bones). Yes, confirmed! The thing ferries passengers from this point to entrance (stairs) of the river itself - for a fee! Mahusay!

Walkathon pa rin! Can you see there is some "available space" before/beside the red pickup truck?

Sorry folks, not available parking space but a path towards that building and to its back area!

This line of parked and "attempting to park" vehicles seems to be never ending!

Good that habal-habal drivers found a nearby tree-shaded side of a quarried hill..,

Most of them parked in there my driver included! He asked me to wait here as he got our "limousine"!

As I waited, I noticed this is the way to barangay centers like Cambatong (left) and Talisay (right)..,

I wanted to ask, see and learn more of this area, but my "limousine" already arrived. Yeah!

And he continued educating me. that this road is very new, rushed by the authorities for the holy week vacation, that's why some parts are not totally done yet, and trees that were cut have not re-grown yet.

I chose to stay silent as I listened to his stories. In my mind I was saying "eh di ba obvious" hehe!

I could see from the sides that this road have just been finished yesterday, in time for my arrival today!

Far from the river, (maybe 10kms away) I saw this shed in front of Dugmanon Elementary School..,

Souvenirs (mainly t-shirts) for sale! Prints are mostly about the enchanted river, but there were others about Hinatuan attractions. Good that they are positioned here - far from the river, but along the way! Otherwise, they would've been extra addition to the chaos that causes traffic near the enchanted river!

On the way to Hinatuan town proper, we passed by the wooden bridge again..,

I was never alarmed of these wooden bridges, until this..,


Masaya di ba?!

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