Tinuy-an Falls to Enchanted River
After Tinuy-an Falls in Bislig, my next destination was this place called "Enchanted River". They're not near to each other. It took my habal-habal ride almost two hours, so that would probably be more than 50kms. In fact, Enchanted River is farther than Hinatuan proper from Tinuy-an Falls or Bislig proper!
Let's look at this "technical glitch" later, at the end of this blog entry! Meantime, here's how it went..,
This was my last picture in the previous story. And this was taken at 8:40AM..,
Why so quick and already leaving the place after just almost an hour? Well, I calculated the distance/s and available time I had (today) for visiting the places I wanted (or was told) to see. It was very tight!
Lake 77. We zoomed by this place on the way to Tinuy-an Falls. I didn't mind it much as it was raining.
This time, on our way to Enchanted River.., the skies were clearer and no more showers, so I asked my driver to stop a while so I could take a few shots. He obliged and casually told me "this is Lake 77, sir".
I was gladly surprised and excitedly asked a barrage of questions - all in one breathe which made him laugh out loud! "So this is a tourist spot? Why did they name this Lake 77? Who owns this? What other things can you do here? What other things can you see here? Is this natural or man-made?" How big is this place? Can people swim here? Are there boat rides? Where is the entrance?" And queries like that!
The first interesting revelation my driver said was: no one in Bislig ever thought this to be for tourists"!
It did not even have a formal real name at first, but when visitors kept stopping by to take pictures and started asking what this place is called, some wise guy who knew this place a bit, purportedly said it's "Lake 77" because it's 77 hectares wide! Driver also shared that the owner of this place is/was PICOP.
PICOP? My driver educated me that it means Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines, and that everyone in this city knows that it shaped what is now the 'City of Bislig', even if it was closed in 2006.
As driver continued telling me about this place, I saw this woman "impatiently" trying to catch a fish!
I overheard her companion feet away telling her the fish will all the more stay away as she was noisy! Hahaha! Anyway, we left the place, but the driver continued telling me more stories related to Lake 77.
What else did I learn? Well, driver says, many people of Bislig (him included) don't know if this is a real (natural) lake, or made by the then PICOP for whatever reason. Thus, they're not very sure if this water is at all safe for human use! Thus, they do not yet recommend touching the waters of this lake to their visitors - unless those visitors themselves say so, which then they assume said visitors know the lake.
Hmm, anyway, the lake is so placid that the white clouds and blue skies are mesmerizingly reflected!
After the lake, we reached the bridge-under-repair again. And whoa this must be a major repair..,
And we met another habal-habal fully loaded and strung with many heavy things. Unbelievably Wow!
And I saw other interesting, worth-pondering-about scenes even by the bridge!
Other "tourist draws" are sprouting around the area - taking advantage of the crowd. Nice idea!
After 45 minutes (including the brief stop at the lake), we arrived at the national highway..,
That is the Surigao-Davao Coastal Road yes, on Poblacion Bislig side, not Mangagoy side. About 500 meters to the right is Bislig Baywalk; while a few steps to the left is the City Hall, where we headed to.
This is the welcome arch to Brgy. Poblacion.., at left is already the Bislig City Hall compound..,
Here it is.., the frontage of their city hall..,
But we went on ahead.., Enchanted River was still far.., this is the Bislig Bridge.., the infamous one!
Why is that so? Well, it has taken ages to finish, and those who care have various "accusations" hehe!
And that is the mouth of Bislig River. Out there is Bislig Bay and farther is the vast Pacific Ocean!
On the right bank is Poblacion. Aside from city hall, there's also a gym, a public market, a church, etc. That's why many folks call Mangagoy "city within a city" because everything is there on a bigger scale!
Oh, the northern end of the bridge.., and as you can see, that portion is not even done with repairs yet!
This bridge does look fine to me, until driver told me that construction has never ceased since forever!
Make the long story short.., after some 40 minutes from that bridge above.., we reached Hinatuan..,
But this junction is not even Hinatuan proper and is still more than 10kms away from Enchanted River!
This habal-habal overtook us (on the right, mind you), and I was particularly amused seeing the riders!
Passenger is holding a rooster (fighting cock) so it's obvious where they're going. A "sports gym" a.k.a "cockpit arena"! The driver has on his waist a bolo (itak, sundang) that they'll probably use to just the same kill the poor chicken if it loses in a fight! Else, why would he bring such a thing to public places!
Anyway, I liked this next "road sighting"! A "skylab" loaded with hollow blocks! What a transport mode!
There's a pouch in front of his crotch! And my driver told me that is a pillow that serves as cushion for passengers who sit there! For your comfort and convenience hahaha! I wonder if they have a height or size limit for passengers who sit there. Since that person could block the driver's line of sight, dibala?!
Another long wooden bridge! As I said earlier, I didn't know there are still these bridges nowadays!
I actually like listening to the clacking sound of the wood planks as vehicles roll over them. Kuyaw ba!
I'm also amused imagining how impatient must be the drivers of waiting vehicles at the other end!
And I really thought this was a thing of the past. Well, it's still a thing of the present in Surigao Del Sur!
Hey here here.., a closer view of passengers riding "live" on a skylab! Look how comfy manang sits!
Pasensya na if I get overzealously excited at seeing this kind of public conveyance. It is not everyday I see these, and I know it's not easy (as it takes a lot of courage) sitting like that as a skylab passenger.
Anyway and finally, at 10:24AM, we encountered this mind-boggling scene in the middle of nowhere!
And the catch is/was, we were not even there yet! Yes, the Enchanted River is still far from this area!
But let's talk about it in my next story.
Meanwhile, let us look at a little "technical glitch"!
For those who like to maximize sightseeing, refer to this map often and read the next few paragraphs.
Let's trace my itinerary for this day tour, where I rented a habal-habal mainly to see Tinuy-an Falls and Enchanted River as suggested by folks online, by the hotel staff and by the habal-habal driver himself.
1] From Casa De Babano in Mangagoy (Bislig), my ride went to Tinuy-an Falls (see leftward red arrow on the map above). That took about 30 minutes of travel - which was just fine, even fun, and expected.
2] From Tinuy-an Falls, I traveled two hours (1 hour and 58 minutes) to Enchanted River. The ride from Tinuy-an doesn't return to Mangagoy, but goes to Poblacion Bislig and onwards. Good as it makes the trip faster (see the other red arrow on the map). Then all the way to Enchanted River beyond Hinatuan.
3] After Enchanted River, the ride goes back the long long way to Mangagoy!
Let's analyze this...
I think what would have been a better way to do this was: Check-out from Casa De Babano on the way to Tinuy-an Falls and check into a new hotel at Hinatuan after the Enchanted River. Why so? Because I had nothing to do back in Bislig for the night, and the following day I was going back north to Tandag!
Why did I not do it? Well, I didn't know that the Enchanted River is in Tandag - even way north of town! And tour operators or drivers offer it as a Tandem with Tinuy-an Falls. Ang layo pala. Sayang ang oras!
Thus, for you my fellow travelers, it would be better to check-out of Bislig if going to Enchanted River after Tinuy-an Falls. That way, you'll get to experience more time roaming at Hinatuan town proper or even nearby attractions. I wasn't able to do that. I wasn't able to maximize my three days of roaming :(
There's always a next time!
Let's look at this "technical glitch" later, at the end of this blog entry! Meantime, here's how it went..,
This was my last picture in the previous story. And this was taken at 8:40AM..,
Lake 77. We zoomed by this place on the way to Tinuy-an Falls. I didn't mind it much as it was raining.
I was gladly surprised and excitedly asked a barrage of questions - all in one breathe which made him laugh out loud! "So this is a tourist spot? Why did they name this Lake 77? Who owns this? What other things can you do here? What other things can you see here? Is this natural or man-made?" How big is this place? Can people swim here? Are there boat rides? Where is the entrance?" And queries like that!
The first interesting revelation my driver said was: no one in Bislig ever thought this to be for tourists"!
PICOP? My driver educated me that it means Paper Industries Corporation of the Philippines, and that everyone in this city knows that it shaped what is now the 'City of Bislig', even if it was closed in 2006.
As driver continued telling me about this place, I saw this woman "impatiently" trying to catch a fish!
What else did I learn? Well, driver says, many people of Bislig (him included) don't know if this is a real (natural) lake, or made by the then PICOP for whatever reason. Thus, they're not very sure if this water is at all safe for human use! Thus, they do not yet recommend touching the waters of this lake to their visitors - unless those visitors themselves say so, which then they assume said visitors know the lake.
Hmm, anyway, the lake is so placid that the white clouds and blue skies are mesmerizingly reflected!
After the lake, we reached the bridge-under-repair again. And whoa this must be a major repair..,
And we met another habal-habal fully loaded and strung with many heavy things. Unbelievably Wow!
And I saw other interesting, worth-pondering-about scenes even by the bridge!
Other "tourist draws" are sprouting around the area - taking advantage of the crowd. Nice idea!
After 45 minutes (including the brief stop at the lake), we arrived at the national highway..,
This is the welcome arch to Brgy. Poblacion.., at left is already the Bislig City Hall compound..,
Here it is.., the frontage of their city hall..,
But we went on ahead.., Enchanted River was still far.., this is the Bislig Bridge.., the infamous one!
And that is the mouth of Bislig River. Out there is Bislig Bay and farther is the vast Pacific Ocean!
Oh, the northern end of the bridge.., and as you can see, that portion is not even done with repairs yet!
Make the long story short.., after some 40 minutes from that bridge above.., we reached Hinatuan..,
This habal-habal overtook us (on the right, mind you), and I was particularly amused seeing the riders!
Anyway, I liked this next "road sighting"! A "skylab" loaded with hollow blocks! What a transport mode!
Another long wooden bridge! As I said earlier, I didn't know there are still these bridges nowadays!
I'm also amused imagining how impatient must be the drivers of waiting vehicles at the other end!
Hey here here.., a closer view of passengers riding "live" on a skylab! Look how comfy manang sits!
Anyway and finally, at 10:24AM, we encountered this mind-boggling scene in the middle of nowhere!
But let's talk about it in my next story.
Meanwhile, let us look at a little "technical glitch"!
For those who like to maximize sightseeing, refer to this map often and read the next few paragraphs.
1] From Casa De Babano in Mangagoy (Bislig), my ride went to Tinuy-an Falls (see leftward red arrow on the map above). That took about 30 minutes of travel - which was just fine, even fun, and expected.
2] From Tinuy-an Falls, I traveled two hours (1 hour and 58 minutes) to Enchanted River. The ride from Tinuy-an doesn't return to Mangagoy, but goes to Poblacion Bislig and onwards. Good as it makes the trip faster (see the other red arrow on the map). Then all the way to Enchanted River beyond Hinatuan.
3] After Enchanted River, the ride goes back the long long way to Mangagoy!
Let's analyze this...
I think what would have been a better way to do this was: Check-out from Casa De Babano on the way to Tinuy-an Falls and check into a new hotel at Hinatuan after the Enchanted River. Why so? Because I had nothing to do back in Bislig for the night, and the following day I was going back north to Tandag!
Why did I not do it? Well, I didn't know that the Enchanted River is in Tandag - even way north of town! And tour operators or drivers offer it as a Tandem with Tinuy-an Falls. Ang layo pala. Sayang ang oras!
Thus, for you my fellow travelers, it would be better to check-out of Bislig if going to Enchanted River after Tinuy-an Falls. That way, you'll get to experience more time roaming at Hinatuan town proper or even nearby attractions. I wasn't able to do that. I wasn't able to maximize my three days of roaming :(
There's always a next time!
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