Our next side trip took me to the pristine waters of the Enchanted River of Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur. The Municipality of Hinatuan is roughly two hours ride from Mangagoy, Bislig City. The road was friendless – blind curves were everywhere, and so were the steep slopes and rocky ruts. I and my friends even encountered an unfortunate mishap along the way when the rear tire of the habal-habal motorcycle exploded. So along the dusty road, we got a free taste of the neglected and miserable travelers.
It was already four in the afternoon when we reached the Enchanted River. Entrance fee to the park is only P30.00. Truly, the water in the river is crystal clear and clean. In the middle of it is a deep pool of approximately 50 feet deep (not that I measured it, it’s just Wikipedia’s knowledge). Since it connects to the Pacific Ocean, the Enchanted River is a salt water river.
The place was closing in an hour so we decided not to take a dip anymore. We simply lavished the beautiful surrounding. The fishes in the river were also large as fishing in the river is prohibited. According to a local, penalty for fishing is proportional to the weight of the fish caught. The number of kilograms of the fish caught will also correspond to the number of years of imprisonment.
According to the same local, the river got its name from the belief that mysterious beings once occupied the river. There were fairies and magical creatures in the river who enchant people who bathed in it. That was kind of eerie.
There were also boats on the river which offers a tour on the bay. But since it was already twilight, we decided to spend the night on one of the resorts in the bay. So for P100, a boat took us right in the middle of the bay, to the simplistic but pretty cottages of C-Fish Cage and Sand BarsResort.
It was already sunset and we enjoyed the remainder of the day taking photos of the waning day.
And by night, we feasted to some fresh seafoods.
And the morning was equally beautiful. Gazing out of our room, these were the stunning but serene scenes that met my eyes.
Fish in the sea and fish on our morning plates…
Before we left Hinatuan, we once again took a glance at the blue-green waters of the Enchanted River.
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