The municipality of Hinatuan in Surigao del Sur is located north of the city of Bislig. Like most of the province, it is a coastal municipality but with large areas of forest cover and mountainous terrain. The only reason why we intended to go here was the Hinatuan Enchanted River. It is, quite frankly, the only thing that Hinatuan is known for as far as I can tell. But as we later found out, Hinatuan had other things to offer. Continue reading
The previous night, we already packed our bags in preparation because the boat that would take us back to the Surigao del Norte mainland was scheduled to leave before dawn. We were quite nervous about being stranded in Bucas Grande as the wind speed at that time was really picking up and residents say that when the winds are too strong and the waves too difficult to navigate, the coast guard does not allow boats to leave even if there is no actual storm yet. Continue reading
I’VE always wanted to visit Mindanao. Everyone I know in the traveling community seem to have visited some part of it – Davao, CDO, Camiguin, Bukidnon, etc. – and have only good things to say about their experiences going there. Since I was beginning to feel left out in discussions on Mindanao among my traveling buddies, and my online albums are conspicuously missing photos of anywhere south of the Visayas, I resolved to make a visit to Mindanao a priority in 2011. Prior to this trip, the closest I’ve gotten to Mindanao was to view the coast of Zamboanga del Norte from far away Siquijor in the Visayas. Continue reading
Just so there’s something more to look forward to after the Batanes series, here are 2 video clips of Surigao del Sur’s top tourist attractions, which I was able to explore with some newfound travel buddies on my very first trip to Mindanao:
TINUY-AN FALLS
Tinuy-an Falls! from Liquid Druid on Vimeo.
HINATUAN “ENCHANTED” RIVER
The Hinatuan “Enchanted” River from Liquid Druid on Vimeo.
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This entry is part of the Surigao & Butuan series dated September 22-27, 2011:
1. The Ugly Side of Surigao del Norte
2. Preview: Surigao del Sur’s Twin Gems
3. The Surigao & Butuan Series (prologue)
4. Bucas Grande and Sohoton Cove
5. A few stops between Sohoton and Socorro
6. The Long Road to Bislig and Tinuy-an Falls
7. An Afternoon in Hinatuan
8. A Heritage Tour of Butuan
