Explore Surigao del Sur

Travel Period: September 24 - 25, 2011
Destination: Surigao del Sur and Agusan del Sur

Introduction
Seeing those amazing scenery in one of my friend's album on their trip to Surigao del Sur, I was instantly eager to visit the place with its beautiful cascading waterfalls and crystal clear blue waters. And I'm talking the famous Tinuy-an Falls which considered to be the Niagara Falls of the country and the breathtaking Enchanted River of Surigao del Sur. So, when a close friend of mine inform me that they will be having trip on those places, without hesitation I tag along on their trip.


BayaNiJuan Adventure
But here's the twist, this is not a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) trip that I have been doing for all of my trips, everything is already prepared and organized by a travel agency although a bit costly compare to DIY trip but it was all worth it. With travel agency, you don't have to worry about commuting or transportation, food preparation and accommodation. You'll just have to wait for their go signals when to leave and eat and the rest is just enjoy the place and company. And the great thing about joining a trip organized by travel agency is that you meet new people on the trip and its nice to hear their different journeys in their life they have been. Big thanks to BayaNiJuan Adventure.

Tinuy-an Falls
We left McDo Bajada past one hour of midnight and reached the first stop along Mawab to take a break. After taking some time, we then left bound to Bislig City, Surigao del Sur. We arrived at 6:30AM in Tinuy-an Falls, unload our bags from the van and immediately off to the falls for photo ops. The view was amazing, thrilling yet relaxing, took some photos on the main falls and then trekked up to next  next falls. Another photo ops there and took some dips on the falls. Later on, we decided to go went down to main falls and tried to ride the bamboo raft. You can navigate the raft by pulling the rope and when we reached the spot where waters from the top hit the bottom, the experience was incredible, I mean you can get an instant back massage from the waterfalls. Finally, we had our breakfast and off to go to the next spot.

Ocean View Park and International Doll House
After less than an hour of travel from Tinuy-an Falls, we arrived to the next spot, the Ocean View Park where the International Doll House is located. The place is an overlooking view of a town and the ocean itself, took some photos and then entered the doll house. This is my second time to visit a doll house while the first time I've visited a doll house was in Sampaguita Gardens in Aklan. Upon entering to the doll house, there is a scenery background that is posted on the wall where you can take a picture and it looks like a real nature in the background. There is a guide who explains the different dolls, unfortunately, I was not listening to the discussion since I was busy taking pictures. :D. After some time, we then decided to go to the next stop.

Enchanted River
This is it, we will be reaching the awaited Enchanted River in just some few time. The location was remote, so you need to have a service and you will navigate deep into the forest. When we reached the place, we were surprised, guess what? The place has lot of people, everyone is busy taking their lunch in their respective huts while others are on the swimming area. It felt like the place was not isolated at all, but rather like a beach where a lot of people spending their breaks. Of course, photo ops in the place, we took our lunch and then off the Enchanted River swimming area. Well, only one word can describe the place and that is ENCHANTED. A crystal clear blue water on the site and a beautiful scenery. Without wasting our time, we then went to swimming and underwater photo ops again. Around two in the afternoon, we left Enchanted River and boarded an outrigger boat bound to Sibadan.

Sibadan
We reached a floating resort, there was a pen for lobster, fishes and sea turtle. For the first time, I was able to see up close and personal a sea turtle (commonly known as "pawikan") and even touch one. We spent some swimming time in the place and by late afternoon took our power nap. We had our dinner and then had a little chats with the other. And oh, before I forgot, we have an abundant and sumptuous sea foods on every meal. One of our companions, shared his experiences working in South Korea like details from their culture, labor policies, climate, tradition, working experiences and etc. It was a great night and we then took our rest.

Day 2
September 25, 2011, Sunday, we woke up early and the first thing we did was videoke, ehehe, we did not have a chance to do the night before since some of the guests were using it. Then took our breakfast, prepared and leave for the next activity which is island hopping in Britannia Group of Islands.

Britannia Group of Islands
When we reached the place and upon seeing those islands from the shore, we were excited to ride on the boat and set off immediatley. Our first island to hop on is the Hagonoy Island, a white sand island were some trees and bushes can be found in the middle of it and while going to the island, you can see some amazing islets molded by waves as years passed. So far, the best islands and islets during island hopping I've seen was in El Nido, a stunning limestone cliffs with virgin white sand beaches. When we reached the island, we have lots of photo ops, from solo to group shots and swimming to jump shots, photos here, there and everywhere. Hehe. After few minutes, off to the next island, the Naked Island, naked in a way that you can only see a plain white sand in the middle of the sea, no bushes and trees just like the famous White Island in Camiguin. Again, photo ops here, there and everywhere. We also visited two more islands and after that went to shore and took our lunch, we need to catch some time for our side trip.

Bugac Spring and "Lolong": The Biggest Crocodile in Captivity
Our side trip this time was to visit Lolong the newest tourist attraction in Bunawan, Agusan del Sur. Lolong was on news headline after it was captured on a trap last September 3, 2011. But before we reached to the eco-tourism park, we dropped by at the Bugac Spring and had some few photo shots. After that, off to final destination in Bunawan. When we reached the place, it was already dusk and we need to hurry to catch some shots while there is light, luckily we had before the night falls. We also watched some video clips about the history and attempts to capture the crocodile. Finally, we decided to went home to Davao City and while traveling, we had our laugh trip of our life with the companions. Another milestone of adventures I had and another check on my bucket list.

Thank you and God bless us all!