Ironwulf.net: En Route – The Philippines, Travel, Photography Blog

The Enchanted River in Hinatuan was one of the places I was looking forward to in our Surigao del Sur trip. First seen on the famous Travel/Docu show “Born to be Wild”, I was immediately curios to see it for myself. Mid-day after taking lunch coming from Tinuy-an Falls, we proceeded to Hinatuan which is roughly an hour away from Bislig. Finding it gave a sort of mix feelings. Only to discover it’s not how I envisioned it seen from the famed TV show.

I’ve been looking at the stark gray sky repeatedly while hoping that it would clear up or much less, let the rains abate. It’s been at least an hour since our original call time. We’ve eaten our packed breakfast and spent time idle with Sun City‘s speedy internet connection. We could have slept over these wasted time but we were all raring to go to Palaui Island. It will be my first time to set foot on this island at the northeast tip of mainland Luzon and I won’t let this rain dampen my excitement.

Our 2nd day in Puerto Princesa started when a Van from Pasyar Palawan fetched us about 8am at Microtel Hotel. The only seats available in the van are for the four of us, I guess the P1100 per pax fee for the Honda Bay Island Hopping isn’t exclusive to us this time. Anyways, the fee covers a day of island hopping including our lunch so I guess I don’t mind sharing.

“We can’t make it to Snake Island”, our boatman who doubles as our guide, Charlie informed us. It was already late mid afternoon and Snake Island is far down south of Bacuit Bay. We were also told that we needed to refill our fuel soon lest we got stuck in the middle of the bay. We headed to an island they called Helicopter Island, said to be named after its shape. But it looks a lot more like a whale to me.

Making our way back at the central channel of Taiputan-Matinloc Islands we docked on a beach where Matinloc Shrine is located. Shielded by walls of limestone, It’s a charming place that I felt it’s like a small piece of Greece with its architecture. There’s also a large platform facing the beach on the opposite island. Standing there gave us a surreal panorama of the aquamarine waters and limestone cliffs in every direction or angle.

The groove to go Island Hopping is back on our fourth day in El Nido. We’re going again with Islanen Outdoors Tours since they have a very good slightly customized package and price (of P650) on Tour C which includes several sites in Matinloc Island and few stops on our way back. We had to wait a few minutes before they got everything ready. We had a smaller white boat this time highlighted by MMDA colors of pink and blue but it seems real solid and capable to handle the seas.

Stuffed and rested, our boatman, Felix signaled us that we should be going. We’re getting too comfortable at the Secret Lagoon Beach and remembered that there are still a couple of stops before the afternoon ends. About 10-15 minutes south of Miniloc Island is an islet they call Shimizu Island (Others spelled Zimizu). It’s supposed to be one of popular snorkeling spots in Tour A.