I went with friends to the Enchanted River in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur this past weekend. If you want to know more about the place you’ll have to look somewhere else; the only advice I can give you is to avoid going there during the weekend — especially a summer weekend.
We went back the next day, Sunday, for a shot at taking better photos. We thought 8AM early enough, but we were wrong. Even then the place was already swarming with visitors. If you must go during a weekend, make it as early as you can; the gate opens at 6. Savor the scenery (it is beautiful), the cool water, and the relative quiet before the rest of the circus arrives. And if you want a good spot to witness the noontime fish feeding, take the kids’ pool entrance into the river; there’s a shallowly submerged rock shelf to the left, near the cave entrance. It’s the best seat in the house (you can just about make it out in the photo up top).
Tables are limited, one more reason to be early. Otherwise it’s hard to find a free (not to mention safe) corner wherein to stash your stuff, and it’s no fun having to be on the constant lookout for them while swimming. We got lucky: a local family offered us their table once they were done with lunch and we got to eat sitting down. No extra charge for the table, and the food was affordable (and delicious, especially the fried kitong). The only racket, far as I could tell, was with the in-house souvenir photos, which cost ₱200 a hard copy.
Anyway, we’d elected to stay the previous night in Hinatuan town to save on driving time to our next destination. After a so-so barbecue dinner, we headed straight to Alba’s for dessert, upon the insistence of our guide, an old friend now based in Butuan City.
The place had closed for the night. “What did you expect?” I said. “It’s near 10.” But Yenyen was not easily deterred. “I have been crowing about their halo-halo since yesterday and I’m not leaving until we get some.”
“Are you even sure we’re in the right place? The sign says D&E, not Alba’s.”
She was. “Go ahead then,” Jenny said. “Impress us.” And with that our class valedictorian made for the door adjacent to the shuttered store where the owner apparently lived. “That damn halo-halo better be worth the hassle,” I sighed.
Now a word about halo-halo. It is hardly my favorite cold snack. There is a combination in there somewhere that gives me the runs. I was prepared to go as far as the ice cream, which the owner told us was durian — again not a favorite, fruit-wise, but who knew? I’m not a coffee drinker, yet I’m crazy for coffee ice cream.
Yes — Yenyen did it. However so, I didn’t think to ask. Hinatuan is a sleepy town, just as ours once was, so I guess the owner was simply being nice. Or bored. Even pesky out-of-towners could be amusing from time to time. We took our seats at a big round table and waited while the help were roused from bed (more probably the couch, watching Your Face Sounds Familiar).
The halo-halo (literal translation: mix-mix) came in a red ceramic bowl and cost ₱75. It didn’t look much, just shaved ice topped with a generous scoop of ice cream and some cornflakes. Excuse the photo, BTW; I was working by dim fluorescent light and my flash unit was not working. Also, I was in a hurry to get to it before it melted.
The durian ice cream was a revelation: creamy and chunky, with none of the icky smell I associated with the fruit. It was divine, if a bit on the sweet side, although I thought I knew why, so I contented myself with eating half and mixed the rest into the bowl. Aha! Just as I suspected, no sugar. Even the leche flan was not that sweet, just properly creamy. It lay underneath the ice with red and white beans, red gelatin, and candied sabá banana and coconut strings in a dainty pool of evaporated milk. Except for that and the cornflakes, everything was supposedly made in-house.
So here’s another piece of advice: after visiting the Enchanted River, make a quick side trip to the Hinatuan poblacion and get some of that halo-halo. It’s not that far, and you will be glad you did. Take it from me; I cleaned out that bowl. Have I told you I don’t like halo-halo? Or that it gives me a bum stomach? Not this one.
Still, it’s the durian ice cream that has stayed with me. Too bad they don’t serve (or sell) it as is. Yenyen tried, but the most she got was banana cake on the house. If you have more luck, do let me in on the magic words. I’m enchanted.
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