User talk:Aimenew

November 2008
Welcome to Wikipedia. The recent edit you made to Ronnie Liang has been reverted, as it appears to be unconstructive. Use the sandbox for testing; if you believe the edit was constructive, please ensure that you provide an informative edit summary. You may also wish to read the introduction to editing. Thank you.  abf  /talk to me/  11:48, 29 November 2008 (UTC)

'''

TINUY-AN FALLS == ==

'''

BISLIG, now a component city of Surigao del Sur, is at the Southeastern coast of Mindanao facing the Pacific Ocean, 158 kilometers south of Butuan, 152 kilometers south of Tandag (Surigao del Sur Provincial Capital) and 208 kilometers northeast of my hometown Davao City. This was my second trip to this small city.

My first trip was to teach an NGO group a four-day workshop on computer design with Mylene Suaco few years back. There was not any time for a tour. One night, we paid P30 for entrance to a disco, and discovered we were the only ones inside at 9 p.m. Everybody was asleep, even the waiter who forgot to turn the aircon and disco lights on.

Back then, we had stayed in Paper Country Inn (Bislig is after all, where Picop is, the largest paper producing company). On the wall was this framed picture of the waterfalls. Don't leave without seeing TINUY-AN FALLS, they said. There was no time, really.

We were too busy earning P2,000 each a day, get off work at 5 p.m., and rush towards the glorious, long alley of UKAY-UKAYs where money was well-spent. No time for tourist attractions because we ended up carrying eight huge plastic bags each, plus luggage and a crate of fat, juicy crabs on our way home. Who cares about waterfalls when heaven meant buying an Anne Klein blouse for P15? Esprit pants at P30? May tawad pa! Okay, enough of flashback.

Second magical place

Still reeling from the deep blue waters of Hinatuan River, and practically with teeth chattering because I still had on wet clothes, we arrived in the most talked about "Little Niagara Falls of the Philippines." Having seen so many falls in Maragusan and Davao Oriental alone, what we thought was probably just an over-hyped attraction stood before us in majestic grandeur, an awesome wonder spread like an open white blanket of hazy mist and cascading beauty! Am I babbling? Sorry.

Tinuy-an is a three-tiered falls (there is a fourth but cannot be seen from view) about 55 meters high and a breathtaking width of 95 meters, supposedly the widest in the country. An hour's ride from Mangagoy through Bagnan-Borboanan Road, one captures a scenic view of the Borboanan Reservoir with a natural lake.

Centuries old amazing giant trees, ferns and vines in a thick rainforest dwarfed us along the way towards the forested hills that enclosed the falls. Islets were on the swimming ground, with slippery logs where you can cross for a good view, plus multi-layered stones that created pathways too perfectly designed to be natural. Had we arrived in the morning, we would have seen the rainbow said to appear daily from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

I was too dumbfounded to think the first time I saw the place, with my face gently sprayed by mist (I felt so like in an Evian commercial!). We had Mutya beauties along to pose as models for Rhon, so I quietly moved towards the edge of the water. I boldly asked a young man to take me on his rickety raft across the cascading falls. He smilingly took me in, and with a long bamboo pole tied together, propelled and pushed away towards the middle of the murky waters, heading for those gigantic drops that had me bewitched. Upon nearing the walls, he threw a rope out, tied it to some vines to steady us so we will not be sucked into heavy tumbles. The mist was heavily spraying on us by this time. I slowly inched my face and body near a less showery area, yet my head still hurt at the impact of water (OW!).

Then, everyone across the bank's edge wanted a taste of the giant showers. We took turns fetching them, and it shifted to a comic misadventure as we almost tipped over from overcrowding and the raft nearly pulled us into the heavy area of the cascades (that would be like a piano dropped on your head). An hour later, we had to get going as sunset neared--all drenched but happy.

I was again witness to another of Mindanao's ecotourism treasures, which is at par with the best in Asia or maybe the world. If you asked me to come back to Bislig for ukay-ukay or Tinuy-an Falls, I would answer differently. I would go to Tinuy-an early morning for the rainbow. I swear, if I follow the end of its colorful rays, it would lead me to a pot of ukay.

Next stop: Cagwait's hidden Boracay

Note: We followed the traveling duo--jojie and rhonson, both photojournalists, artists, and movie fans who loot Mantex Store regularly for you-know-what-- in an exciting journey around Surigao del Sur, thanks to the Pimentel family's invitation. Barely dry from swimming in enchanted Hinatuan River, they were whisked off to another tourist attraction, many hours away to Bislig City.

writer's website is [witerary], or email witty@info.com.ph