IN TRANSIT FROM BUTUAN TO BISLIG

Travel from Butuan to Bislig can either be by bus or by van and travel time is shorter by the latter, so our first option was to take the van.  Upon arriving at the terminal, the van was only a quarter filled and it must be full before it leaves.  It was already 1pm then and the barkers cannot commit a definite departure time.  We were anxious of travelling at night time so we transferred to a bus at Langihan Terminal.

Our bus was bound to leave for Mangagoy, Bislig at 2pm with expected arrival time at 7pm.  But before we left, we were contemplating whether to stay at Hinatuan for the Enchanted River or drop it for Bislig.  Well, we opted for the latter...  I just told myself that there is always a next time. 

I chose the front seat for a good shot of the sceneries along the highway.  The first of which was the Macapagal Bridge which I shared in my other blog.  Also, I want to trace our location against the map at hand.  

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AROUND BUTUAN CITY (PART II)

continued from AROUND BUTUAN CITY (PART I)

Lutong Bahay ni Aling Cora is a seafood dampa restaurant and is located just beside Gaisano mall.  One can choose from Tipid Meals of P49 to a “paluto” of your choice.

Among the delicacies served in the convention, my faves were the palagsing and salvaro.

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AROUND BUTUAN CITY (PART I)

I thought my adventure will wait for hubby’s arrival but on the second day, before the convention proper, I was invited by a group of PICPAns who’s staying also at Gloreto Hotel for a half-day tour around Butuan.  I learned that they had arranged for a multi-cab to bring us around for just P1100.

From Wikipilipinas: Butuan was the capital of Agusan del Norte until Year 2000 when Republic Act 8811 transferred the capital to Cabadbaran City.  Prior to the division of Agusan into Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur by virtue of RA 4979, Butuan is the capital of Agusan from 1911 to 1967.  It became a city in 1950 per RA523 as signed by President Elpidio Quirino.

With Butuan map as a guide, we were able to visit the following:

1.    Bood Promontory and Eco-park – we had a hard time locating the area as most of the locals is not aware of the “Bood Promontory” term, it was when we asked for “Ecopark” that they finally pointed us to the right direction.  The trip includes about 10-15 minutes of rough road and a short uphill drive.

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BALANGAY SITE MUSEUM

The Balangay Shrine Museum or Balangay Site Museum keeps the remnants of the earliest watercraft called “Balangay” or “Butuan Boat” which are large boats, built with wooden planks and pegs -- a National Cultural Treasure as declared through Presidential Proclamation No. 86.  

According to the tourism officer, balangay boats are usually made of dongon or sangilo wood, famous as hardwood but are floater wood at the same time.

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BUTUAN -- BISLIG -- DAVAO TRIP

This Butuan trip was one of my solo flights and my travel of 1-1/2 hour was consumed reading the magazine feature of Conquering Kinabalu, one of the mountains among my dream-climb list.

At Butuan City airport, “Welcome Delegates” banners, friendly usherettes and attendants greeted us, an indication that PICPA Butuan had prepared well for this event.  Thanks to the positive feedback of an acquaintance from PICPA Zamboanga who shared that PICPA Butuan are good in terms of event hosting.  It was one of the compelling reasons for attending this year’s event plus the fact that this will be my first at Butuan and the CARAGA region.

With that, I tweaked my itinerary with hubby coming along to make the most of CARAGA as follows.

Day 1-4 PICPA Convention and around Butuan – Agusan del Norte

Day 4-5 Travel to Bislig City and around Bislig – Surigao del Sur

Day 5-6 Travel to Davao City and around Davao – Davao Region

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