TO THOSE who love the great outdoors, consider visiting Barangay Day-asan in Surigao City.
The village is dubbed "Little Venice" because if its narrow channels of water. The place offers activities one will definitely enjoy and cherish, and which will surely satisfy one's wanderlust.
Here are some of the fun things you can do in this water village:
1. Boat tour
There are a lot of mangroves in Day-asan -- 555 hectares of it, to be exact. Aside from the expanding mangrove forest, stilt houses and fishpens complete the scenery.
For people who just wanted to enjoy the view, touring around this water village by boat would be an ideal thing. A minimum of 10 people can rent a pump boat for P500 for three hours (P700 beyond three hours). These pump boats have roofs and benches on both sides that give passengers comfort during the tour. Life vests are likewise provided.
2. Kayaking
For the more adventurous ones, kayaking or paddling is a must. This allows you to go wherever you want around the area and to enjoy the crystal clear waters. It's more fun when you have a friend or someone who goes with you when kayaking.
There are no crocodiles in the area. A resident said they haven't seen one for a long time. So don't worry too much. All you have to do is appreciate nature at its best.
3. Fish feeding
Aside from kayaking, part of the P500 tour package is fish feeding. Tourist will be feeding "maming" or humphead wrasse with "tamban."
Humphead wrasse is an enormous coral reef fish with a prominent bulge on its forehead. It can grow over six feet long. It is an endangered fish, thus locals are not allowed to sell it.
The World Wildlife Fund has urged the public to stop the trade and consumption of humphead wrasse, one of the most expensive live reef fishes in the world.
4. Eating lobsters
After hours of boat tour and kayaking, you may want to treat yourself to a sumptuous seafood meal. There are structures in the area that have wide platforms where dining tables and chairs are readied for visitors. They have a restroom, a cooking area and even a videoke bar. But the main attractions are found in the cages below these structures -- lobsters.
Warning: Lobsters, locally known as "banagan", are quite expensive. They sell P3,200 to P3,500 per kilo. You may try a very fresh one, if it's within your budget. If not, you may ask the caretaker to get one for photo purposes.
The floating village is usually jam-packed on Saturdays and Sundays.
Barangay Day-asan has a population of more than a thousand whose main livelihood is fishing and selling banagan.
The Day-asan Water Village was established by the City Government with the help of the Department of Tourism to help locals earn money. The project is helping the families in the village financially since it hires locals as tour guides and pump boat operators. (SunStar Philippines/With Lora Manigos)