Mud and Birds and Things

We left Siargao Island on an early boat and headed on our trip further south in Mindanao. Our final destination would be Bunawan where we would hopefully arrange a trip to Agusan Marsh. We did not really know a lot about the marsh other than it sounded cool in the guidebook with the chance to see some wetland birds. After not seeing many birds for the past two years, KC was especially excited about this opportunity. This marsh area was also supposed to be inhabited by people who lived in floating houses and lived off of the marsh. We were interested in learning more about these people also but were going into this adventure pretty blind otherwise.

So after getting of the boat from Siargao we got onto a bus and started on the 6 hour ride to Bunawan. Along the way we did notice a few things. One was the amazing number of fruit stands. The main products were durian and marang (another smelly fruit but with a much less offensive taste than durian). Another thing that was evident was the wood of Mindanao is being harvested at an alarming rate. We passed dozens of trucks filled with logs upon logs and saw numerous piles of logs on the sides of the road on top of that.

We finally showed up in Bunawan and headed straight to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources office in town to check out information about the marsh and to arrange a day trip. We showed up just in time before the office closed and were met by the knowledgeable and helpful superintendent of the Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary. We talked with him for awhile and he convinced us to change our plans from a short morning trip in the marsh to a two day trip staying overnight in the middle of the swamplands. We were excited about what he said and he also offered to set up the boat for us to start early the next morning.

We headed to the lodging house across the street since there was no formal pension or hotel in the area. It ended up being a very simple but adequate room for sleeping. Oddly enough the owner kept on apologizing for not having a nice room with air-con. We certainly were not expecting air-con and have not yet been met with so many apologies for not having nice accommodation available. We assured her that whatever she had would be fine and while the room was a bit more basic than usual (just some plywood and a rough concrete floor with a small bed) it certainly suited our purposes of sleeping. A lot of the other residents at the boarding house were college students and they showed great interest in us and what we were doing. Before going to bed we talked a bit with the owner of the boarding house. She told us that the water in the marsh would be very low at this time of year and that we might not be able to see many birds. She told us that she went with some other foreigners a number of years ago and they were very disappointed by the trip. She told us to start as early as possible to catch any birds that might be there. Even though we had tried to arrange to leave very early we had been told that we could not leave before the gas station opened (the boat needed gas). So we were beginning to have our doubts if this trip was going to be worth it, as it seems we came at the wrong time of year. But we decided to go ahead with it and see what would come of it.

We awoke early the next morning and met with the boat operator to arrange a price for the two day trip. He quoted something that was quite a bit more pricey than we had been expecting (the foreigner price of course). We tried to haggle a bit but it did not seem to work so we bit the bullet and decided to go and hoped that we were not going to be disappointed. We started out later than we wanted but finally loaded everything into the boat and got on the river about 7:30AM. Along with us was the boatman and a worker from the DENR who turned out to be a great guide and fairly knowledgeable about the birds in the marsh.

We motored on the main river for about a half hour or so before coming to a smaller creek which we headed up to get to one of the lakes which we were to visit. We started going up and the creek narrowed and became more shaded and unexpectedly we actually started seeing some cool birds. There were brightly colored kingfishers and orioles along the way and I was already satisfied by the start of this relaxing river cruise.


We also started to see some floating houses along the creek. The indigenous Manobo live mainly off the freshwater fish in the marshes. During December through March there is a great deal of rain causing the water to rise about 15 feet from the current level. To protect their houses during the flood, they strap large bundles of bamboo and logs to the bottom of their native huts so they float on the marshland. Some of them tie their houses to the tops of the trees to prevent them from floating away, but unless they have a large rope they often break in the winds causing their houses to travel all over the marsh. During the dry season, the banks of the rivers are often exposed so they sometimes plant crops, such as corn, in the area. The Manobo of Agusan speak Visayan fluently, but they have a traditional Manobo language which they still teach their children in order to keep their culture alive. One of the women we met exemplified the differences between the Manobo and the rest of the Filipinos we've met. She was just one year older than me, but she already had 5 children. She said that she had been married when she was 12 and her husband was 16 and that this was a common occurrence on the marsh.

So after cruising down the creek for a bit we came to the end of the line and got out at on of the floating houses of the local residents. Beyond the end of the creek was what looked like another body of water but the way was closed off by a roadblock of marsh vegetation. We found out that this body of water was the first of four lakes that we were supposed to tour to look for more birds. Unfortunately at this time of year the vegetation was so thick and the water was so low that our motorboat could not pass through. Also unfortunately there was a bit of wind and waves on the lake so the small dugout canoes that the local residents usually use to go out fishing on the lake would have been flooded if we tried to go out. So instead we explored a little through the mud and muck along the edge of the lake and fought our way through some of the thick marsh vegetation to get a better look at the lake. It was actually quite fun to be calf deep in mud and at times have our whole weight supported above water only by the marsh plants.

Upon arriving at the next lake we again found that our boat was not going to be able to enter to search around. However the winds were non existent and a very talkative and hospitable local offered to take us out in his small dug-out canoe. This was one of the highlights of the whole trip. As we headed out on the lake, the kids were paddling home from their school in the middle of the lake for lunchbreak. Our trip out on the lake was perfect with gorgeous water lilies and other plants surrounding us from every side. A few fishers were out with their nets and spear guns. Birds (ranging from huge herons and egrets to smaller terns and bitterns) flew from every corner of the lake even though it was the middle of the day. It was just a really swell jaunt on the water. After about an hour or so we headed back to our boatman's house for a bit of dried freshwater fish for lunch. For the second time we were greatly astonished at the hospitality of the people we met. This family couldn't afford to fix up their rotting wooden floor planks but they were so interested in us and so willing to offer a piece of themselves and their life for us. Within 30 minutes we had already been offered a place to sleep in their house even though they barely had enough floor room for their own family. It would have certainly been nice to stay here but we still had one more lake to explore so we moved on.

We motored further upriver and into another creek by late afternoon. There were mudflats and floodplains abundant with wetland birds and we even got a few glimpses of some larger birds of prey (eagles and falcons). We met many fishers along the way coming home from their long day of work out on the river. It was about 4 in the afternoon by the time we arrived at our final destination where we would be sleeping at the house of the "datu" who technically holds tenure over the whole marsh area. This really astonished Lora who was sure that datus were mythical beings from before the age of Christianity. They were the stuff of legends such as Datu Lapu-Lapu who slayed the famous explorer Magellan. She was sure the only datu still alive was Datu Puti, the maker of a popular vinegar. Yet we were standing on the veranda of the Datu's floating house about to invade his home. It was explained that it is his job to oversee activities in the area and he is the main representative for the people there. The role of datu is passed down through the family and even though he is revered, he really has no position in the government unless he runs for office. In the days of old, however, datus were the village leaders. Our Datu was still out fishing but when he returned he heartily greeted us and laughed while he said it was more than OK for us to stay at his house.

In the morning we awoke for a bit more birding before breakfast in the lake (although there was hardly any water left) where we had stayed for the night. After a breakfast of, yep you guessed it fish, we started to head back on the river to Bunawan where we started. The trip took about three hours to get back but we saw many more birds along the way and both of us felt satisfied with the trip that we had just taken. Again it was nice to be off the tourist trail and see a place that not too many others see. The people that we met were great and so incredibly hospitable. It also makes us realize how much of a difference knowing the language can make. People almost certainly would not have opened up the way they did if this was not the case. It will be interesting to see how traveling in other countries is different. But we are slowly working on our Indonesian so hopefully that will help.

Our time here in the Philippines is almost up but we will head to Davao next and then hopefully climb Mt. Apo before heading out of the country. The experience at Agusan left us muddy and sweaty but satisfied with all that we had seen. It was not the right time of year but it was still an amazing and gorgeous place.