4.27.2011

CAMIGUIN | The Island Born of Fire

This is my first time to set foot in Mindanao. As most of the people spend their vacations on different popular destinations in the Philippines, my family and I chose to explore the treasures of Northern Mindanao. To begin with my 5-day vacation the first stop was Camiguin - The Island Born of Fire.



From Cagayan De Oro Airport, one has to travel 2 hours by land going to the Port of Balingoan and board a Super Shuttle Ferry to Port of Benoni, Camiguin. The fare costs Php170 (one way) and it takes more than 1 hour to complete the trip. The ferry departs from both port hourly.

At the Balingoan Port, there were children asking for some coins to be thrown in the water and they dive for it.
Diving from the roof of the ferry (20-25ft dive).
The view of the Camiguin Island from the Captain's Deck.
Arriving at the Port of Benoni, we were greeted by the local people with hospitality. Our tour guide was on time to pick us and help us with our luggages. The first thing I noticed though is the unique design of transportation vehicles Camiguin have. The 10-seater tricycle "motorela" and the "multi-cab" that serves as the version of Jeepneys in Manila. Around the town motorcycles "habal-habal" can be also rented for Php500/day.

Motorela
Multi-cab

After securing the luggages in the multi-cab, we started travelling again. The green trees and the natural scenery along the way made me more excited to discover what is hidden inside this island.


We instructed our driver to drop us first at Mambajao Public Market because we need to buy stuff in our cooking. I was eager to go inside the market and check out the prices of the seafoods to see if they are much cheaper. Indeed, the prices are way lower compared in Manila. I was very amused of the Grilled Blue Marlin because it only costs 25 pesos! I mean, where could you find such price like that? In Manila that would  already cost around Php500. It did not take a while for me to finish one stick of this and I definitely enjoyed every single bite. YUM! In addition, there are also variety of fishes being sold in the market that are relatively cheap.


After buying the goods, we finally continued our journey to the place where we stayed - Patsada Cottages. This place is not the typical beach front hotel but instead it can provide you a homey feeling with an overlooking view of the white island. The cottage is well-equipped with kitchen utensils and has a swimming pool. It also has no T.V and aircon BUT wi-fi is accessible and the cold breeze of air is enough to give you a good night sleep.

The overlooking view from Patsada

DAY 2

It was the breath taking view of the White Island that greeted me Good Morning the following day! I just watched the sunrise and gazed at the island while I enjoyed my breakfast at the cottage veranda.

The amazing view from the cottage veranda
Our second day was solely allotted for touring Camiguin. The first stop was the White Island. It was ideal to go here in the morning to avoid strong waves. The clouds were a bit dark when we sailed to the island but fortunately the sun redeemed itself in the next hours. Since it was Holy Week, many people were around and several stalls were put up along the shore. To be honest, I find the island a bit crowded and commercialized. Well, I guess this only applies during peak season or Holy Week.

In the island, sea urchins are being sold by locals. My first time to taste them and I liked it.
The vendor will open the urchins for you. Its good to eat it with vinegar.
The White Island is the only beach experience we had during our tour. We headed next to the Sunken Cemetery but along the way we stopped at a picturesque view of the "Old Volcano". Our tour guide told us that the volcano last erupted - May 13, 1871 which left a mark in the history of Camiguin.

Note: We also dropped by at the Old Volcano Walkway Site but did not go up the stations of the cross since we already did the religious practice a week before this vacation. Moreover, souvenir shops are just along the street so we took advantage of the time to buy our pasalubong.


The Old Volcano eruption destroyed the Old Guiob Church and sunk the cemetery - now known as Sunken Cemetery. It swept away the graves of the rested locals in this town of the island. Today, these two landmarks has become a very popular tourist attraction.

Tourists are allowed to traverse the sea to reach the platform of the huge cross.
Old Guiob Church
Then it was time for lunch. We went to Sto. Nino Cold Spring to have a lunch picnic. At the parking lot many locals offer snacks which are new to me - they call it Salvaro. It is made from cassava with latik on top and only 5 pesos each. People from the canteens also approached us if we want to order from them and they will just deliver the food in our cottage. So while waiting for food I dipped in the cold spring to forget my hunger. The water was very cold that made me forget how hot the noon was.

Salvaro
Sto. Nino Cold Spring
After indulging ourselves with the great lunch, our next stop was the Soda Swimming Pool situated in Catarman. According to locals, it is named as "Soda" because the water used to taste like one. This pool doesn't differ much from Sto. Nino but has less visitors. The area is surrounded by trees and plants. Cottages are available as well for group picnics.


Then the next stop of our tour - Katibawasan Falls. This 250 feet high waterfalls is indeed one of the great treasures in Camiguin. The falls rushes down to the green pool that provides a refreshing swim for visitors.


The last stop of the tour was at Ardent Hot Spring Resort. The place is composed of several springs with different water temperatures. The best to try here is the 39 degree hottest of the hot springs. It is a perfect relaxation for a day filled with adventure.


Camiguin is really worth a visit and I feel very lucky to explore and share my experience through this blog.

Useful contacts:
  • Patsada Cottages - Ralph +63 929 3166913 / Suzy +63 927 4743238 
  • Camiguin Tour Guide - Kuya Frank  +639205405582

Until the next destination,
Teng

my emaill: tengd7k@gmail.com

30 comments:

  1. awesome photos! I still havent published my entry on Camiguin XD

    ReplyDelete
  2. thanks caz! i'll check yours once you publish it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. nice takes as always!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Now, I'm definitely in love with Camiguin! :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's actually good the weather was cooperating during your tour. It rained most of our tour :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Ands - you should visit Camiguin. Its a good place to bond with your <3

    @caz - yup we were lucky to have the tour on a sunny day. the following day it rained the whole morning. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mukhang ang ganda! I want to visit this place as well!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Yup! maganda sya Kim. Very peaceful and lugar. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow! Naexcite naman ako lalo! :D Punta kami diyan this month! :D

    ReplyDelete
  10. @Neil <3 Iris - Thanks for dropping by! Enjoy kyo sa trip nyo. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Breathtaking!!!!!!!Wish I was there.Can't wait for your next pictures. I'm terribly homesick!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Tita Vicky! Thanks for visiting my blog! Sana po makauwi nga kyo. I'll be your tour guide! Regards po kay Brian and Uncle Nick. Take Care!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Galing ng blocking ng kids na nagdive! Awesome shots... I sooo wanna go to Camiguin :(

    ReplyDelete
  14. Great shots!:) I really love Camiguin, but one thing I hate about it is that its very far, especially taking the barge part but its worthy though.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Sir Teng, ang ganda po ng mga kuha nyo...pang pro talaga! ;) Pahingi nmn po ng tips kung pano ginagawa blue na blue yung sky gaya po ng photo nyo sa Cathedral sa Baguio at yung dreamy effect ng falls.

    Pupunta po kc kmi ng clasm8 ko sa Calaguas sa Nov 28, eh bago pa lng yung dslr nya kya hingi sana kmi ng tips. :) Thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Lhet, may i know your email so i can help you with more details. :) you can email as well at tengd7k@gmail.com :) thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  17. wow ang ganda ng pictures! I can't wait for our camiguin trip next week. glad to come across your blog :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. i was so mesmerized by the photos u have here of camiguin. im so enticed to visit! much love fellow traveler3

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm a culinary student here in manila. we have a food feast this coming February and we are assign by our chef to prepare/ cook something new to the eyes of audience, and my choice is SALVARO. May I get the procedures on how to prepare a salvaro? I hope you can help me. thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. hi Rod, im sorry but i cant help on your inquiry. My site is a travel blog. you can try other food blogs out there. :) good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  21. omg!!! like yours shots.. totally amazing.....

    ReplyDelete
  22. have been in camiguin, we contact ms.jennifer a young fellow in camiguin for a counrtyside tour. she also have a cottage near paras beach resort for as low as 1,000 pesos good for 5persons. ms.jennifer mobile number: 09065321260(globe). Ate jennifer has also a multicab in camiguin 1,500 free pick up at benoni port. she acts as our tour guide during the tour in the island.

    Reply

    ReplyDelete
  23. kanina pako nagbabasa ng blog mo ganda eh hehehe! lurk mode.. namiss ko ang camiguin, you've got a great view of white island nung kami kasi dati sa pabua homestay lang hindi tanaw ang white island

    ReplyDelete
  24. wow thanks! =) yup we got lucky to get a good view of the white island. =D

    ReplyDelete
  25. Very nice pictures and blog! I will be in camiguin next week and we are also staying in Patsada. I hope the cottages is nice!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love your shots...:) super nice! Me & friends are super excited for tomorrows camiguin trip..hope to have a good weather..

    ReplyDelete
  27. nice pics teng..i also loved travel, have you visit marinduque island? I hope u can visit our small island you'll enjoy your stay there.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Camiguin is home of the Romualdos

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

ShareThis