Exploring Camiguin

From Cagayan de Oro, Camiguin is a bus and ferry ride away. For new visitors of the place, you will need to ride a bus from the Agora station and travel for about 1.5 hours to Benoni pier. From there, a ferry will take you to Camiguin island for another 1.5 hours. A faster ferry is available but I believe the trips are only one in the morning and one late in the afternoon, while the regular ferries have an hourly trip.

Camiguin is just a small island which you can explore for a day. The most common mode of transportation are "motorelas" but multicabs and motorcycles can also be rented. My friend and I opted to make arrangements with a motorcycle recommended by the resort we were going to stay in. The total fee was Php500 for 24hrs, fuel not included. Not bad. 

We stayed at Paguia's beach resort, located at Mambajao, right across White Beach. Since I have mentioned it, let's start talking about the many  places to visit in this "Island Born of Fire". 

The White Beach is sure to be the most famous stop in Camiguin. It is a small white sandbar which changes shapes depending on the ocean tides. Best time to visit would be in the morning for an early swim and to catch the sunrise. Aside from swimming, one side of the beach is a good site for snorkeling. Now, there are no cottages in this beach. Local salesmen are abundant though, offering different trades such as food, souvenirs, and sea urchins to eat. 

Ardent Hot Spring - still located in Mambajao, it offers a natural pool divided into four tiers of varying depth and warmth. The hottest could get up to 40 degrees Celsius. They have a restaurant, snack bar, and cottages. Also worth mentioning is the beautiful garden and tall trees in the landscape.(Fee: Php30).

Katibawasan Falls - cascades from 250 feet, surrounded by rich foliage. You can take a bath on the foot of the falls, and have a picnic in one of the tables provided. I believe tricycles and motorelas are no longer allowed to climb to this spot to prevent accidents due to the steep incline. Entrance fee is Php15.

PHIVOLCS Observatory Station - with one active volcano on site (and six inactive ones), this station monitors any activity from Mt. Hibok-hibok. In addition, from this high point, you will be able to see a grand view of the island and neighboring islands. Inside the station, reading materials regarding the many volcanic eruptions in the past are exhibited.

Walkway to the Old Volcano and Stations of the Cross - situated in Catarman, the station of the cross leads to Mt. Vulcan, which is the old volcano that erupted in 1871. This is the usual destination of Catholic devotees during the Lenten season. We didn't climb to the top but I bet it would be best to do it in the afternoon to avoid the sun's scorching heat.

Sunken Cemetery - one of the casualties of the 1871 eruption is the sinking of this cemetery. Now a cross was built to serve as a marker. For Php20, a boat will take you to the exact site off shore.

Sto. Niño Cold Spring - located uphill of Catarman, this is a large pool (25x40 meters) of cold spring water. And when I say cold, I mean icy cold! It's good to plan your trip so you end up spending lunch here as they offer to cook a dish you like. Fresh seafoods is a popular choice. (entrance fee: Php20) 

Gui-ob Church Ruins - the 1871 eruption wiped out a large part of Catarman, including the cemetery and this church. Now, all you can see are remnants of the church, convent and belfry which somehow gives us a glimpse of the Spanish settlement which was established here in 1679.

Aside from these, there are still other spots worth visiting in Camiguin such as the Tuasan Falls, Tanguines Lagoon, and Macao Cold Spring, to mention a few. Basically, Camiguin is a welcome sanctuary from the hustle and bustle of city life. I like that the roads are well maintained by the local government which makes travel around the island fairly easy. Small as it may seem (second to Batanes in land area), Camiguin has a lot of historic treasures to offer the wandering man, in this case, woman. 

White Water Rafting - Cagayan De Oro

For the summer of 2011, my friend and I decided to visit Cagayan de Oro (CDO) and Camiguin. Located in Northern Mindanao, these places have a lot to offer to tourist.

In CDO, the main attraction would be the white water rafting along the Cagayan de Oro River. Several local companies offer their services for this adventure. Personally, I chose Bugsay because their price is reasonable and they were very accommodating during my inquiries. For Php700, we were off to try the rapids of the river.

Several courses are available for you to try. There is the Beginner's Course, which is about 3 hours of river run, consisting of 14 rapids. Advanced and Extreme courses are also offered which means starting off from the higher section of the river, thus, longer river run and wilder and more rapids. We chose the beginner's, but after the run, I admitted that I should have chosen the next higher course. Because really, it wasn't as frightening as it looked. Besides, before the run, a short orientation is given regarding what-to-do and what-not, plus tips to avoid injuries. If you just listen and follow directions, river rafting is going to be a very enjoyable experience. 

Since it was just me and my friend, Bugsay also arranged that we join other groups since a raft can accommodate about 8 persons. The idea was a welcome to us because it's also a chance to meet fellow travelers. The start off point is at Brgy. Mambuaya. This scared me at first, "buaya" being the local term for crocodiles, but our guide assured us that there are no crocodiles there only snakes. Great! Don't worry though, the snakes are on the mountains/cliffs, and the chance of them falling on sailing rafts is nil.

So, off we go! "Paddle Forward!!! Paddle Backward!!! High Five!!!" 

Well, how was our white water rafting adventure? Truly an adrenaline rush!!! I really enjoyed it that's why I wish I took the advanced course instead. I will surely try that next time. Davao also offers this kind of water activity but from what I've heard, CDO river is a better experience - longer river run and more challenging rapids. 

By the way, if any of you plan to experience this as well, you can contact me so I can refer you to our river guides. 

Also noteworthy, CDO has a night cafe every Friday and Saturday nights. The streets of Plaza Divisoria turns into a street restaurant, with lots of caterers offering a variety of dishes but mainly consisting of "inihaw". Various entertainment are also present like mini-concerts, musical artists playing their choice of instruments, dance groups, fire dancers, etc. 

Trivia: CDO river is the boundary between CDO and Bukidnon. 

Baluarte Zoo, Vigan

Occupying an area of 80 hectares, this zoo is owned by former Gov. Chavit Singson, which he has opened free for the public.  Here, you can feed and interact with the various animals, ride the “tiburin” (a small horse-drawn, carriage), watch the live animal show, chase some butterflies, and take as much picture and videos as you can.  This is a great treat for the kids, a best site for families.  They even let visitors take pictures with their tigers after the animal show, lucky if you catch that.  Among the animals there are camels, ostriches, deer, orangutans, small horses, parrots, peacocks, snakes, lizards and a lot more.