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Published: October 13th 2006
We had lunch at a local cafeteria where we were greeted “Thank You and Camiguin”. I grinned. On their wall was a map of Camiguin Island and below it, says " Camiguin means ‘Come Again’ ”. Ahhhh... Now I get it! The Half Day Trip to Camiguin
We made arrangements with the DOME jeepney driver so he could pick us up at 7:00am from PNRoa to Agora Market. It’s where we will be taking the bus that will take us to the Balingoan, which is still part of the province Misamis Oriental. To keep the story short, the jeepney brought us straight to the port of Balingoan. All the better! It was 9:20am when we got there. We could have arrived later if we took the bus.
This Scary Ship Might Snap!
We took the 10:00am ferry ride (108 pesos fare) from the port of Balingoan to the port of Benoni in Camiguin. This ship was scary. It was old and rustic. There were not too many of us passengers but somehow I feel that this ship may snap at any moment! It was a RORO-kind of ship so 2 container trucks were loaded into it.
Sto. Nino Cold Springs
It was cold and drizzling but we still swam in the very cold clear waters of this spring.This was the first time I’ve actually ridden on such kind of RORO-type of vessel. For some reason, this was the shipping line we first bought tickets from and regretted it. We should have taken the better-looking ones called Super Shuttle Ferry. No wonder I forgot the name of this one that we took. They say travel time will only last for an hour but due to big waves which were due to a nearby storm, it took us 2 hours to get to the port of Benoni. It was already 12noon when we first set foot in Camiguin.
Early on while still in Manila, we have made prior arrangements with Mang Dadoy to drive us around Camiguin in his Multicab. He picked us up from the port of Benoni, which is south east of the island. He drove us around going west towards the north of the island i.e. Yumbing, Mambajao where we will be checking in. These were our stopovers:
StopOver #1: J and A Fishpen
12:40pm
The grueling 5-hour trip paid off as we had a cheap but delicious lunch at J and A Fishpen. We had Sinigang na Hipon (Shrimp on Tamarind
A church within a church
A church built inside the remains of an ancient church at Cotta Bato Soup), Shell Soup (which I sipped to the last drop), Grilled Pork and Escabetcheng Lapu-Lapu (which is very expensive in Manila). It was already raining but the soup kept us warm and happy.
StopOver #2: Sto. Nino Cold Spring
2:30pm
For a minimal fee of 18 pesos, we dipped into the huge concrete pool filled with very cold water which came from the mountains(?). It was drizzling, but some of us still swam into the cold water to see what’s in it. With June’s mask, I was able to see a lot of tiny freshwater fish which we fondly tried to catch using our hands (like how little kids do HEHE). There were green plants at the bottom of the pool. It was a pretty sight against the stony flooring.
StopOver #3: The Remains of Cotta Bato, the Old Catarman
3:40pm
At the entrance of the remains of Cotta Bato is a shrine stating the brief history of the old Catarman. The eruption of Mt. Volcan wiped out the old Catarman in the summer of 1871. There lies the remains of a 17th century Spanish church where a small church has been built within its perimeter.
Sunken Cemetery
Photo taken by Cary [http://shutteraddict.multiply.com] Behind it are the remains of the convent. Just behind this is a towering watchtower.
We saw a few foreigners (seemingly backpackers) who walked their way around the island.
Lanzones
After enjoying the view, we bought kilos of sweet lanzones from a vendor by the shrine. A kilo costs only 40 pesos and can go down to 10 pesos on months of season i.e. October. In Manila, a kilo costs 80 pesos. Camiguin’s lanzones are tam-is (sweet) and lami (delicious).
StopOver #4: Sunken Cemetery
4:05pm
The Sunken Cemetery was very close to the remains of Cotta Bato. Mang Dadoy explained that our view of the ocean used to be a public cemetery which collapsed into the sea during the same eruption of 1871. Thus, the huge white cross was built. Note to self: Dive at Sunken Cemetery next time I visit Camiguin. I heard it has been teeming with fish and other marine life.
StopOver #5: Stations of the Cross
4:40pm
At the foot of the Old Volcano is a staircase to the “Walkway to the Old Volcano and Via Cruces”. I climbed only till the second Station of the Cross. All Stations of
The Second Station at the Walkway to the Stations of the Cross
The Stations of the Cross were built around the Old Volcano. Photo taken by June [http://junjaq.multiply.com/] the Cross are depicted by life-size stone carvings painted white.
As expected, we spent time shopping for souvenirs at the shops by the entrance to the walkway. It was already getting dark when we left the place. Souvenir shirts ranged from 90 to 150 pesos a piece.
StopOver #6: Viewing Deck
5:00pm
Mang Dadoy stopped over our side of the road, which was under construction. We took the chance to enjoy the view of Camiguin’s beautiful rocky coastline. As far as I’ve noticed, I haven’t seen long stretched of sandy beaches around here yet, only rocky coastlines. This is because of Camiguin Island's volcanic nature.
StopOver #7: Ardent Hot Springs
5:40pm
Darkness has fallen and the air has gotten cold… just in time to dip into warm water. Ardent Hot Springs’ entrance fee was 30 pesos per person. This was the most relaxing stopover of all. Our favorite was the 38-degree Celsius pool. The warm water in these pools came from Mt. Hibok Hibok.
StopOver #8: Paras Beach Resort
7:00pm
Alas! We finally checked in at the Paras Beach Resort. It has been a long day of traveling by jeep, by ferry,
Camiguin's rocky coastline
I love the sound of the waves crashing against the rocky coastline. and by multicab. We all deserve a long sleep after dinner at the resort's mess hall. The weather was pretty bad and we were all hoping tomorrow would be a sunny day.
September 27, Wednesday still at Paras Beach Resort
I spent the first few hours of the morning at a small cottage by the sea. I could see White Island. They say it can be reached in 5 minutes by pump boat. It felt near, yet so far. Strong, angry waves came crashing in and the resort’s boats had to be tied and anchored more securely than usual. I was still praying we could take the boat to White Island by noon, but Mother Nature doesn’t seem to want to cooperate. We had no choice but to put off that plan and checked out of the resort. It was already 11:00am.
In came Mang Dadoy again and his trusty apple green multicab. He has been waiting for us since 7:00am.
Mambajao Proper
11:30am
We had lunch at a local cafeteria where we were greeted “Thank You and Camiguin”. I grinned and wondered. On their wall was a map of Camiguin Island and below it,
Lanzones Tree
Now I know that Lanzones grow in trees, not in supermarkets =P says “Camiguin means ‘Come Again’”. Ahhhh…. Now I get it!
We did some errands on the way back to Benoni port. We stopped over small pharmacies to buy meds. (Manny and I were not feeling well. I was having colds.) We also parked across LandBank to withdraw cash from the ATM. There were not too many commercial establishments in this Island -- which, in my opinion, makes it special.
The most important errand of all was buying boxes of Pastel from the Vjandep Bakeshoppe. My friend Ayeen is not just a travelholic or photoholic. I saw her buy a dozen boxes of Pastel -- a tree sweets-holic (and shopaholic). HEHE!
Port of Benoni
2:00pm
We wanted to take Super Shuttle on our way back to Balingoan, but they had to do some repair work on their ship. So, we had no choice but to take Philstone.
The waves were stronger and larger than yesterday’s and my friends were throwing up on board. I pity them for sea sickness. I was entertained by the troubling experience and thought we might have never needed to pay for white water rafting adventure after all!!! This one’s more thrilling
Commercial Bank in an Old House
Lower right is our ride, Mang Dadoy's multicab and comes free with the ride! Tee hee!
ANOTHER Half Day Trip from Balingoan to Surigao City
Port of Balingoan
4:00pm
We docked on the port of Balingoan still with the feeling of motion sickness. Then we hopped into a bus headed for Butuan. The bus terminal was just a 7-minute walk but we took the tricycle anyway for 5 pesos per person.
Enjoying Pomelo at Gingoog City
5:30pm
Since the bus (140 pesos fare) we took was an ordinary stopping-for-passengers type of bus, it took us about 1 and a half hours to get to Gingoog City, which is the eastern-most major city of Misamis Oriental.
I bought one medium-sized pomelo or suha for 20 pesos at the Gingoog terminal. (In Manila, the same size would cost me more than a hundred pesos. Sweet, juicy, and tasty. Yum yum!)
Butuan City Bus Terminal
7:30pm
It took us another 2 hours to get to the Butuan bus terminal. From Butuan, we hired a van (150 pesos fare) that would take us to Surigao City. It was another 2 and a half hour ride but atleast it was a more comfortable ride than
the bus ride. We hitched an old lady in before we left Butuan and dropped her off a place named: Los Angeles, Agusan Del Norte. Huwaw!
"Lola, san ka po kayo?"
Lola: "Sa Los Angeles"
- O diba! Sosyal!
Gateway Hotel, Surigao City
10:00pm
The lobby of Gateway Hotel felt like a gateway to a heaven of rest. We have been on the road for 6 hours, plus 2 hours on a raging sea. We had dinner at Ate Eunor’s house and we were warmly welcomed by close family friends. The highlight of the dinner was Visayan Lechon, which was tasty enough that you won’t need gravy, only vinegar.
We all called it a night by 11:30pm. Tomorrow is another day to deal with.
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juillet
non-member comment
hi annmariemarie! my friends and i (that's 4 people) have a trip to cdo-camiguin set for july. your travelog has been most helpful. i know it's been a year since your trip, but could you give us an estimate of how much you spent for the 2-day ecotour? i'd be contacting the domExplorers for this but we'd just like to have an idea before we do. thanks! (and, if you've any more tips, like, where to stay w/bruising your budget--send it our way pls? we're such amateurs. thanks much!)