Camiguin Getaway

It was an unexpected vacation for me to Camiguin Island. Although, I have been planning to go there by myself or with some office mates of mine a couple of years ago, we did not have the time because of the work’s tight schedule and if we happen to have time, we did not have enough budgets to do so. Even my family had planned to go there one day but it always gets postponed every time. Now, I could not believe I finally stepped into the place I call a paradise. It was a surprisingly romantic and sweet escapade for me.

It was a gloomy day when my friend, Roy and I left the city of Cagayan de Oro on January 27, 2009 at past 7 o’clock in the morning. We boarded on a Paras Seacat vessel that took us 2 hours of traveling from the city’s port to Camiguin. I was filled with excitement yet worried also. I was afraid of getting nauseated because the waves were kind of rough this time. I usually get motion sickness in a very bumpy ride; (whether in air, land or sea) and when I am in a closed area, also. We were occupying the business class seats, where all windows are closed. This worsens my condition. I took some mint candies but that didn't work either. I threw-up before the vessel could reach the docks of Camiguin.

We arrived in Camiguin at around 11 o’clock in the morning. It had been raining slightly there, too. There was a van that picked us up at the port and brought us to Paras Beach Resort that took us half an hour to get there. The resort staffs gave us a warm greeting. They hang souvenir necklaces to us and gave us a refreshing fruit drinks. Since it was my Roy’s second time around to stay in the resort they have known him already. The front desk people were quick to fix everything (from our transportation, to some places we wished to go and to our tickets going back to Cagayan de Oro) which made a lot of things easier for the guests. After telling them what we wanted to do that very day we were taken to our respective rooms and rested for a while.

(The tide was high and you can almost see a small portion of the White Island. This is the view from the terrace of the executive suite I am occupying.)

The night before we left, I sent a text message to a dear friend of mine who lives in Camiguin. I told her that I will be going there with a friend. She knew that it has always been my dream to go there one day and that dream had finally come true. She set the time and place for the reunion together with our boyfriends. We met in this place called Roof Top, a hotel and bar in the town. We had lunch together and spent a couple of hours talking and reminiscing the good old days when she was in Cagayan de Oro City.

(This is Aisa, one of my closest colleague when we were in Stickymediasolutions, Inc.) This was taken at the Roof Top hotel and bar.)

The following day we set off to the White Island by Jet Ski after taking our breakfast. There, we sun bathe and rubbed ourselves with sands. I am not a beach person. I hate being exposed under the heat of the sun and getting sun burned. Despite of these negative notions of mine, Roy changed it all. I was having fun in the beach wearing a one piece, bright pink-printed bathing suit for the very first time!

(Me with my one-piece swimsuit!)

At lunch time we dined out at J&A fish pen. This is one of the best places to eat out in the island. I had a crab cooked in coconut chowder or “ginataan na alimango” in tagalog. Also Roy had his ever much-loved soup, “sinigang na tangigue” which is one of my favourites also. Even if he is a stranger in our place he got to eat some Filipino dishes which he finds sweet. I don’t know how he found sinigang to be sweet, in spite of of its sour broth taste. Hehehe. We really had a full stomach after that. Then we proceed to seeing the sights of only few chosen destinations in the island. Those sights that we get to pass by going back to Paras Beach Resort because of very limited time.

Our next stop after the lagoon (J&A fish pen), was at the Katibawasan Falls. It is a one of the tourist destination which is 4 kilometers away from the high-way going uphill. We had a slight bumpy ride because of the unpaved road. Worse were the preceding landslides that occurred during the typhoon Ondoy. We took some pictures there. As we were looking around the place, we notice some trashes that were left by the visitors. We were so very disappointed because there was no garbage bin in the picnic area. We thought a comfort room was along the rocky area of the spring. We went near to check it out; there are empty plastic containers and trashes thrown inside. There were even empty junk food foils inserted within the rock walls. I wish there were guides assigned to look after the visitors so to protect the cleanliness of the nature from these people who just throw their rubbish everywhere.

(The water is clear and cold. I was tempted to take a dip but I did not bring with me my swimwear.)

Then we headed to the Philvolcs Observatory, where we had a bird’s eye view of the Camiguin Islands. Afterwards, we had our last stop over at the Springs of Ardent. We had to go back to the resort to get our swimming stuff. Then we hurriedly returned to Ardent and we took a warm dip in the hot spring water coming from the volcano. It was undeniably a relaxing experience for us.

Roy and I appreciated the spectacular sights, the nice people, the carefree living of the Camiguingnon, and the blissful place they have. We were fortunate to tour this place by taking a van and with a patient driver that waited for us for hours because it was much faster and convenient than taking a passenger vehicle. We definitely would like to go back there soon.