Circumnavigating Camiguin

Sunken Cemetery View

So far with my travels, Camiguin is the place which has a lot to offer. 

In two full days of stay on this island, me and my friends got to sweat it out and take a lot of memories with us.

I consider our arrival as epic - as in EPIC sa kasiyahan! I've never felt such embarrassment on a thing that is true.  Excuse ourselves but.. we claim it, we are gorgeous! Bwahaha!

Gorgeous Team - Nhykie, Ula, Enkiel and me

We stayed at Pabua Cottages. Our room has 3 spacious bed with air conditioner and TV. The accommodation includes the tour, breakfast and free use of wifi. I don't know much of the details  as well as rates because my friend organized it and I gave her a thumbs up for putting up a successful tour! Why? You'll see it as we go along this post.

Our tour guide/driver is a mysterious and quiet type of person. There are times where he just stops the multi-cab and doesn't inform us if it's already the location or what, HE JUST STOPS THE CAR. We had to ask him or play guessing game every time he does it and it's such a funny scene!

CAMIGUIN

Katibawasan Falls

Our first stop is the Katibawasan Falls. Greeted by tall trees and a fair number of people, this place is surely inviting. There are cottages already available, free rental of 'life buoy' or floaters and CR. It rained when we are there and the funny question is, why did the people left the pool when it rained? 

Katibawasan Falls

Sto. Nino Cold Springs

Sto. Nino Cold Springs is like a public swimming pool. The environment is obviously altered but everything seems natural. The place is like a secret resort in the middle of the forest - enclosed by tall trees and mountains with fast flowing cold water.

In the middle of the road, our guide stopped the multicab. We wondered why and it seems he wanted us to take photos on that very spot. I'm touched because he supports our vanity and picture-taking-addiction! ;)

Ardent Hot Springs

As we skipped taking a dip on the previous locations, we got excited and desperate to take one on the next location. We got ourselves wet, and it's so relaxing.

 http://www.camiguin-island.com/ardent-hot-springs.shtml

Ardent Hot Springs is located in the mountainside of the famous Hibok Hibok Volcano. The water comes right out of the forest with a temperature of just above 40°C. It is then mixed with some colder water and guided into 4 seperate pools which are arranged in cascades. - Camiguin Website  

Entrance fee here is as low as Php 20.

Old Catarman Church Ruins

Part of our first day tour is visiting the Old Catarman Church Ruins. Only the walls of the church remains. It's sad to see only the ruins. It also feels a bit heavy on the site.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camiguin#Churches

Old Catarman Church Ruins: The church of the Old Catarman town was destroyed and partly submerged by volcanic debris during the eruption and formation of Mt. Vulcan from 1871 to 1875. Also known as Gui-ob Church, only the ruins of the church and bell tower remains of the old town. An unsightly modern white lighthouse was recently erected close to the bell tower.

Sunken Cemetery

According to philippinetravelwiki,

The Sunken Cemetery of Camiguin Island marks the swept remains of the island’s rested locals after Mt. Vulcan Daan errupted in 1871s. It was erected in 1980 on top of the graveyard of inhabitants before it sunken in the water caused by the volcanic eruption.

Station of the Cross

Out last stop was at the Walkway to the Old Volcano and the Station of the Cross which unfortunately we did not finish because we are tired. This is an 8 kilometer path with 14 human-sized stations situated at Mt. Vulcan in Barangay Bonbon, Catarman. Some says it is a hundred steps to the top which will give you a beautiful panoramic view of Camiguin. On another note, its completion will give you a sense of peace and gratification.

For the first day, we were already jam packed! We ended the night by having dinner on a nearby resort. We paid an entrance fee of course. We also played billiards and table tennis to let our full tummies subside a little. 

One funny and creepy memory that we had is when we were bothered by a gushing sound outside our toilet window. Outside were plants and the sound obviously came from moving them. We were worried by the fact that Camiguin was near Siquijor so all these stories came out and I was like thinking about them until I go to sleep. As you can see, we still woke up safely the next morning. Wew! 

Now, off to our second day which I will publish on a separate post. For now, let me breathe. Whoo!

Ciao!

Note: Not all pictures in this post are mine, some are from Ula and Michael.