Our trip started out early Monday morning on April 6 going to the port of Cebu to ride a 2 hour boat ride on a double hull air catamaran boat to Bohol. Since it was a holiday the boat was fully booked with lots of people going home for Easter and lots of Korean tourists going to Bohol for vacation. It had a big screen tv on board and we watched a Korean film with English subtitles. It
was air conditioned and the tickets cost 450 pesos (about $5 dollars)
On this trip we were headed to another island off the coast of Mindanao called Camiguin with lots of natural attractions to see as noted in our travels below. When we arrived in the port of Tagbilaran Bohol we took a small motorcyle sidecar to the bus station and immediately boarded a rusty old bus completely packed and departed for Jagna Bohol which is at the bottom of the Bohol island and the nearest port to Camiguin Island. The bus ride took us about an hour and half with stops for every person waiting along the road so it was a hot experience in these summer temperatures and not air conditioned. The fare was about 50 cents. Luckily I had food with me to eat or I would have been very hungry by the time of our arrival in Jagna. We ate at a little restaurant in Jagna very quickly as our boat was due to depart in 25 minutes after our arrival. But then the boat was delayed for another 30 minutes waiting for some passengers that were delayed and friends of the ship captain. The boat ride was 4 hours long and a little boring. See the end of this blog entry to see photos of the boat and on board. The boat trip cost about $10. We arrived in Camiguin port about 5:30 pm.
The island-province of Camiguin is a pear-shaped volcanic island in the northern tip of Mindanao. It is approximately 90 kilometers north of the City of Cagayan de Oro. It is bounded to the north by Bohol Sea, to the west by Macajalar Bay, to the southeast by Gingoog Bay and to the east by Butuan Bay. See the map above in its relation to Cebu and Bohol and Mindanao (just offshore from the island)
Camiguin is the smallest province in Northern Mindanao, with its land area pegged at 29,187 hectares. It is composed of five towns, namely, Mambajao – the capital town, Mahinog, Guinsiliban, Sagay and Catarman. The island plays host to seven volcanoes, including the still-active Mount Hibok-Hibok. According to the National Statistics Office, Camiguin has a total population of 74,232 persons, making the province the second smallest in the Philippines in terms of population.
Among the Province's major products are coconut, cassava, banana, camote, palay, corn, fruits, coffee and vegetables. Camiguin's volcanic soil has proved to be a fertile
ground for planting various crops. At present, the Provincial government is looking into an agricultural program that would increase the cultivation of fruit trees and vegetables in Camiguin. The Province is also among the best abaca fiber producers in the country. Camiguin is proud of its natural resources, which include sulfur deposits, geothermal energy, agricultural lands and fishing grounds.
The Camiguin culture is a mixture of both Boholano and Cebuano culture. It is very colorful and creative. The people are deeply religious, hospitable and friendly. Cebuano is the major dialect in the Province. However, in the towns of Sagay and Guinsiliban, where most of the indigenous tribes reside, the Kinamiguin dialect is still spoken. Kinamiguin is derived from the Manobo dialect with some mixture of Boholano.
We stayed at the VI&P Tourist Inn with air conditioning but no hot water. My air conditioner stopped working on the second day and the cost for the lodging for two persons was about $10 for the room. No TV but I had my laptop and had a wifi device allowing me to connect with the internet easily and it had a good signal enough I could make Skpe calls to USA. The transport we used to get to the hotel is the yellow type tricyle below with benches in the back for more passengers. Cost about 25 cents per person.
We rented a small enclosed pickup to ride around the entire island the following day to see the sights below.
The Island of Camiguin is a perfect package and a real ecological tourism destination that it has been identified by the Department of Tourism as one of the top 25 tourist destinations in the Philippines. It is an island which has so many tourist attractions ranging from natural, historic and scientific to religious which are only minutes from each other. In the island you will find hot and cold springs, waterfalls, white sandy beaches, lagoons, white islets, breathtaking rain forests, a walkway to the top of an old volcano, ruins of an ancient church, coral reefs and many other interesting sights and landmarks.
Many say that the main attraction of Camiguin is the sheer concentration of its natural wonders and its residents who are simple, genuinely friendly and hospitable. It is a dream island where travelers can simply revel in the marvels of nature without too many artificial distractions. One cannot really help fall in love with the island that when visitors leave, they usually would feel that the hardest thing that one has to endure in coming to Camiguin is when the day comes to leave. The following are some of the many beautiful landmarks and tourist attractions the Island of Camiguin has to offer:
Sunken Cemetery - Lying 20 feet underwater in Barrio Bonbon, Catarman lies the sunken cemetery, the remains of a volcanic eruption. Coral encrusted tombstones can still be explored by snorkellers and scuba divers. A huge cross was installed in 1982 to mark the community cemetery which sunk during the 1871 volcanic eruption. A fluvial procession usually organized by the townfolk of Barangay Bonbon is held to honor the sunken graves of their forefathers on the month of November. Islanders bring flowers and candles as an offering to those who once were buried there. For those who want to take a closer look, there are bancas that can be rented to take you to the site of the cross.
We took a small banca boat which had two paddlers included out the short distance to the sunken cemetary island which with the wind and waves was a little hard but the rowers had a rope to pull themselves out to the island which made it easier. The cost was very reasonable about 40 cents each roundtrip.Ardent Hot Springs - The resort is located six kilometers southwest of Mambajao in Esperanza, Tagdo, Mambajao and is the most popular of Camiguin's hot springs. The hot spa at the resort is a natural pool of about 40 deg C coming from the bowels of Mt. Hibok-Hibok. It has a four-tiered pool of varying depths and warmth. the hottest and shallowest is on top. There are cottages, a restaurant, bar, coffee shop, and dormitory facilities provided for local and foreign tourists. The ideal time for swimming is early morning or late afternoon. Because of the hot temperature of its pools, the suggested length of bathing should not be more than 20 minutes. Dipping in its hot water is a best treatment for any therapeutic ailment since it contains sulphur, which is said to be a medicinal element that may cure some illnesses. Picnic huts, cook-out facilities and restrooms have been put up to accommodate the increasing number of visitors. The resort, with its lush vegetation, offers the serenity and restfulness of quiet and peaceful surroundings.
I loved the swimming and enjoyed the hot springs it was just like bath water. Cost was under $1 each for admission and it was early in the morning and not too many others were there.
We stopped along the roadside for the beautiful view and while there some workers offered us some coconuts that they broke open with their machetes after we drank the juice inside with straws they had and then ate the meat inside.
Although it takes up to a year for coconuts to mature, the trees bloom up to thirteen times a year, so fruit is constantly forming yielding a continuous harvest year-round. An average harvest from one tree runs about 60 coconuts, with some trees yielding three times that amount. The coconut's name is a bit of a misnomer, since it is botanically classified as a drupe and not a nut. It is the largest seed known.
If you've ever opened a fresh coconut, you will have seen the thin, opaque almost clear coconut juice or water which has a slight almond flavor. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the coconut milk. However, the water is consumed as a drink fresh from the coconut by many, and it can also be used in recipes.Most coconut water is still consumed fresh in tropical coastal areas - once exposed to air, the liquid rapidly loses most of its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics, and begins to ferment and then is sold to the local people as coconut wine and you can get drunk on it cheaply.
Although coconut meat contains less fat than other dry nuts such as almonds, it is noted for its high amount of saturated fat. Approximately 90% of the fat found in coconut meat is saturated, a proportion exceeding that of foods such as lard, butter, and tallow.
Tanguines Lagoon - a man-made lagoon located near the Benoni Port in the Municipality of Mahinog. At the lagoon is the J&A Fishpen and the Lagoon Travel Lodge complete with a floating restaurant and a conference hall. We ate our lunch on bamboo house over the fish pond and had a fresh fish caught from the lake. It was a relaxing break.
Katibawasan Falls - Five kilometers southeast of Mambajao at the foot of Mt. Timpoong. Waterfalls which measure about 250 feet high cascades to a rock pool surrounded by ground orchids, wild ferns, trees and boulders. Ice cold water provides an ideal summer splash to bathers and picnickers. The falls tumble down into a green pool, ideal for a refreshing swim. Giant ferns decorate the surrounding land, carpeting for space with huge trees and dropping vines. It is an ideal place to cool off during hot and humid days. Katibawasan Falls is one of the treasured gifts nature has bestowed on the island of Camiguin. The falls is maintained by the province and to enter the park you have to pay a minimal entrance fee.
They are now constructing nice bathrooms but not finished yet and if you change your clothes in the small bathroom near the water you may end up stepping in something you won't like, like I did hehe.
We had brought inflatables tubes to use and they were badly needed as the water current and wind were extremely strong and it was not sunny and the water was very cold.
To go to Camiguin, we used a boat called Roll on Roll off, which is a drive on ship for cars and buses and trucks and the passengers sit on the upper level. The Roll-on, Roll-off, popularly known as RoRo, is an inter-island system of transportation that involves the driving of a motorized land vehicle in and out of an inter-island ferry or cargo ship. It can reduce the cost of inter-island transportation, and support the agri-fisheries modernization and food security programs of the Philippine Government. It offers an efficient and easier way to travel, therefore facilitating interaction, trade and tourism among the different regions of the Philippines. This process is made possible by nautical highways, with ports and ships that have facilities designed for transporting motorized vehicles.
The photo below shows the mountains of Camiguin in the background. And then later someone caught me sleeping on the benches as the boat took 4 hours to return to Bohol. I was able to again use my laptop on the ship before departure with a strong enough signal to again use Skpe to call.
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