Day tour of Camiguin

Day 1
June 13, 2015
Camiguin

If my travels for the past decade were not enough to call myself a jet-setter, this trip would probably certify me as one - 7 flights, 8 days, 4 provinces. One would call it an adventure; I call it poor-planning. I blame (sort of) Cebu Pacific for offering more cheap flights to and from Cebu. Hence, for the next few days, we had to go back and forth to Cebu to get to Camiguin, Siargao, and Davao.

First in the itinerary (or probably second since we spent at night in Cebu) was Camiguin. We - Marlon, Rissa, and I - arrived at seven in the morning and we were at Action Geckos resort 20 minutes after.

We found the resort to be quite charming and unique - bottles were used as chandelier, tire as mirror frame, spatula as door handle and towel rack. It also has a lot of open spaces (hammock included), which were perfect for resting and unwinding - which was exactly what we did since we arrived too early.

We booked two rooms since one room can only accommodate 2 persons. One room costs 1,000 PHP a night - there was no air-con nor television and the room was dimly-lighted which made it only suitable for sleeping and nothing else.

At 10 am, the multicab that we rented arrived. For 1,700 PHP, the multicab brought us to various places for the next 8 hours. The first stop was at Ardent Hibok-Hibok Spring, a natural hot spring located at the foot of Mt. Hibok-Hibok. The place was crowded and noisy when we arrived - it was Saturday after all. I'm pretty sure it can be quite inviting during lean season - but it was not on this particular day so we left after a few minutes.

Ardent Hibok-Hibok Spring

Our next stop was at the 76-m Katibawasan falls - where a far more inviting pool was waiting. Also found nearby were stalls selling Kiping, a Camuigin delicacy made of dried sweet potato.

Kiping

After the untimely dessert, we spent a good hour swimming (as well as contemplating about swimming) in the pool.

Katibawasan falls

For lunch, we ate at J&A Fishpen where we had sinigang na sugpo, mixed vegetables, and the flavorful eggplant salad, a must-try.

Eggplant salad - a must-try!

We then went to Giant Clam Sanctuary. For 300 PHP (including rent of life vest for 50 PHP and snorkel for 100 PHP), we had a guided snorkel for about an hour in Kibila White beach to view the clams. Notwithstanding the strong current that day, it was an enjoyable experience - the underwater view - fish, corals, and clams - was one of the better ones I've seen (better than the one I saw in El Nido).

The last stop for the tour was the Sunken Cemetery, where the tombs were driven underwater during a volcanic eruption in the 1870s. The only sign that a cemetery exists is the cross marker which we reached thru a boat for 20 PHP per passenger.