Day 1, DIY Camiguin-CDO tour (Around Camiguin)

First stop : Camiguin Island

Getting to Camiguin and going around the island

Me and my sister had been planning this trip since the date when we were able to book Piso Fare flights via Cebu Pacific Air earlier this year. I have read a lot of blogs and guides on do-it-yourself tours at Camiguin and Cagayan de Oro.

We had an early flight scheduled to leave Manila at 4:00 a.m. and we had to be in NAIA Terminal 3 at 2:00 a.m. Because of the itinerary, I really had no time to have a good sleep.

Before boarding, we ate an early breakfast at Let's Chow!, a Chinese food stop near the gates. My sister and a friend insisted that I try the chicken there. I actually ordered only pork siomai since I did not want to feel anything heavy in my stomach before traveling. I was afraid I would barf while on the plane especially that I still had no sleep and tensed and my stomach seemed to have all the gases on earth. For precaution, I took bonamine and I had a small plastic bag in my pouch.

Let's Chow! food stop at NAIA Terminal 3

Unfortunately, we got on seat on the wing part of the plane. I could not get much of the view. But I loved the color of the skies and the clouds we were on top off during sunrise. I tried to take a picture. There goes the wing on the lower left corner.

View over Cebu City

After more than an hour, the plane finally touched down on the grounds of Lumbia Airport, Cagayan de Oro City. We were greeted with "Cagayan de Oro Airport Mabuhay" and "Welcome to the City of Golden Friendship" signs at the airport.

We hopped on a cab instead of the vans for P500.00 being offered there to see how much it really would cost us to go to the Agora Bus Terminal. Originally, our plan was to go to Macabalan Port and ride the Paras Seacat. However, the tour guide we contracted in Camiguin told us in advance that we could not take Paras Seacat anymore since it has already stopped its operations. With this, we took an alternative route going to Camiguin Island by first riding a bus heading to Butuan at the Agora Terminal to get to the Port of Balingoan. I did not know at first as to where in the Philippines is the Port of Balingoan until I searched the web. The port is already part of Misamis Oriental. I didn't know that I would be able to get that far!

It was a two-hour travel to the Port of Balingoan and all that I was able to see during the ride was the sea on the right side and mountains on the left side. I was able to fall asleep on the bus. When I woke up, I was able to read signs of "Balingoan" so I asked my friend to ask to conductor if we are still far from the port and he said that we are still minutes away.

This was the problem that we encountered during our tour: dialects barrier. We realized that most of the people there do not understand Tagalog. None of us know the dialect they speak also, which is Visayan. If we asked a question in Tagalog, we were ignored most of the time. We spoke in the most simple form of English to them so we could understand each other. We even had to speak "barok-ishly".

When we arrived at the Balingoan Bus Terminal, we were immediately surrounded by men who drive "motorelas" and helped us carry our baggages. A "motorela" looks is a tricycle with a sidecar which accommodates passengers on its front and back.

It was a less than five-minute drive to the Port of Balingoan. When we got there, there was already a ferry waiting but was scheduled to leave only after almost two ours. So we found ourselves seats to rest and outlets to charge our phones. They have a small store there and I was amazed that they have Gatorades in small glass bottles. They charge P9.00 for unlimited time charging of your phone.

View from the Port of Balingoan

I think it was Bohol Sea that we crossed. The sea was calm and the weather was great. It was a one-hour travel getting to Benoni Port at Camiguin Island. It was almost the middle of the day when we arrived at Benoni Port. We were immediately welcomed with a name sign "France T." written on a bond paper by our tour guide, Kuya Chris. He helped us carry our baggages to his red and well-maintained multicab waiting outside the gates of the port.

Multicabs are the normal transport vehicles used in Camiguin. A multicab can seat ten people comfortably. We contracted a one and a half day tour with Kuya Chris. He first dropped us off to the place we booked for our stay. Our first choice for our accommodation when we were planning the trip was the Paras Beach Resort. However, their rates got updated a month before a trip which was ridiculously expensive so I tried searching for another place to stay. We opted for the Villa Paraiso Resort and Apartelle.

Villa Paraiso Resort and Apartelle

The resort was minutes fast drive away from the port. We booked for a Family Room which was already good for six persons, with one queen size bed and two single beds with one pull-out bed under each. The room also was fully airconditioned, with electric fan, shower, and cable tv. The room also has a dining area and kitchen which was equipped with everything you need for cooking and a refrigerator. I liked this place since we were allowed to cook our own food. The resort also provided us with breakfast of toasted bread, eggs and coffee, since we only stayed there overnight.

We just left our things in the resort and changed to our swimwears. Kuya Chris told us to change since our destinations include swimming spots. But before we started our tour, Kuya Chris brought us to a Pedro's Restaurant to have lunch. He said that they serve fast compared with other restaurants in the area. We ordered fried chicken, sinigang na baboy, pork chops, and sizzling spicy sisig. They have reasonable prices with large servings and we left the restaurant with our stomachs full.

Kuya Chris' Multicab

Then we started our half-day tour. We climbed the old volcano. It has no name and they just call it the "Old Volcano". We stopped beside a cliff to take pictures. The sky was clear and you can see the clear waters below. According to Kuya Chris, this old volcano sank an old cemetery and destroyed an ancient church.

The Old Volcano

Our next stop was the Sto. Nino Cold Spring. We rented a table to place our bags and towels then tried testing the waters with our feet. The water was really cold like it came from a fridge! Aside from this, the water is very clean and clear. Luckily for us, there were only quite a few people swimming there and it was not crowded. We dipped for an hour and refreshed ourselves.

Sto. Nino Cold Spring

Then we went to the Bura Soda Swimming Pool. According to what I have read, the water tastes like soda. Two of my friends were addicted to softdrinks so they thought visiting the place would be a a dream come true. But to our disappointment, the water has no taste at all. LOL. It was called soda pool because the water is bubbly, not because it really tastes like soda. Gotcha! o give credit to the place, just like the Sto. Nino Cold Spring, the water is very clear but not as cold as the Cold Spring. When we got there there were three old foreigners swimming and just relaxing on the sides of the pool. We stayed there for about 30 minutes. It was getting late and we need to hurry to the other destinations.

Bura Soda Swimming Pool

Kuya Chris next drove us to Catarman Old Church Ruins. This was the church sunken by the Old Volcano when in exploded. There was nothing much to see here but you will be amazed when you closely look at the ruins. It was like you were living during the time when the Spaniards were in the Philippines. I could not imagine how they were bale to build the church with so many large stones piled on top of each other at that time. The little chapel at the entrance also gave me the creeps. The place was so quiet except for the sound of the birds chirping.

A spot at the Catarman Church Ruins

Then we went to the Old Cemetery which was sunk by the Old Volcano. There were steep steps to go down if you want to ride a boat to the cemetery itself, wherein according to the boatman, you will see skulls and other creepy stuff. The boat to the cross costs P300.00. We decided to look at the scene by the shore only since we need to hurry to our other destinations. It was great to watch the sunset here.

The Sunken Cemetery

We also passed by the Walkway to the Old Volcano and the Stations of the Cross. We did not dare climb up though I really wanted to see the giant stations of the cross. Kuya Chris told us that it is a more than a kilometer hike up and we were already tired to to do that and besides it has started to get dark and we need to go to the wet market to buy food that we will cook for dinner.

The sign says it all

Our last stop for the day was at the Ardent Hot Spring. We really love to get wet. Haha. I told my friends to take a dip at the warm waters to relax or muscles a bit. When we got there, we actually did not want to leave the place and wanted to sleep while dipped in the pool. It felt good to the body. After this, we hurried off to the market and bought bread, rice, ice cream, ice, and some chicken from Chooks To Go.

Ardent Hot Spring

Camiguin Sunset

Day 1 - Summary of expenses:

Airfare to CDO - P400.00 (Piso fare promo plus taxes and charges)

NAIA Terminal 3 Fee - P200.00 each

Snacks at the Airport - P100.00 each

Cab to Agora Bus Terminal - P220.00 (for 3 pax)

Bus to Port of Balingoan - P140.00

Motorela Fare - P7.00 each

Ferry to Benoni Port - P135.00 each

Port of Balingoan Terminal Fee - P2.50 each

Kuya Chris's Multicab Rental/Tour for one and a half day - P2,500.00 (6 of us shared)

Villa Paraiso Resort and Apartelle Family Room overnight accommodation - P3,000.00 (6 of us shared)

Lunch at Pedro's - P1,050.00 (6 of us shared)

Sto. Nino Cold Spring entrance fee - P20.00 each

Sto. Nino Cold Spring table rental - P50.00 (6 of us shared)

Bura Soda Swimming Pool entrance fee - P20.00 each

Ardent Hot Spring entrance fee - P30.00 each

Dinner (we bought from the market, prawns and Chooks to go, bread, ice cream, rice) - P800.00 (6 of us shared)

Day 1 total estimated - P2,400.00/pax