On the way home on the province for the Christmas vacation, we visited Camiguin, an island a few kilometers off the tip of Northern Mindanao and on the Bohol Sea. It much much smaller than Bohol to the north. Less known but just as picturesque.
Upon arriving at the Cagayan De Oro airport, we took a cab and met up with the rest of the family for a quick breakfast before heading off to the port to grab a fast ferry (but longer) from Cagayan De Oro to Camiguin.
We arrived at Camiguin port close to noon. After checking in and unpacking, we had lunch at the hotel before heading off to the beach. Unfortunately, the waves we’re strong and high. We joked that it wasn’t a swimming beach but rather a surfing beach. We gave up and just went back to the hotel and went swimming at the pool.
The next day, we loaded up to the hotel’s van and toured the island:
- Mantigue Island – unfortunately the waves were strong and we were advised not to proceed to the island. It was too bad because, along with White Island, it’s one of the best attractions for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving.
- Giant Clam Sanctuary/Kabila Beach – a giant clam sanctuary. Some kids will show you around and give talks about clams and the sanctuary. It also has a really nice beach with white sand.
- Moro Watch Tower – a Spanish-era watch tower facing the Mindanao coast. On it, sentries watched for the approach of Moro boats. It also served as a refuge for the townspeople.
- Camiguin Seafood Restaurant – Camiguin has several seafood restaurants. We had lunch at one: J&A Fishpen Resort and Restaurant
- Gui-Ob Church Ruins – the ruins of a Spanish-era church that was destroyed during the 1871 volcanic eruption.
- Sunken Cemetery – a cemetery that sunk during the 1871 volcanic eruption. It is now marked by a monument with a large cross.
- Soda Water Pool – one of the soda-tasting pools in the island. The water tastes like diluted soft drinks.
- Walkway to the Old Volcano – a walkway to the old volcano :P There’s supposed to be some stations of the cross along the way up. We we’re tired so we didn’t go up anymore.
- Ardent Hot Springs – one of the hot spring-fed pools in the island. Well-developed and popular (read: crowded). But it was quite tempting after a long tiring day and we took the plunge.
We left very early the next day due to an incoming low pressure area which threatened to disrupt the ferry schedules. This time, we took the shorter (but slower) ferry to Balingoan. It’s a RORO (roll on, roll off) ferry so we chartered a van that picked us up at the hotel, rolled on to the ferry at Camiguin, and rolled off the ferry at Balingoan. After an hour or two drive, we were already back in Cagayan De Oro and home soon after.