Ending the summer without a beach vacation is boring in the Philippines. Having not booked for any vacation this 2013, we decided to head north of Mindanao to experience nature in the island born of fire. Since visiting Bohol with its sand bar, I added Camiguin in my bucket list as it has the same set up on tourism with bohol. I can be room around by a motorcycle for hire.
Having check-in in Mambajao, the Capital city of Camiguin, we decided to visit Katibawasan water falls nearby which is 6 kilometers from the city. It is the highest water falls in the island with a 75 meters high.Going to the area is fully cemented road. Except that the road going is steep. It would be slippery when it rains. The vicinity is maintained by local government. The water is ice cold due to the source of the water is from the mountain peak of Camiguin.(if not mistaken it is from Mt. Hibok Hibok.)
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| Katibawasan Falls |
Heading to south west portion of the island we next visited the ruins of the old church. The church was build by Spaniards in 16th century and was destroyed by an eruption of the old Vulcan on 1871. It was then preserved by the local government for the future generation. Since then it was never been functional aside to its was used as tourist attraction.
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| Position at the front of the belfry of Old Church Ruins |
Next stop on the list is Sto. Nino Cold Spring. It is like a swimming pool, aside from it is flowing it has a cold water. There are picnic huts and a lot of stores around the resort. Stores serve lunch. Were you choose what food to cook. This resort serve as the lunch area, or the midpoint of some tour for the tourist. From the town of Catarman it is 4 kilometers climb to the resort.
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| At the entrance of Sto. Nino Cold Spring with my Family |
While waiting for the food that we ordered we meanwhile deep in the water of Sto. Nino cold spring we proceeded to our next spring. The Bura Soda water park. It is unique for its soda taste of the water that came from the mountains of Camiguin. It is a 4 kilometers drive going in to the resort of Bura Soda from the highway that is cemented to the resort.
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| Bura Soda Water Park, While Mt. Hibok Hibok and Mt. Tres Marias at the back ground |
Because of the bad weather after a 3 hours stay in Bura Soda Water Park we went to the sunken cemetery. Boat man are very creative in taking your photos here. Some of them will direct you to get the best shots. We were offered to take a deep and see the sunken cemetery, but because of the bad weather and time, were unable to experience to snorkel in the area.
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| Sunken Cemetery Marker |
Having an epic fail for a supposed to be sunset shot, we loitered in the old Parola in Mambajao witnessing the twilight. Were locals also wait for the sunset.
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| Old Parola |
The best vantage point for a sunrise/sunset in the island is the White island. Unfortunately, it is expensive. we only access the white sandbar of Camiguin for sunrise of our second day. It is a 10 to 15 minutes boat ride from Yumbing. You need to pay the fees in the port before going to the horseshoe shape sandbar.
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| Sunrise On White Island |
Going further south of the island on a clockwise loop we pass the cathedral of Mambajao, the San Nicolas De Tolentino Church. The front part of the church looks restored but the sides of the church is a stone type walls possibly made in the time of the Spaniards in the island.
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| Camiguin Cathedral |
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Main Entrance of Mambajao Cathedral
The island has it own observatory monitoring the mountains specially mount Hibok Hibok that is active. The station has a museum. And it has a Panoramic view of the northern part of the island and part of Bohol. At the back of the Phivolcs building, a developer is making a view deck as a new attraction in Camiguin.
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| PHIVOLCS station in Mambajao |
Slowing down to our loop in the island we went to Moro watch Tower. We pass this school for a lot of kilometer, We did not know that the watch tower was just in the back of Guinsiliban Elementary school. This port is 24 kilometers away from Mambajao. This was the watch tower for incoming Moro pirates in the island. The walls of the watch tower were destroyed to give way for the school building.
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| Guinsiliban Elementary School |
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| Moro Watch Tower entrance |
Going back to Mambajao we pass the corner going to Giant Clam Sanctuary. Me personally have not seen any of this creature alive. Because of my curiosity we seen and witness it with our own eyes. According to the guide giant clams has 7 species and 6 can be seen in Camiguin. They sort of culture it to multiply its population in the area as tourist attraction. It has the most steepest road that I drove in the island when you are near the entrance of the sanctuary. So when you drive own your own be extra careful when you arrive near the area. Though it has signage that tells you that it is accident prone.
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| Function Room of the Sanctuary showcases shells of giant clams |
After a long day on the road, we decided to loiter in the part at the side of the the Cathedral, the heroes shrine which has a nice light at night time.
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| Heroes Shrine |
Overall, Camiguin island has its own package compared to other tourist destination in the Philippines. For nature lovers like the cold spring and beaches this is the place for you.
