Calm and Cerulean Camiguin

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Freeloader for this weekend trip to celebrate Daddy’s 60th. There’s no shame in admitting “bankruptcy” in my late 20s (it’s also unnecessary to do so publicly), but I don’t want to take any credit for this trip except that I helped arrange some reservations. Aside from that, I was a financial, sometimes emotional, burden. Nevertheless, it was refreshing to be away from the city. Especially to a destination as wonderful as Camiguin!

I previously thought of taking B here instead of Boracay. But my ignorance of the island led me to a regretful choice. I’m grateful I’m given another opportunity to revisit those plans and actually visit Camiguin! No words and definitely no regrets having chosen this island. My only regret is not having chosen it in the first place with B!

Anyway, for this weekend getaway. I get to be with family. It has been a while since our last island trip together. My sister had to remind me when and where that was. It was in Caramoan in 2014 when I took a friend around the country. I asked if they (my family) wanted to tag along and they did. After that, it did take us some time to have another island escapade.

Initially, Daddy wanted to go to Cambodia. But work prevents me from leaving abroad in such short notice. Camiguin was short-listed but we explored other options first until we finally decided to go with it.

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Flight and Lodging

My sister took charge of booking the flights. We decided to go for Skyjet, the only airline that flies direct from Manila to Camiguin airport. Return ticket for one person is around 11,000 Php. It was not the cheapest choice but the wisest considering how long the transfers were via Mactan Cebu.

I, equipped with my Genius membership at Booking.com searched for the lodging. It wasn’t a difficult choice. We only had two “acceptable” choices and went with a resort called Havendwell Beach Resort. It only costs 5,000 Php for three nights for the three of us. In the end, with hotel charges like airport transfer fees and the beers Daddy had plus additional head count for breakfast, our entire hotel bill was only at 6,300 Php for two nights, three people.

Tour

My sister managed to secure a tour for a day and a half for only 6,300 Php. That already included entrance fees, environmental fees, the guide, the transportation, boat rides, etc. All we had to do was hand over the cash ahead of time to our designated guide and he took care of the rest.

Visits

Upon arrival, we had lunch and immediately went for a half-day tour. The guide took us to Tongatok cliff overlooking the mountain and the sea, Sto. Niño cold spring, Tuasan waterfalls, old church ruins, a quick coffee stop at the hippie and artsy Bee Hive Café and the Sunken cemetery in time for the sunset.

On the second and full day tour, we woke up early for a visit at the White Beach. At 7am, we went back to the hotel for breakfast. And then it was on for a dip at Ardent Hot Springs and Katibawasan Waterfalls. We decided to get lunch at Mantigue island which was on the other side of the island. We headed back for a visit at the Giant Clam Sanctuary. Our last stop was to grab Pastel and Lanzones as souvenirs.

Events

We were two days too early for the Lanzones festival. There were countless boxes of harvested lanzones everywhere! The cheapest we spotted were for 25 Php per kilo but our guides said it could drop to 10-15 Php per kilo! We were not lucky because we had to drive all the way up the mountains to get that deal, so we settled for 30 Php per kilo along the way. Still better than how much it would have cost in Manila.

We did see pupils and residents prepare their dance numbers and their colorful arcs for the upcoming line up of events. That was the most we could experience of the festivities.

Dining

We expected bountiful servings of seafood but Camiguin is probably not the best place for that. The food was okay, cheap but edible though not something that could make me forget my name. It was enough to feed me and replenish my tired body. All in all, can’t complain. Some of the locals’ recommendations were: Checkpoint, The Bee Hive, I 8 Seefood and Casa Roca. I personally recommend The Bee Hive and Casa Roca.

There were noticeably a number of Italian restaurants around. Though no fast food chains in sight.

Encounters

I kid and told my family how pitiful it was to leave Manila just to hear the same thing I usually hear from work a hundred kilometers away. At work, I often hear people speak in different tongues since the nature of my job entails European languages. In our visits, I hear the same not-so-foreign-anymore banters, this time, from tourists. Not surprisingly, we did get to chat for a bit with a German couple staying in our hotel.

According to our guide, most visitors are Europeans, Chinese and Koreans. They have a special mention for the Israelis and had quite some stories to tell about them.

Overall, will definitely go back here. I’m even debating it it’s the best island there is! Yes, even El Nido and Coron are in danger of only coming in second and third on my list. Boracay doesn’t even come close. Camiguin might just be my top Philippine destination!