Summer Destination: Camiguin (Part 1)

Okay, so after our white water rafting adventure in CDO, we decided to visit one of the most popular beach destinations in the Philippines -- Camiguin. It has always been a dream to visit this small island, ever since I learned in Grade 3 that there's a small islet that disappears with the high tide, and again reappears with the low tide. I have carried that curiousity for more than 10 years already, and I really felt blessed to have been able to visit Camiguin in my lifetime.

Before I get too dramatic with my Camiguin experience, let me first warn you that the trip to the island is not as pleasant as I thought it would be. My friends and I thought that Camiguin would be like Boracay or Puerto Galera, where after you take a boat ride you'll reach a big shore with hundreds of resorts to choose from.

We were wrong, unfortunately. The trip to Camiguin was exhausting. But for what it's worth, Camiguin was definitely worth it.

Let me start with where we left off in our White Water Rafting adventure. Upon our arrival at the hotel, we immediately left for Camiguin. You see, from Cagayan de Oro city, there are two ways to get to Camiguin:

1) Fast Craft (PaSeaCat): A fast craft that travels from CDO to Camiguin. Travel time usually takes around 2-3 hours.

Why we didn't travel this way:

• Pricey (A ticket costs around Php 580.00 one way!)
• Schedule Conflict: The PaSeaCat only has two schedules for the CDO-Camiguin route. The ferry leaves CDO for Camiguin at 8:30 AM, and back at 4:00 PM. No other schedules. So since we were leaving for Camiguin in the afternoon, there were no more trips via the fast craft.

2) Long, hard way: From CDO, bus ride to Balingoan Port, then Ferry ride to Camiguin. As you might have guessed, we travelled this way.

Now, onto the details. We took a jeepney from the hotel to the Bus Terminal located at Agora Market. Buses for Balingoan usually leave every hour, and we were lucky to be just in time, a bus was about to leave. Don't mind the barkers, just look for an airconditioned bus bound for Balingoan at the soonest possible time. The bus ride usually takes around 2 hours.

At Balingoan, we took a tricycle that took us to the port. Honestly, the port was a walking distance away from the bus terminal, and you can get there by foot. But, we were bakasyonistas back then and we didn't know how to get around and we got convinced by the tambays to take the trike... So there.

Top: Balingoan Port; Bottom: Departure Terminal

Upon arriving at the port, we bought tickets to ride the "roro" ferry bound for Camiguin. Ferries leave for camiguin every hour, I think. We were again lucky to be just in time for the ferry bound for Camiguin. The ferry ride was about an hour, and luckily it was around 5PM, so the sun wasn't too harsh. We stayed at the deck of the boat.

Top: Balingoan The Roro that would take us to Camiguin; Bottom: We stayed there during the 45-minute boat ride.

To our horror, it was already dark when we arrived in the town of Mahinog, Camiguin. And it wasn't what we expected. We didn't see a vast shoreline of white sand and numerous resorts anywhere near. Instead, it felt as if we were in a ghost town. It was dark, mountains were behind us, and we didn't know anyone! Worse, we didn't know where we'll be staying that night! We thought we'd select a resort upon arriving, but we couldn't see any resorts at all!

Luckily, we know of one popular beach resort in Camiguin, and that's Paras Beach Resort. We were pretty unlucky that time because when we called them, there weren't any available rooms! So what we did, we consulted one of the locals and asked where else we can stay. And Manong said there are other resorts near Paras, we can just take a look.

And so we did. We rented a multicab to Paras resort -- and it took us another 45 minutes!! OMG. By the time we reached Paras, it was around 7:30 PM already and we were tired, hungry, and sleepy. We walked around the block to look for a place to stay, and fortunately, there were a lot. Since we will be staying for 2 nights, we decided to get the cheapest place: One big room good for 12 people. Hahaha! Sardinas in one big can. At least it was air-conditioned, and it had a tiny Tv. That's good enough. =P

We had dinner in nearby eateries. You can eat at Paras but you have to pay Php 150.00 entrance fee (consumable). There's also an Italian restaurant nearby. But the best food for me would probably be in Terrasse International Ristorante. They serve really good food, and you can go there by foot (it's a bit dark in the towns of Camiguin, so better bring some flashlights).

Okay, the day finally ended and tomorrow our Camiguin adventure will begin. I'll continue again in another post, so stay tuned!

As a summary, here's how the rest of the afternoon of Day 2 went:

2:30 PM - Leave for Bus Terminal in Agora (via Jeepney)
3:00 PM - Bus ride to Balingoan
5:00 PM - Arrival in Balingoan
5:15 PM - Ferry Ride to Mahinog, Camiguin
6:30 PM - Camiguin Arrival
7:30 PM - Arrival at Paras Resort
7:30 PM to 8:00 PM - Looking for an alternative resort
8:15 PM - Settled Down
8:30 PM - Dinner / Ikot ikot
11:00 PM - Lights Off

And as for the expenses:

Php 7.00 - Jeepney Fare
Php 140.00 - Bus Fare
Php 6.00 - Tricycle Fare
Php 100.00 - Snacks at Port
Php 150.00 - Ferry Fare
Php 50.00 - Multicab Rental (Php 500.00 / 11pax)
Php 150.00 - Dinner
Php 365.00 - Resort Accommodation (2 nights at Pabua's Cottages -- In front of Paras Resort)
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TOTAL: Php 968.00

For more information on other ways to get to Camiguin, please visit:
http://camiguinguide.webs.com/gettingtocamiguin.htm