It is still so clear to me that it was just 3 months before the existence of the Corona Virus when I had stomped on the Camiguin Island and explored its beauty. So it was in 2019 that I had been able to crash that out of my bucket list after a long time that it had been listed.
But prior to finally plumping for Camiguin, we had Tagaytay as the other option. It was like we were choosing between Mindanao and Luzon for that midyear travel. With due considerations, we ended up looking for promo fare for Camiguin.
It was my very first visit to the island, and so I really was super excited that days after booking an airline ticket 8 months before the travel date, I started visiting shops to look for some things I could use during the travel. I just don't want to prepare things in a rush since I already have some trust issues with packing all my travel needs at the last minute.
The trip was for 3 days and 2 nights, the average span of days I usually choose to spend on excursions to places outside Cebu.
We left Cebu on a Friday afternoon and landed on Camiguin one and a half an hour from leaving.
As we entered the airport, we headed directly to their information desk and asked for some flyers to refer to for the different spots to visit, especially their locations, and the activities to enjoy.
As far as I remember, this was the third trip that we had in D-I-Y, which also meant, no transport van or whatever to fetch us from the airport. Good thing there were many vehicles for hire available at the time of our arrival. Luckily, we had immediately settled a deal with everything about our transport for the entire span of our stay on the island.
First thing, we went to Balai sa Baibai, our roof for our first day in Camiguin. It was just in Mambajao, so it only took a few-minute ride from the airport.
Balai sa Baibai, translated into English is "House by the beach". It offers a tranquil and comfortable stay with its pool, spa, and of course its private pristine beach. I really loved the place - the room, food, green landscapes, and everything therein. However, it was a bit costly on our end, we would be exceeding our budget if we would be roofing there for the entire days on the island.
We reached the resort at around half past 3:00 in the afternoon, it was a kind of late to start our tour activities, so, we agreed to spend the rest of the day in the resort, and just go out for dinner.
After some time of rest, we went to La Dolce Vita for our evening meal.
La Dolce Vita is just located across the airport, so this was the very first restaurant that we had noticed while heading our way to Balai sa Baibai. It is an Italian restaurant which has been one of the prides of the island. It is very known for its Pizza cooked in a firewood brick oven.
For our dinner, we had Hawaiian Pizza, Scoglio (Seafood Pasta), and Mango shake.
I would say, La Dolce is a must-try, I would agree with many that their food, especially their Pizza are the best in town.
The following day started early, at around 6:00 in the morning, we had our breakfast, and then fixed and packed everything we need for the very first day of our island tour.
Right at this point, I hardly remember what came first and next after Balai sa Baibai, yet here are the splendid and impressive spots and attractions that we dared not to miss. I would say these are the must-see and must-try in Camiguin.
The Sunken Cemetery
All you can see is a big cross marking the actual spot of the cemetery. History tells that it was the eruption of Mt. Vulcan in Camiguin that caused the cemetery to sink. And so to commemorate the place, the big cross was erected over the grave.
That huge cross is reachable by a boat. There were many boats available to transport you from the coast to the cross. However, we didn't go really close since it was already packed with tourists at the time of our arrival. So we were just taking photos of it from the coast.
Ardent Hot Spring
This was for me the most relaxing spot I've been to in Camiguin. If I were to choose between hot or cold spring, I would definitely go for the former. I really loved it since it always gives me the kind of relaxation I fairly expected from it.
Ardent Hot Spring has 4 separate pools of different sizes which the sides are landscaped with shrubs, trees, and ornamental plants. Its hot water supply that cascades from the valley is said to be coming from the bowels of Mt. Hibok-Hibok.
The water is hottest at the shallowest and gets milder as the pool gets deeper. As advised, I first dipped in the milder one before getting through the hottest. What a therapeutic bath!
Bura Soda Water Park
Bura Soda Water Park is one of the well-known spring resorts on the island. It has constantly flowing soda water that fills the resort's pool instead of just the regular water. It is said to be the only soda water pool in the country. Bura even have open faucets where the visitors can taste the natural soda water, and even refill their water bottles.
The pool is large enough. It has 3ft. deep for kids, and 5 ft. for adults. The water is crystalline clear, that's really very inviting. It's cold and refreshing. Really one of the best!
We'd also been to different falls on the island, however, it's kind of hard for me now to recall what were those.
I had mentioned there above that Balai sa Baibai was our first roof for our first day on the island, and so the following day, we transferred to another. We just asked the driver to lead us to a resort somewhere near the famed White Island of Camiguin, since that was what we planned to visit early morning on last day before prepping to go back home.
And so, he sent us to Mendano Island Resort. It's really just near the port going to the White Island, like it's just a walking distance.
However, we had not been able to go to the White Island, as the weather was not so well that very day, it was raining. So we just spent our last half day in Camiguin in the resort.
At 12:00 noon we checked out, and headed directly to the airport.
