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| Motorelas are the usual ride within the island |
The second day in Camiguin started early. After a quick breakfast at 6:30 am, then off we went for our Camiguin island tour.
Katibawasan Falls
According to our driver Tangga, you can actually tour the whole of Camiguin in one day. He suggested to stop first at Katibawasan falls.
Okay. I have never been that near to a waterfall before. And it was awesome!
The waterfall measures about 250 ft high. When we were there, we practically had the whole area to ourselves. The only sound
was the gushing of the water to the pool. In some photos I have seen of the place, I think it was possible to swim there, though when we tested the water, it was ice cold!
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| At the entrance. Fee was P15.00 |
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| The view from the top, as you go down |
After taking our fill and numerous photos later, we left for the famous White Island.
White Island
White Island is about 7 minutes from the island of Camiguin. "Entry" point was beside Paras Beach Resort.
Here you can rent a boat for P400 to take you to White Island. The boat will take you to the island and will fetch you at the agreed time. You can actually stay the whole day. There were also snorkeling gears (P150/pair) and life vests P50/pair.
White Island is a sand bar. Since there was nothing here except sand, we told to our boatman to fetch us after an hour. During summer when tourist visits are high, our guide told us that a mini store is set up.
According to our guide, the White Island is always there, even during high tide. From here, you can see Tres Marias, Mt. Hibok Hibok and the Old Volcano.
Sea urchins were also offered to us. The locals dive for these delicacies and sell it at P20.00 a piece. These were eaten raw with just vinegar.
The pier was filled with stalls selling very affordable shells and necklaces. Our guide warned us though that the Port going our of Camiguin was very strict with regards to these. I wonder why they allow the locals to sell at all.
Next stop was the Walkway to the Old Volcano (Mt. Vulcan). Upon finishing the 15 stations of the cross, you would have reached almost the top of the Old Volcano, where you will see a portion of Camiguin.
The people we encountered going down were right. Though it took us an hour and a half to finish the trek, upon reaching the top, the view would literally take your tiredness away. I have never tried mountain climbing so this was a first for me. The experience actually made me want to consider trying that one =)
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| The view of Camiguin on our way to White Island |
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| Our first view of White Island |
If you plan to go swimming or snorkeling, make sure you bring aqua shoes. It was quite rocky going to the water. And there were only a few fish here. Corals though were lovely!
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| The stars that we saw from the sea. Don't worry, these were immediately thrown back to the sea after the picture taking. |
We didn't plan to finish the whole way up. But we got challenged when we saw some old people going down after finishing the trek.
So off we went. There were stairs in the first few stations. After the fourth, the trail started. I will not post all the stations here but to prove that we finished it, below were the first and last stations.
We felt renewed going down the Volcano. But the day was not yet over. It was just lunch time =)
I thought I would be able to fit Camiguin in one post. But there was so much to see!
Next post -- the Sunken Cemetery, Church Ruins, Sto. Nino Cold Springs and Ardent Hot Springs.
