1. Lunch at SM: Bigby's
I wanted to go to a local restaurant to try out their local foods but found out that they don't really have any. Most of the dishes they serve are the same kind/cooking found in Metro Manila.
2. White Water Rafting
Outfitter: First White Water Rafting Adventure
Contact: 0917-707-3583 (Rupert Domingo)
Website: http://www.raftingadventurephilippines.com/
Pick up time: 1pm
Pick up place: McDonald's in Divisoria
Pick up vehicle: Jeepney
We were assisted by five River Guides because we went with four other groups. Each River Guide stayed in each of the four rafts, the fifth had a kayak for himself because he took care of taking all the pictures and all the videos in the tour.
Beginner's Course is
- Php700/head, minimum of 6 persons (but I think you can negotiate with them because we were with a group of three who had a raft to themselves, which didn't look as much fun as the full rafts :P).
- 2-3 hours, 14 rapids
Note: I found out only later that we could have actually requested to be picked up straight from the airport to save time (especially since the airport is much nearer to the rafting site as compared to McDonald's Divisoria). We could have also requested to have gone earlier because we had a tight schedule.
We met with our guide in McDonald's in Divisoria then left at exactly 1PM for the rafting site. There's a stop over along the way to pick up your rafting gears. This is also where you'll have your lunch/merienda after the rafting trip if you opted for it.
Arrival in the beginning of the course is at 2PM. The actual rafting adventure started 20 minutes laters because you had to be outfitted properly and instructions were given to prepare you for the ride.
5 Basic Instructions for White Water Rafting
- "Stop" - place your paddle on your lap
- "Forward" - submerge your paddle and then pull to move forward
- "Back" - submerge your padd and then push to move backward
- "Go Right" - people on the right side of the raft will perform the Back Paddle, while people on the left side of the raft will perform the Forward Paddle
- "Go Left" - people on the left side of the raft will perform the Back Paddle, while people on the right side of the raft will perform the Forward Paddle
In between rapids is a long lull of inactivity. All you do is admire your surroundings, which is fun the first couple of times but is dead boring after. This is the reason why it's so much better if you're only with one other group so you wouldn't spend half of the time waiting for them to catch up.
** Affordable accomodation: Park View HotelAddress: Tirso Neri Street (In between Burgos Street and N. Capistrano Street)
Telephone: (88) 857-1197; 857-1198
*Divisoria, near white water rafting meeting place
Park View Hotel comes highly recommended by the locals. It will provide you the basic necessities: comfortable bed, hot/cold shower, air conditioned rooms and cable television. But we didn't stay in Cagayan de Oro for our first night. If we did, we would have made it a point to experience the night life: local bars and the night market in the Divisoria area where Park View Hotel is strategically located.
3. Iligan
Iligan is a sidetrip that we took but is not recommended for other people who are planning their iteneraries. If you're keen on seeing the Maria Christina falls then Iligan would be required in your list of destinations but if you don't mind any other falls, then just head over to Camiguin (which is Days 2 and 3 in our schedule).Aside from Maria Christina Falls in Iligan, there's also Timoga Spring Pool for an ice-cold dip. They have warm showers to balance the temperature. However, we didn't get to experience that because of our schedule.
Cagayan de Oro to Iligan is a 1.5 hour trip on a private vehicle, turned into a 3 hour ride because of the on going road widening constructions.
Our actual purpose in Iligan is to visit our hosts' home. They prepared a feast for us! We were served with Cagayan de Oro's famous Letson (yes, we picked it up along the way). They are very proud of their letson delicacy because it is said to be even more delicious than Cebu's.
After a sumptuous diner, we stayed in the exquisite Cheradel Suites (Tel. No. (063)223-8118). We would have enjoyed a morning swim the next day but our schedule warranted leaving really early in the morning for our next destination:
Day 02. Camiguin
Our driver, turned a 4-hour trip from Iligan to Balingoan Ferry Port, Cagayan de Oro into 2.5 hours. I was so scared, my brain decided to shut the whole trip off by making me sleepy. It all worked pretty well because we were just on time for the 10:15am ferry going to Camiguin.
Other options to get to the Balingoan Ferry Port are (I don't think many tourists are as lucky as were were to actually have a private van at their disposal):
- Take a jeepney from your hotel to the Agora Bus Terminal then take the Yellow Bachelor bus (fare is Php130/pax) 1.5 hours to Balingoan. Trip schedules are: 4am, 5am, 6am, 7am (then every 30 mins). You'll end up 100 meters from the Port, which you can cover either by walking or taking tricycle
- Rent a van for P2500 (contact: Marlyn +639267821719)
- Take the Paras Sea Cat (fast craft) P400-P600/pax (Paras Beach Resort (88) 8568562.)
Bajaos are local Mindanoans who generally live under the poverty line. Young Bajaos are often found on ferry ports where they wait/ask for you to throw them coins into the sea. Then they'll entertain you by diving for it (sometimes even from ontop of the ferry boat itself!). They almost never miss. They're your usual welcome committee.
We went straight to Paras Beach Resort. It's the most reputable resort in Camiguin. Upon checking in, we were greeted with welcome drinks and with a welcome necklaces. Resort amenities include: swimming pool, ping pong tables, and billiards.
Lunch in Paras Beach Resort was "OK". It's not amazing and its menu is as pricey as Manila restaurants'. Beware that dishes served are not meant for sharing.
We had our tour of Camiguin by following the Camiguin map provided on the front desk of the resort. The front desk personnel was more than kind to give us a shortened list (in proper order) of what she suggests we should see. Starting off at 2PM for a cool swim in the waterfalls, we ended our first day in Camiguin with a hot bath in their Ardent Hot Springs.
Most of the tourist spots in Camiguin are either for taking a dip, or for taking pictures. We skipped the old churches because we've had our own share of those (mine
Click image to enlarge on new window.
1. Katibawasan Falls: 250 feet high waterfalls that cascades to a rock pool surrounded by wild ferns, trees and boulders. It's an ideal place for a cool bath and a picnic.
2. Old Vulcan Walkway: A walkway complete with 15 Stations of the Cross leads to the peak of Mt Vulcan Daan; a landmark of the PANAAD Pilgrimage.
It is important to note that there are many misleading online accounts that say that the Old Vulcan Walkway's final Station of the Cross leads to volcano's crater. NO IT DOESN'T and we had to hike a partially cemented path 30 minutes up just to find out what bullshit that piece of information was.
I don't regret the hike and the scenery because it was rewarding on its own. I was just utterly, deeply disappointed because I expected a view of a crater, NOT the creator. Be sure to wear comfortable foot wear for the hike, wore my awesome, orange Tribu sandals.
3. Cross Marker and Sunken Cemetery: a huge cross that marks the sunken community cemetery. You may take a boat to the actual cross but there's nothing much to do there. You can't even take good pictures because you'll be at the foot of the huge cross.
3.1 Soda Water Pool : supposed to have carbonated water in their pool but it wasn't bubbly and it wasn't even sweet -> Billy tasted it!
3.2 Sto. Nino Cold Springs : it was getting dark and we were all looking forward to dinner so even though we were already there, we still had to pass. We would have liked to swim if it were earlier in the afternoon because the place looked promising: the pools were bigger than the Soda Water Pool and the pool in the Katibawasan Falls.
4. Ardent Hot Springs: located in the Hibok-Hibok Resort; heated water runs down from the vents of one of Camiguin's dormant volcanoes, Hibok-Hibok.
We were there dinner time, which was perfect because their restaurant served good food. The food wasn't as luxurious and as well presented as it was in Paras Beach Resort but it was much cheaper and the servings were bigger. Most items on their menu are meant for sharing.
After dinner, we went to relax in the hot springs. It was my first time :)
We wanted to go to a KTV house for a little fun before bedtime but we opted not to so we'd all be fresh and ready for the most awaited: White Island on the next day.
Day 03: White Island (and getting back to Manila)
Paras Beach Resort is alive and functioning as early as 6am. We took a boat to White Island for Php450 (can fit 6 people). Additional costs: Php20 per person fee on White Island.
We actually expected a beach front in Paras Beach Resort, but we soon realized that the whole of Camiguin doesn't have one. It does, however, have White Island.
White Island is located 5 minutes away by boat from Paras Beach Resort. It's not really an island but a sand bar. There's absolutely nothing on it aside from you, a handful other tourists, and a couple of souvenir vendors. You'll have Mt. Hibok-Hibok and Old Vulcan in your backdraft, which makes it awesome for picture taking.
Note: since White Island is as bare as I describe it, be sure to bring food, snacks and water when you go if you plan on staying longer than a couple of hours. If you're going to bring trash with you, BE SURE YOU BRING IT BACK. i HATE litter bugs.
The banca that brought us to White Island picked us up at 8am (because we said so, you can just tell them what time you want to be picked up). By 10am, we were checked out and packed for our trip home. Our aim was to get to Benoni Port for the 12pm ferry back to Balingoan Port.
On our way back, we went to the Mambajao market center to buy the famous Camiguin lansones. A kilo of lansones costs Php60, back in Manila it costs Php200 a kilo. We also looked for Vjandep Restaurant for its famous Pastel - and it was said to serve good food.
Vjandep's Pastel de Camiguin is sort of a bun that has sweet yema filling. It's unique and well made. A box costs Php58.00 straight from their bakery while it costs Php65.00 anywhere else on Camiguin. Vjandep Bakery and Vjandep Restaurant are two different places but are near each other and very accessible.
We left Camiguin at around 12pm, arrived in Balingoan Port before 2pm then went straight to the Cagayan de Oro airport. It's good to note that you don't have to stay inside the airport building while waiting for your flight. Just check in your baggages and acquire a seat number then visit the souvenir shops outside.
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