CAMIGUIN

I was on field work in Mindanao on May 24 to June 1, 1999. My officemate, Bong Linsangan and I, went to our Regional Offices in Davao City then to Cagayan de Oro City. During the weekend, we decided to go on a side trip to Camiguin Island which is one of the popular tourist destinations in the country.

The island of Camiguin is small but it surprisingly offers a number of interesting spots which are readily accesible. We rented a "multicab" and along with a colleague from Camiguin who volunteered to act as our guide, we were able to go around the island in one day. During the tour, we took a bath three times: in Katibawasan falls (shown in the picture), in Ardent Hot Spring, and in Macao Cold Spring. We decided not to go to White Island (one of the more famous attractions of Camiguin) anymore because I've gone to and seen a similar sand bar in my province, Masbate.

Here are some of the photos taken during that trip. I want to thank my officemates in Cagayan de Oro City Cyrus Tuason, for the use of the scanner, and Daniel Belderol, for being a gracious host. Bong and I took turns with the camera, so all of these pictures are solo shots and show my rather annoying face on the foreground. However, feel free to ignore me and just focus on the background images. hehehe.... (Please click on the thumbnailed pictures below to see the bigger photos.)

At the background is the island of Mantigue. The island has four hectares of evergreen forest fringed with white sandy beach. It's a good place for skin diving or snorkeling.

This was taken at Bahay Bakasyunan Resort which is one of the popular places for tourists in the island. We didn't stay here. Just looked around a bit because a dormmate in U.P. told me about the place.

That's Mt. Hibok-hibok, an active volcano which last erupted in the 1940's. Camiguin is essentially a volcanic island but Hibok-hibok is the only volcano showing activity in the area at present. A PhiVolcs monitoring station is present somewhere here.

The Mt. Old Vulcan at the background erupted in 1870's and submerged a whole town. This picture shows some of the ruins of an old Spanish Church. The volcano is now inactive.

Taken at the pool side of Paras Resort and Restaurant where we had lunch.

Relaxing at Bahay Bakasyunan Resort. Very quiet and is really a good place for visitors.

We swam for about 30 minutes at the foot of Katibawasan Falls. The water was chilly in contrast to the 40C water in Ardent Hot Spring which was our next stop. The waterfalls measures 250 feet high.

This lagoon was produced by the last eruption of Mt. Hibok-hibok. The area sort of submerged during the eruption and was later filled with water. That's what our guide told us, at least.

We scrimped on expenses a bit and instead of lodging in expensive resorts, we chose to stay at the DENR Guest House. Beside the Guest House is this hut where some foresters are staying. We chose to sleep on the bamboo floor of this hut than in the Guest House. It was more comfortable and reminiscent of the very rural lifestyle in the province where I came from. Also in the picture is one of the foresters, Rommel.

Pool side of Bahay Bakasyunan. We've already swam in Katibawasan Falls, and in two springs before coming here so the pool didn't seem very enticing.

This place, called Verview, is not in Camiguin but lies somewhere between Davao and Bukidnon provinces. The shot was taken on our way to Cagayan de Oro from Davao City. The view looked similar to Mines View Park in Baguio City.

	At the background is the island of Mantigue. The island has four hectares of evergreen forest fringed with white sandy beach. It's a good place for skin diving or snorkeling.
	This was taken at Bahay Bakasyunan Resort which is one of the popular places for tourists in the island. We didn't stay here. Just looked around a bit because a dormmate in U.P. told me about the place.
	That's Mt. Hibok-hibok, an active volcano which last erupted in the 1940's. Camiguin is essentially a volcanic island but Hibok-hibok is the only volcano showing activity in the area at present. A PhiVolcs monitoring station is present somewhere here.
	The Mt. Old Vulcan at the background erupted in 1870's and submerged a whole town. This picture shows some of the ruins of an old Spanish Church. The volcano is now inactive.
	Taken at the pool side of Paras Resort and Restaurant where we had lunch.
	Relaxing at Bahay Bakasyunan Resort. Very quiet and is really a good place for visitors.
	We swam for about 30 minutes at the foot of Katibawasan Falls. The water was chilly in contrast to the 40C water in Ardent Hot Spring which was our next stop. The waterfalls measures 250 feet high.
	This lagoon was produced by the last eruption of Mt. Hibok-hibok. The area sort of submerged during the eruption and was later filled with water. That's what our guide told us, at least.
	We scrimped on expenses a bit and instead of lodging in expensive resorts, we chose to stay at the DENR Guest House. Beside the Guest House is this hut where some foresters are staying. We chose to sleep on the bamboo floor of this hut than in the Guest House. It was more comfortable and reminiscent of the very rural lifestyle in the province where I came from. Also in the picture is one of the foresters, Rommel.
	Pool side of Bahay Bakasyunan. We've already swam in Katibawasan Falls, and in two springs before coming here so the pool didn't seem very enticing.
	This place, called Verview, is not in Camiguin but lies somewhere between Davao and Bukidnon provinces. The shot was taken on our way to Cagayan de Oro from Davao City. The view looked similar to Mines View Park in Baguio City.