Saturday, March 26, 2011

CDO-Bukidnon-Camiguin Series: Island Tour


We woke up as early as 2:30 am because Kuya Richard will pick us up at 3:00. Wala ng ligo ligo. We arrived in Balingoan Port just in time to catch the 5:15am first trip to Camiguin. By the way, it was my first time to ride a RORO. We paid 150.00 each. 

After a few minutes, we found ourselves scattered. Kanya kanyang higa sa upuan. Salamat sa mga overnight projects sa office. We mastered the ability to sleep anywhere. I need to recharge anyway. I felt like I was in a hammock. Paugoy ugoy pa. I woke up to pee but when I saw their comfort room, I never felt comfortable at all. Tiniis ko na lang. Foul talaga. 




Nasobrahan sa pagkakahimbing si Madam. If you're with my group, never sleep as if it would be the last. Maraming nangyayari behind the scenes pag naunahan ka nilang gumising. hahaha!

After an hour and an a half, we arrived safely. I saw Kuya Jun holding "Barney and Friends" banner at Benoni Port. No comment kung sino si Barney samin. lol! Ayokong ma-injured. Since we have a super tight schedule, before we put our bags in the lodge we started the tour. First stop, Katibawasan Falls.

It's a quite long journey. Nevertheless, it was all worth it. 

Gigantic falls welcomed us!

Great shooting location for a film... Hmmmmmm... Take one!

Kamahalan.... handog namin ang nawawalang SUGO ng kabalahuraan..

Si Martyn... kunin nyo na po siya. hahaha!

Next stop.. White Island..

You haven't been to Camiguin if you fail to visit this island. We were not blessed with a good weather that time. But we still had the opportunity to play and appreciate its beauty. Had I known that this is only a few minutes from the our lodge sana sa last day na lang to nilagay.

I had the same feeling when I saw Banana Island in Coron. I rented snorkeling gear to check if there's a nice underwater view.


The peaceful side

Kung gaano ka-peaceful sa kabila, sha ring ikina-bother ng waves sa other side


the long and winding sand bar


para san pa ang underwater cam...
See those talukap? Sila ang mga labi ng Sea urchin.
Actually, marami nagbebenta ng fresh sea urchin dun. Kaya pala nagkalat sa dagat. My friends tried it, ako hindi. There were only a few fishes in White island. Wala rin magandang corals. Fail din ang Mt. Hibuk Hibuk na back drop. Shyness ayaw magpakita samin. 

oo buhay pa ang fake Crocs ko... ulirang sapatos awardee


We had so much fun playing here. Para kaming na-rape ng alon after.. lol! (me and mich)

Beach bummers (wawa ang walang snorkeling gear... hahaha!)

After an hour, we left. Masyado pang maraming dapat puntahan.. Next is Sto. NiƱo Cold Spring.

Photo courtesy of DJ Hobbies
Madam took a nap. The rest jumped into the water. At least I was once "The Cold One". Hihihi! I was wondering where the water is coming from. Based on my research, dun mismo sa ilalim. It was freezing cold. Isama mo pa ang pabugso bugsong ulan sa katanghalian. Sarap matulog pero naisip kong sayang amg moment. We ate lunch there. Pwede magpaluto. I suddenly missed my province when I saw that they used Cals (native chicken) in adobo. Yummy! We also ordered their specialty Surol - cals cooked in coconut milk and fresh buko juice in a buko shell. Mouth watering.

And the journey continued...




I luckily snapped this shot habang nasa sasakyan.. para kong  napapakanta ng "♫..kung ang buhay as isang.. umagang nakangiti... ♫"

Next, 16th Century Old Guiob Church Ruins..

We're all smiles because the sun shone so bright (so bright talaga? hahaha!). I just love ruins. I find it mysterious. Perfect for another shooting location... hihihi! Take two!



Action!

Grabbed from the movie Tarot


I belong! hihihi! We watched it on PBO the night before we went here in Camiguin. My weapon was supposed to be a dagger and of course we don't have one so kahoy na lang.. Panira lang ang orange short.. hahaha!


Patayin sa Sindak si Barbara!


Ang Mambabarang.. (I love it madam! hahaha!)

 A few weeks before this trip, I saw a promo of Airphil to send a jump shot pic and get an all expense paid to Boracay.
I can't find a valid entry.. Next time we already have. hihihi!
(photo courtesy of DJ Hobbies)

Next goal? To witness the sunset at Sunken Cemetery..

We arrived there mga past 5:00pm. At ang tagal tagal ng sunset na yan. We spent our time in Rhel's. It's just beside the viewing deck. We heard someone singing sa videoke sa labas. Mabuhuhay lahat ng bangkay sa dagat dahil sa boses niya. hahaha! Hindi nakatiis si Madam at Jobert. Ayun, inagawan ng mic. In fairness, I was imagining Kris, Ai and FMG on the background screaming "You got it!" Clap!

We ate halo halo for meryenda. Mas nasarapan pa ko dun kesa sa Razon at Chowking. I thought P70.00 is not worth it. I was wrong. Uber satisfied tummy. I slept for a while.

Hindi kami nagboat papunta dun. Ayoko rin makita ang nagtatagong lapida. I've had enough of the eerie feeling sa sunken ships in Palawan. Siguro ganun din mararamdaman ko pag nakita ko yung sunken village sa Lake Mapanuepe. (Click link to see Chyng's blog)

The long wait is over. Hindi niya kami binigo. I saw a lot of sunset but this one's the most dramatic of all. Sulit ang paghihintay.


We did not waste our time. Direk Martyn on cue.

Pre-nup at the Sunken Cemetery is definitely not a bad idea... weird nga lang pero... just take a look.

(Shempre hindi ako yan...hahaha!)  That's Jeneson & Mich. Raaawrr! Kilig kami! ayiii!
Photo courtesy of DJ Hobbies
After the photo ops, we left for Old Volcano and Station of the Cross.. I felt bad because Kuya never told us that they don't have light post along the way. So pano kami aakyat kung ganun. Kung makaakyat man kami, baka may sanib na kami pagbalik. Scary kaya. We don't have a choice but to take a pic at the beginning of the trail. Fail kami.

We proceeded to Ardent Hot Spring. Wala kaming pictures. Low bat na lahat. The place is nice. Dun kami sa 39 degress nag enjoy. It's not good to spend hours in a hotspring. Masakit sa ulo. Gutom na lahat kaya hindi na rin kami nagtagal. Soda water was also an epic fail. Hindi na rin kinaya ng oras. Nanghihinayang ako. 

Kuya recommended Paras. Since it's very near sa lodge, we decided to eat there. Hinatid na kami dun.  Before we parted ways, I asked kuya kung kaya bang mapuntahan ang Mantigue at Kabila tomorrow. Siya kasi ang naglipat nun sa Day2 of Camiguin Tour. Nagulat ako sa reaksyon niya. Kailangan na lang daw namin mamili dun sa dalawa. Nagpanting ang tenga ko Ate Charo. Bakit nilipat kung hindi naman pala kakayanin? I tried my best to compose myself. 

He explained, "Sinabi ko naman po sa inyo na pwede na tayong dumiretso sa Mantigue kanina e..". I immediately asked "Ha?! Kelan? sino kinausap mo samin?!?". Wala akong naaalalang may nagbanggit samin tungkol dito. He pointed on ________. The culprit defended himself "..hindi naman natin kakayanin yun talaga e." 

I saw Martyn walked out. Disappointed. Wala na kong nagawa. Sabi ko I will ask my group what place to choose. Ambigat ng paa ko papunta sa Paras. Natahimik lahat. I asked them their opinion if they will pick Giant Clam (Kabila) over Coral reefs (Mantigue). Unanimous... Giant Clam kami. Bahala na bukas.

Kuya will pick us up at 6:00am. Mukang may bagyo. Hindi tumitigil ang ulan. We left at 6:30am for the Giant Clam at Kabila. Rough road. Parang 4x4 ride. Dumating kami after an hour and a half. No one welcomed us. While waiting for someone to come out, we took a pic on the Giant Clams in the improvised aquarium.



 

It was our first time to see it. Yes may "Wow" factor talaga.. Mas maganda siguro kung makikita ko yung 1- meter sized na clam pag nagsnorkel kami. We paid for it anyway. Kuya soon came together with the punong bantay. I saw her initial reaction. "What the hell are you doing on sea side? Nakikita nyo naman sigurong bumabagyo mga ineng." Sadly, I was right. They did not allow us to snorkel. Masyado daw delikado kasi ang lakas ng waves. Kung sila daw, kayang kaya nila yun pero kaming mga hindi naman kagalingan, ayaw niya daw kami isugal. I understand. Totally understand. Promise. Nag eexplain pa si ate when I suddenly felt I a tear drop. Shit! para akong bata. I tried to keep it to myself para hindi na nila makita. Useless.

Siguro sobra lang akong umasa. Sobrang napahiya sa grupo. Sobrang nadis-appoint. If kuya called them before hand we would have cancelled this Kabila Beach and proceeded with the other spots that we missed on day 1. If the culprit last night did not spoil our Mantigue Island, sana nakapunta kami dun. Maraming nag flash back na what ifs. Wala dapat lugar ang STRESS sa akin.. sa amin.. dahil unang una nagbayad kami sa magaling na tour coordinator. Ok lang yung tipong isa o dalawang spot lang ang hindi napuntahan e. Katanggap tanggap pa yun. Mind you..Limang tumataginting.

My group was very supportive. I love you guys. Nagplano agad ng trip to Anilao at sa Pangasinan. Hindi ko man daw makita ang mga higanteng kabibe, makikita ko naman ang ibang kalahi nila sa Pangasinan. Awwww.... ok na ko agad. hihihi!

Take 3... Action!

Ang nangungulila.. Paalam mga higanteng kabibe

She sells sea shells by the sea shore (so kailangan naka pout? hahah!)

Pinagttripan na ko ng mga hinayupak. hahaha! Their turn...

Sha ikaw na! Ang lakas mo! hahaha! Winner!

♫ Oh lumapit ka..♫

Basilio..Crispin.. Mga anak ko! Asan kayo!


♫ Sana'y pag ibig na lang ang isipin ♫
Ang cute mo mutya! Umamin ka na kasi!

My MMK moment fade away because of them. Thank you guys. We left Camiguin at 12 noon. Sabi ng new found friend naming taga branch may hinanda daw siyang pochero kaya daan daw muna kami bago pumunta ng airport. Ang bait talaga.

Mabagal si Kuya Welmark mag drive. Na experience na namin siya nung Day 1 sa CDO. Bothered kami kung aabot ba sa mga dapat pang puntahan. Sinabi naming gawin niyang 1 and 1/2 hour lang ang dapat sanay 2 hours travel time. Machunurin siya. hahaha! 

We saw a habal habal sa gitna. Panira sa sked.
Me: Sige kuya sagasaaan ang mga sagabal na yan!
Madam: Sa ngalan ng POCHERO! Sagasaan! 


Buhay na buhay. hahah! After an hour, natahimik si Martyn. Nahihilo na pala. Idiretso na daw siya sa airport dahil nahihilo na siya sa Christmas Tree ni kuya (air freshener na madalas makita sa jeep). Nagulantang kaming lahat. Isa isa niyang tinanggal ito (ang dami e, parang may archives pa ata sa driver seat). Walang ano-ano'y tinapon bigla sa labas. 

"Mabaho sila!" yun lang ang sinabi ni kuya. He smiled. Parang napahiya pa tuloy si Martyn. hahaha! Sabi niya papadalhan niya daw ng sandamakmak na air freshener si kuya pagbalik niya ng Maynila.

Umabot kami sa kainan chaka dumiretso sa airport. Marami mang kamalasan, still enjoy pa rin kaming lahat. May new set of friends na naman ako. I spent 7940.00 for this 4 days 3 nights CDO-Camiguin Trip. Not bad isn't it.

Hanggang sa susunod na destinasyon. Sa mga masugid kong taga subaybay, nawa'y natuwa kayo sa MMK portion na ito. Huwag mangamba, hindi na ito mauulit. Huwag umasa. hahaha! Salamat!

Check out all my blog entries for this CDO-Bukidnon-Camiguin Trip:

12 comments:

John Marx Velasco said...

Asan ang pastel? :(
Ok lang yan, mahirap talaga maging tour organizer, you wanted it to be perfect pero sometimes fail! I know the feeling. Hehehe!
San pala kayo nag stay?

Chyng said...

lessson leraned: not everything will go exactly the way you planned it. ok lang yan. ganun talaga. remember nabwisit din ako sa driver namin sa Camiguin. ewan ko ba, o malas lang.
swerte ka pa nga you saw some fish sa white island, kami wala at all. haha gloomy weather din kasi that time.

yeah, asan ang pastel?

inferness, mukhang ansaya mo kasama sa trip. daming pictures!

Kura said...

@marx - nasa tiyan ko na lahat. hahah! Same tayo, sa Paguia rin kami nagstay. Medyo malamok nga lang.

Korek. Wala talagang perpektong lakad. Kailangan ko atang gumawa ng evaluation form sa lahat ng tour coordinator bago ko sila piliin. hahaha!

@chyng - ang masama pa dun, ni wala akong narinig sa kanila matapos kong ibuhos lahat ng sama ng loob ko sa email. Mga guilty.

nabasa ko nga yung mga post mo sa Pex tungkol sa tahimik mong driver. hahaha! Ganyan din samin. Asar. Parang.. kami ba ang taga dun at kami pa ang magsasabi sa kanya sa gusto naming puntahan? kaloka. Anong use ng itinerary.. Alam mo bang kami pa ang nagprovide sa kanya nun. Prang hindi naman ata sila naguusap nung tour coordinator bago kami pumunta. Badtrip talaga.

Marami talaga akong natutunan. Hahaha! Ayoko ng maulit pa. Kelan ka free? Starbucks ulit.. hihihi!

Hoobert the Awesome said...

Oh oh, wow. You went to CDO & Camiguin? Sorry naman, nawala ako sa sirkulasyon ng blogosphere but don't worry I'll read your whole Mindanao experience. Umaatikabong backread ito. Loooool.

Ate Kura-ching (the Explorer), travel is not a travel if there's no misadventures. Yun ang nagbibigay ng kulay sa ating paglalakbay. Naki-emote din. Hahaha.

Pero if I'm in your situation, maba-badtrip din talaga ako. Imagine, you're the organizer so you really want this travel to be perfect especially that you tagged your friends along with you. Pero not all things go as planned (which made me remember of my Albay escapade). But still consider yourself lucky 'cos you're friends are very understanding. :)))

Oh ano pa? Pangasinan naman ang next.

PS. I want to see face-to-face the Sunken Cementery too.

Kura said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Kura said...

Uy hi Enchong! kmusta ka naman? ang tagal mo ngang nawala sa sirkulasyon. Anilao muna ako. Chaka na ang erpleyn ulit. hihihi!

Pass muna ako sa pag oorganize. nakaka-trauma. hahaha! I'll leave it up to them naman. I know, tlagang may mga misadventures sometimes. We can learn from it. Pero hiring a tour coordinator but still encountered a LOT of misadventures? iba yun right?

Anyway highway, all in all we had a great time. I was with my friends anyway kaya keri pa rin. Tinatawanan na lang namin ang nakalipas na kabanatang yan. =) thanks for dropping by! Ingat lagi!

pusangkalye said...

iba talaga when you travel in groups. ang kulet mag snorkel ng mga kasama mo-- 0.2 meters away from the shoreline talaga.bwahaha

Kura said...

ahahha! Puro kasi mga hindi marunong maglangoy e. Quits lang, yung nasa shore ang may life vest, kaming nasa tubig ang may snorkeling gear. Gantihan. hahaha!

anna banana said...

gusto ko din mapuntahan yung katibawasan falls! kasi mababaw lang. di ako malulunod. ahahahaha!

Kura said...

@anna banana- muka lang siyang mababaw. hindi kami pwedeng lumapit sa falls mismo.. madudurog ang skeletal system. =) pero wala akong masabi sa ganda niya. Halos nakalimutan naming may iba pang destinasyon bukod sa kanya.. nuknukan ng daming picturan.

Pinoy Travel Freak said...

LOL! Nag enjoy ako sa entry mo na to. Mala-roller coaster ride ng emosyon. Comedy sa umpisa tpos naging drama tpos comedy ulet :D

Malamang eto din yung itinerary namin next month pagpunta doon. At sana good weather.

Irene said...

Haha! Aliw to :) Happy to know you had fun in Mindanao :)