It really starts, but not without a few bumps

After our extended time in Cebu, we were itching to get out of the big city and into the fresh air and clean countryside of Camiguin. It is a small island of the northern coast of Mindanao which is famed for its past volcanic activity and its sweet lanzones (a very delicious yellow fruit). Since it had been off-limits during our Peace Corps service due to its proximity to the "dangerous" island of Mindanao we had not heard of any first hand experiences from people who had visited the place. We were unsure of what exactly to expect but were excited about the potentials that this island held for us.

So we took another night boat to Nasipit, Mindanao and another bus and boat trip to finally arrive at our destination only about 18 hours after leaving Cebu (that is fast, efficient traveling for you). Our first stop was the tourism office where we impressed by how well they had developed and advertised the tourist spots on the island. They had great maps, lists of accommodation and staff that were highly informed. After talking for about an hour or so at the office we felt ready to set out and explore the island for the next few days. There seemed to be tons of things to do: hot and cold springs, volcano trekking, snorkeling in a sunken cemetery, loads of waterfalls and many more.

After visiting the office the next logical thing seemed to check into a room and we chose to stay at a place called Enigmata which the tourism office suggested as both unique and cheap. It was a house built around a tree and it looked like an interesting place as we approached it. When we arrived however there was no one around and when someone finally did show up they seemed confused that we wanted to stay at the place. Even though it seemed like no one was staying there it took about 5 minutes for him to actually decide that there were any open rooms and the price that he quoted was not what we considered "cheap." So turned away by one place we moved onto another which turned out to be awesome and a great value ($6 a night for a nice room a few steps from the beach). The long trip to reach Camiguin combined with the swaying hammocks on the porch and a typhoon in the northern Philippines which had brought up some good winds and drizzling were all enticing factors to laze the rest of the afternoon away. We would start our Camiguin adventures tomorrow.

So we rose early the next morning and packed our daypack for a jaunt around the northern part of the island. We took a nice little hike through a community and forest to Katibawasan Falls (which were about 250 feet high). Our next stop was supposed to be a cave that the tourism office told us about. We had planned to hire a guide in the barangay where the cave was located but once we got there, no one really seemed too knowledgeable or willing to guide us so we moved on to our next stop. We ended up walking a bit more to some cold springs (a bit too cold for us wusses to jump in) but nice to wash our faces and put our feet in. By the end of this we were both tuckered out and decided to head home especially since the following day we planned to climb Mt. Hibok Hibok, the famous volcano on the island.

Before heading to bed we decided to dive into something we had picked up at the market earlier (what they call here "the king of fruits: the durian"). We had refrained from ever buying one before because they are much more expensive than other fruit in the Visayas, but in Mindanao they are reasonably cheap so we decided that it was high time to see if this fruit could live up to its' name. This green spike covered delicacy which looks like it would more aptly fit on the end of a medieval weapon rather than in someones mouth is said to "smell like hell but taste like heaven." Well I cannot say that I agree and after so much hype I was a bit disappointed. To me it tasted like garlic snot. Maybe it is an acquired taste but I do not think I will be acquiring that taste anytime soon.

The next morning we were both excited to hike and got another early start for the climb of this 4,000 ft peak. We had gone to the Department of Environment of Natural Resources the day before to arrange a permit to hike and decided not to get a guide since they said that the way was fairly clear. We started in the community where they told us and made our way across a number of farms to the base of the mountain. Along the way a number of people offered to guide but we declined these offers confident that we could find the trail. We were almost at the base of the trail which led into the forest but when we asked directions we were led astray by further people looking for guiding jobs. We were having trouble finding the beginning of the trail and we were losing confidence that we could find our way without a guide. So we finally broke down and paid the few hundred pesos for a guide (a barefoot one in fact) to lead us up. Two minutes after we hired him we found the trailhead and realized that we probably only needed his help to find this and not to lead us up the whole way (but oh well).

So we started up the mountain and easily got up to the halfway point. The first have was not all that steep and a pleasant walk in the woods. And soon after it became hell (and of course no switchbacks since they do not exist in the Philippines). Furthermore what we had expected to be forest was mostly sharp cogon grass which encroached on the path and cut up our arms, legs, face and any other exposed parts. Not exactly as nice a hike as we had expected. But there were some cool plants along the way and the view up top with clouds passing by was almost worth it...almost. I don't think we would do it again but would have regretted not doing it. Anyway we needed to get in shape for the climb up Mt. Apo (the highest peak in the Pines).

On the way down we did have a few more problems. As our guide charged down at lightning speed we were left in the dust. At one point we thought we had made a wrong turn and debated turning around for about 15 minutes. Since we were both pretty exhausted and out of water we decided to keep heading down even though we were not sure we were on the right trail. Luckily we were and once we hit the bottom we parted with our speedy, barefoot guide and headed to the rejuvenating hot spring waters of Ardent Springs which sat at a strategic location at the base of the mountains. So we jumped in and relaxed our tired bodies for a bit. This was quite nice and after about an hour we decided to head home. This sounded like a good idea until KC started to feel dizzy and then decided to puke his brains out for about 5 minutes. We are still not exactly sure what induced it: dehydration, heat exhaustion, those "therapeutic waters" or that smelly durian from the night before. But after a little while KC was able to head home and we got back in time for him to sleep away the small fever and hope for the best the next morning.

Luckily KC did feel better in the morning and while not 100%, we decided to go explore a bit more but take it a little easier. So we started in the morning with a much shorter hike up the Old Volcano which had erupted in the late 1800's. It had destroyed the capital city of Camiguin at that time and had also caused an earthquake which pushed a cemetery into the ocean which we would explore later. The Old Volcano now has a shaded path on it with the stations of the cross alongside since many local residents make this climb during Holy Week.

Afterwards we moved on to the Sunken Cemetery which we were both excited about since we had heard of reports of snorkeling in this underwater graveyard was both interesting and eerie. Well we jumped in and were thoroughly disappointed by the fact that we could not see any signs of any graves or any resemblance of any type of cemetery other than the fact that there was a big white cross that they had recently erected to mark the area. On top of that there was a strong current and nothing really remarkable in the way of marine life in the area so we soon left. Then we headed to the nearby ruins of a church which was also destroyed by the Old Volcano (what an innovative name!!!). These ruins were just some moss covered walls and nothing remarkable.

After being a bit disappointed by the sights and with KC's reduced energy level, we decided to call it a day and head back to our room. In the afternoon, Laura got some good news about the Peace Corps medical issues that we had been diverted by in Cebu and we would no longer have to return there and could move on with our travels. So we decided to celebrate and blow $4 on dinner (now that is big spending). We also decided that we were going to move on to our next destination Siargao Island early the next morning. We had not finished everything that we wanted to do in Camiguin but both of decided that we wanted to make sure we were not rushed too much in Siargao and that leaving was now was the best way to assure this. Unfortunately we do have a little bit of a schedule to keep and so many things to do to get out of the country before KC's visa expires.

So Camiguin was a nice little island with some nice sights and some overrated sights. We did hit a few bumps on the way but we are still both getting in the groove of traveling and it might take a bit more to get accustomed to that. But another island down and many more to go. Now onto the surfing capital of the Philippines: Siargao Island.