A JOURNEY TO CAMIGUIN ISLAND

Last last Friday, January 25, 2013, we went out of town with my blockmates and professor Miss Mia 

for our Architectural Design Class. Basically, this trip doubles as a site visit to explore/study and a 

vacation getaway to unwind from our previous "hell term". So, our chosen destination for this term 

was the island of Camiguin. Honestly, the decision wasn't unanimous, I didn't want to go to Camiguin 

because it was an unknown place for me and it's already in Mindanao and I was scared. I didn't have 

any option so I decided to join the trip.

Our trip went super exciting than I expected because it was my first time riding a plane with my 

friends because I usually go out of town or abroad with my family. First, we rode a plane from Manila 

going to Cagayan De Oro because it's nearest to Camiguin and it's the only way to go there. 

When we landed in Cagayan De Oro, we had to ride a van which was included in our Resort/trip 

package. We rode in the van for 2 hours after an hour and a half plane travel, it's quite tiring. We didn't 

explore around Cagayan but the people were very nice and it's a very nice place.

From Cagayan De Oro airport we stopped at Philstone Shipping Corporation where we rode an old 

ferry to get to Camiguin. It was really fun because it had been a long time since I last rode a ship.

And my first time to ride a ferry with some of my closest friends. 

(L-R starting from the tall guy in stripes: Gemar, Kate, Astrid, Maco, Baham, Matt, Yna, Lucy,

Cholo, Maxine, me, Rachel, and Charm)

Tada! The island of Camiguin. It looked kind of creepy because our trip was supposedly in the middle 

of a storm but it didn't matter. The Island was covered in clouds and it looked as if it was the bermuda 

triangle in some movies. From afar the island looked really small but once you're in it it's like a big city. 

We rode the ferry for 1 hour or less and we were amazed to see the super clean and clear seawater 

surrounding Camiguin, you can see the fishbeds and corals underneath our ship.

As soon as we docked, we rode our second van, that was also included in the package, that brought us 

to our lovely resort, Bahay-Bakasyunan sa Camiguin. When we arrived, we all dropped our jaw because 

we didn't expect that the resort was that wonderful. The interiors were amazing, the accomodations 

were wonderful, the food was super delicious, and the money we spent was worth it. Take a look for 

yourself and see how they mixed modern with traditional filipino design. Also the place looked very 

tranquil and relaxing because of the vegetation and all those coconut trees surrounding the resort.

So our first day was all about having fun and exploring around the resort. Our day two was our first 

beach getaway. We rode a bangka going to Mantigue Island. It's a very nice and serene island, the sand 

is white and the water is crystal clear though it's not very suitable for swimming because the corals and 

fishbeds are near the shoreline. We had fun snorkeling and playing in the deep water where you can see 

a lot of fishes under it. There was also this small forest in the middle of the island where there are lots 

of unique trees and plants only found there.

Oh, and the food at the resort were super yummy, especially the lunch and dinner platters. There were 

a lot of serving and different varieties from vegetables to soup to squid to chicken to fish and so on.

We also went out that night to buy drinks and to roam around the town plaza or the "bayan" as we
Filipinos cal it. We went on a food trip buying barbecues, fruits, pastries, etc. And we had fun at the
hotel, mixed some cocktails and played some spin the bottles and King's Cup. 

Day 3 was a busy day because it's that time we toured around the island from the White Island to the 

Katibawasan Falls to the Ardent Hot Springs and alot more. We also visited the station of the cross and 

the Sunken Cemetery and some Chuch ruins, it was a very historical adventure.

Our Day 4 was all about Site visit and study. Our class was divided into 5 groups that would develop 

and study the 5 municipalities of Camiguin. It was a tiring yet fun site visit and we got to see old 

historical place and heritage areas that we never knew existed in Camiguin.

Over all, our Camiguin trip was very worth the time, money and effort. I didn't expect our trip to be 

this amazing and breathtaking. I would definitely go back there and I'll bring my family with me. And 

let's just hope I do a good job on my project for Camiguin. Hope you had fun reading and browsing 

through the pictures of my Camiguin journey.

If you want to know the packages, costings and itinerary from our trip, just comment here your e-mail 

address or e-mail me at peejalmera@gmail.com. Thanks! :)

All photos are shot and owned by PJ ALMERA. :)

If you want to share or copy the photo, credit me or post a link of my blog. Thank You! :)