Cebu to Camiguin (9 - 15 Feb)
The flight from Puerto Princessa to Cebu went quite smoothly and we arrived at Cebu International Airport around 14:00. We decided not to check into a hotel, but to rather go to SM City (Mall) to find out about ferries to surrounding islands. We were not sure where we wanted to go from Cebu, but the general idea was to spend about five days on an island nearby and then return to Cebu to catch our flight out of the Philippines to Hong Kong.
SM City is an upmarket shopping mall that could give Menlyn Mall a run for its money. We popped into Trans Asia and booked ferry tickets to Camiguin. The rest of the day, we spent walking around the mall looking for a New Zealand guidebook. I caught a sudden stomach bug and had to grab a plastic bag in the internet café!
We took the overnight ferry to Cagayan and it was surprisingly nice. We slept in a huge open area with hundreds of bunker beds. We arrived the next morning and experienced the poor in small rowing boats waiting for the passengers to throw coins from the ship so that they can dive into the ocean to retrieve them. This is apparently an old tradition, but still a strange experience.
Well, it was quite a detour to get to this small island, Camiguin - we had to get a ferry to Cagayan, then take a taxi to the bus stand, drive to Balingoan, take a taxi to the pier, take a ferry to Benoni (yes, there is another town with this name!) on Camiguin island, take a van to Mambajoa and then take a multivan to the guesthouse named Jasmine by the Sea.
John and Carla told us about Camiguin and its friendly people. They also suggested we try to stay at Jasmine by the Sea. We phoned from Cebu to book a room, but were told that they were fully booked until the end of February. But when we arrived in Camiguin, we decided that we would just pop in and see if we could maybe get a room. And lady luck was on our side - someone had checked out that very morning!
Jasmine by the Sea is run by an extremely helpful Philippina named Melinda. All the other staff was also amazingly friendly and helpful. Actually, all the locals were unbelievably pleasant, always greeting us in passing by with a smile. The guesthouse is situated right on the beach, even though the beach is not perfect for swimming and the sand is a weird black colour due to the volcanic history of the island.
On the day of arrival, we had great weather and a lovely sunset. We walked along the beach and spent the evening playing cards with Andre, a new Canadian friend we met in Jasmine’s restaurant. The next day was a different story - it was raining cats and dogs and it kept on raining for the remainder of our stay on the island. But this did not put a damper on our spirits. We played cards day and night. We hardly moved from the restaurant are. The food and beer was cheep and delicious, so we had no reason to venture out. The only down side to all this rain was that we could not go diving as planned.
One day, when the rain subsided for about 30 minutes, we grabbed the opportunity and headed for the Arden Hot Springs. There were only a few other crazy souls sitting in these hot springs whilst the rain was pouring down. That evening we went for dinner somewhere in town and tried the local food. It was tasty, but oh so fatty and rich!
The next day was my 30th birthday. I was spoiled with a lovely breakfast, a lot of rain, a whole day filled with card games and to top it off a homemade chocolate birthday cake. The whole restaurant joined in the celebration and everyone was raving about the delicious cake that Eon had arranged for me. I had the privilege of speaking to both my mom and dad on my birthday - boy, I am really starting to miss them! Eon also gave me an “I owe you” for pearls and a camera for as soon as we got back to a place where we could buy these
On the morning of departure (also Valentine’s Day and Deirdre’s birthday - happy happy!) we took a boat to White Island. This is a very small island just of the shore of Camiguin and it has nothing but pearly white sand. From here we had the same tedious route back to Cebu.
On arriving in Cebu, we checked into a hotel close to the airport. This side of town was a bit scruffy, but we had to stay close to the airport to try and get onto a standby for a flight to Hong Kong (our scheduled flight was one day too late for our visa and if we overstayed, we would have to pay a fine and a huge amount for an extension).
So, to kill time, we did some pearl shopping! And I had a chance to stroll around the mall while Eon played pool with Andre. We were lucky enough to get onto the plane to Hong Kong the following day, the same day of our visa expiry!
So that was it for the Philippines - a beautiful country with lovely people and, in Asian terms, very expensive beer and food.
Click on image to view the Camiguin gallery: