So
once again I find myself island hopping down south, where the lingua franca has
always been Bisaya, which I find both annoying and amazing at the same time.
Annoying? Yes, because in the school of thought to which I subscribe, which
happens to highlight an intense narcissistic mantra, I am supposed to
be the center of the universe, and people should adjust accordingly. I know, I
am a jerk. I digress. Amazing? Back on topic, yes, because once again this
mantra clashes with a totally different reality where I find myself to be a
foreigner in my own country, a proud one with many nations that speak a plethora of languages and vary in terms of culture. It never fails to hit
you with the realization that Manila is not the Philippines, something
that you will never really get to know unless you get out of the capital more often.
My inability to express myself in another Philippine language is one of my biggest frustrations, so huge that sometimes I want to go back in time around half a year before I was born so I could convince my parents to move out of Manila, and then I would grow up trilingual. Anyway, the first big language blunder of the day was pronouncing Mambajao like any other English speaker would, at least when it comes to the J. It appears that the locals pronounce it with a Spanish J, albeit less guttural; in short, a Tagalog H. So noob of me! I seem to have forgotten that the Visayas area is more hardcore Spanish-influenced than Manila could ever wish it was. Place names here are more likely to date back to the Spanish colonial era, and thus pronounced appropriately.
If
you are planning to go to Camiguin, then I would suggest that you do so in
tandem with Cagayan de Oro, and then throw in some Bukidnon in there for some
Dahilayan zip line fun. Why am I suggesting this itinerary? Well, going to
Camiguin feels like going to Europe, if we talk about travel time. I left
Makati at 3 AM and arrived at GV Hotel Mambajao at around 2 PM. 11 hours,
seriously? It was a combination of different types of transportation: taxi
to airplane; plane to jeep; jeep to bus; bus to ferry; ferry to multicab. In
any case, my longest plane ride experience to date, a seven-hour flight from
Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo, would be my perennial favorite to win the
most-excruciating-ride-ever award, with that 12-hour Paka to Singapore trip on
a freezing bus in close second. Much has already been said online on how to
reach Camiguin, and I would no longer elaborate on that. I would recommend the
Manila – Cebu – Camiguin alternative via Cebu Pacific, though, if you want to save time.
Camiguin
is a small island which you could circumnavigate within three hours. Okay, that
verb made it sound like a trip to outer space. No space ships involved here! A
multicab would suffice. Of course, the length of time would greatly vary if you
do it by bike or on foot. In terms of tourist attractions, they say you could
cover most of them in a day if you start very early, but then again, why
pressure yourself? If you are looking for some laid back vacation, you could
easily spend a week here by taking everything slow. Let me warn you, though,
that Camiguin is not Boracay. It can compete in terms of beaches that are
aesthetically pleasing to look at, but night life is close to non-existent. No
fire dancers. No parties. Just dark alleys and bikers huddled in groups waiting
for instant income in the form of a lost tourist in need of a ride. If you
desperately need food, Rooftop is open 24 hours, and so is the bakery nearby.
Honestly,
I just wanted to sleep as part of my new stress free to-hell-with-the-world
program. With no full-time job and just a few shifts in the evening before
midnight, I now have a lot of free time, and I intend to consume most of it by
sleeping. However, I felt like it did not seem right. If I wanted to do just
that, then why bother leaving at all? I had to see something, but first I had
to eat something. This is one of my first few impressions about Camiguin; there
seems to be a shortage of eateries and absolutely no fast food at all. I ended
up at a pizza place where around half a dozen Caucasians were having a rather
large pizza. Pizza, it is then, and an ice-cold bottle of Pepsi! The lunch dilemma is solved.
One
of the many bikers there offered a ride when I started asking for directions on
how to reach this and that. It was either a trip to White Island or Katibawasan
Falls. The falls eventually won, along with a visit to some government-sponsored
hot springs called Ardent. I am not sure about the government-sponsored part,
but I did see somewhere that the local government unit is somehow involved. But
first, let us talk about the waterfall, which is situated ten minutes by
habal-habal from where GV Hotel is.
This
one is quite high and a bit commercialized, or is that even the right term for it?
The base has been furnished with some sort of asphalt corners, making it look
less natural but evidently safer for everyone. The last thing you would like to
worry about is your kid getting dragged all the way downstream if not for those
cement barriers. The waterfall itself and the surrounding greenery maintain Mother
Nature’s vibe, and there is something hypnotic about it, which is more or less
true for most waterfalls. As the jets of water shoot down from above, the
resulting impact with the surface of the pool down below causes some sort of
tranquil chaos, an ironic and endless cycle of water giving in to gravity and
flowing downwards.
The
verdant leaves dance to the tune of clashing water as they sway to the pressure
derived from such natural phenomenon. Listening to it, you would think that you
are in some perpetual war with Mother Earth as your ears suffer from a barrage of
noise pollution. Not to worry! This does not last long. That feeling of
uncertainty would eventually be replaced by serenity, once your ears tune in to
the beat of all the water movement and your eyes catch the hypnotic dance of
the surrounding flora. The Earth has its own rhythm, which could be soothing if
you allow yourself to get to know it better. Hey, this is even better than sleeping!
The
day ended at Ardent Hot Springs, where the hot springs are not so hot but
rather just warm. I wanted something hot, like boiling hot, for some end-of-day
relaxation, but this would do. Composed of several pools with water coming
directly from Mount Hibok-Hibok, this place has tarpaulins explaining that the
water is of varying pH degrees, which means that there is some sort of
therapeutic effect for people suffering from various ailments ranging from skin
disease to rheumatism. They also warn you that the sulfur content would make
the place smell like rotten eggs. However, my nostrils never really sensed
anything foul. Time flies so quickly when you are in a state of repose. I think
I spent around two hours just lazing around in the water. Day one, done!
MAMBAJAO: It's Mambajao with a Spanish J
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