Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon, and Camiguin in 3 Days

The wait is over! After 2 years and many requests from my friends, I found the time to write about our trip to Cagayan de Oro (CDO) & Camiguin.

The thing is, it took me some time to blog about our Misamis Oriental gettaway because the itinerary I made for this trip wasn't exactly followed. The weather, changes in flight schedules, and other factors forced us to divert from our original plan and just go with the flow. Well, that's usually not a bad thing as they say true travellers do not plan and just get lost in beautiful lands. Unfortunately, we wanted to visit so many places and do a lot of things in CDO, Bukidnon, & Camiguin but only had 4 days and the only way we can do that successfully is to plot everything.

In 2010, my ex-officemates and I were able to score piso fare tickets to CDO. 9 of us, Marv, Toni, Justin, Marvin, Jobs, Ian, Reg, Kit, and I, were scheduled to fly to CDO in January 2011 and we were already preparing for the trip a few months before the actual date.

Fortunately, I have relatives who live in CDO (shout out to my pretty cousin, Annya, and gorgeous aunts, Tita Ami and Tita Grace) who helped us create our itinerary. Our list of things-to-do included eating ostrich cuisine, try out white water rafting, ride the zipline in Dahilayan, and jump to Camiguin. The tricky part is 6 of us will be arriving one day ahead of the others so we need to cramp everything in just 3 days.

Day 1
Jan 24, Mon

Marv, Marvin, Reg, Kit, & I (Justin backed out last minute due to personal reasons) arrived in CDO one hour later than our scheduled time due to flight delays, as usual. Originally, we planned to stay in a condotel, arranged by Tita Ami, unfortunately, due to the need to save a few bucks, we decided to stay in a cheaper inn (until now, I still feel embarassed about this because of the hassle I gave my aunt).

Marv and I were going to spend our first night with my relatives while our friends check out the city. I was really thrilled that I had the chance to see Annya, Tita Ami, and Tita Grace after 10 years perhaps! And despite our late arrival, they waited patiently for Marv and I at Honeybaked, a cute restaurant downtown.

We only had a couple of hours for chitchat since my aunts had to work and Annya had classes the next day. But this is indeed one of my most favorite parts of the trip -- the time spent with family whom you haven't seen in years is PRICELESS.

My beautiful aunts and baby cousin, Annya, at Honeybaked

Greetings from the Saniel Family

Too bad I wasn't able to meet Tito Dindo, Mama Nena, and my other cousins since they had work / classes because it was a weekday and my schedule was jampacked for the next few days.

After dinner, Marv and I rode a tricycle to Limketkai Center since we were meeting our friends in Candy's, a cute cafe / restaurant there for some drinks. We all decided to spend our first night singing our hearts out in a videoke place in Divisoria. We scored a couple of 100s in videoke thanks to Kit who happened to be the best singer in our group, nax.

Marv and I were already tired and went back to the hotel at around 3:00 AM while the three were left there. Our plan the next day was to wake up at 7:00 AM and go to Dahilayan Park to try its ziplines.

Day 2
Jan 25, Tue

The next day, only Marv and I pushed through with our plan to ride the ziplines in Dahilayan Park. Our friends decided to sleep in since they went back to the hotel at around 5:00 in the morning already. We just planned to meet later in the afternoon once Toni, Jobs, and Ian arrived in CDO.

Initially, we arranged a van from Dahilayan Park to pick us up from CDO but the van had a minimum number of passengers requirement and since there were only two of us, we decided to just commute via all sorts of public transportation to get to Dahilayan Park.

Thanks to the internet and instructions from helpful bystanders, Marv and I were able to determine how to get there. From our inn, we took a cab to Gusa Terminal to catch a van bound for Libona. We probably waited inside the van for almost an hour because it wasn't full yet but perhaps after an hour of waiting, the driver decided to go ahead.

We instructed the driver to drop us off at Camp Phillips and the travel time from Gusa to Camp Phillips took around 2 hours but I enjoyed every minute of the ride. When we arrived at Camp Phillips, the first things that you'll see are habal-habal (public utility motorcycles) and a big pineapple statue, which will welcome you to the huge DOLE plantation hehe.

To reach the park, we had to ride a habal-habal. Marv made a deal with the driver -- he will take us to Dahilayan Park, wait for us for about an hour or two, and then take us back to Camp Phillips. A bit shaky, I climbed on the motorcycle, sitting in the middle of the driver and Marv -- it was my first time to ride a habal-habal, eeeekkkk!

We had to pass through rough roads, slopes, and the enormous pineapple plantation! The sun, wind, and the view made the ride an unforgettable experience. Glad to say that I enjoyed my first habal-habal ride even if it took us more than an hour to reach the park since our motorcycle had a flat tire. Luckily, it seemed like it came out of nowhere, we saw a vulcanizing shop!!! Haha. The driver had the tire fixed while Marv and I took some photos.

When we got to Dahilayan Park, Marv and I immediately bought our tickets and chose the longest zipline first. When we went there, the park boats of the longest zipline in Southeast Asia. I almost backed out when the woman ahead of me in line started crying and asked to be taken back to the park's common area haha! I almost fainted when they started strapping me in my harness and a few seconds before they let go of me, I asked them for the last time if they could just unstrap me as I no longer wanted to experience the zip. Guess what? They didn't listen and instead, pushed me.

For the first few seconds, I screamed my lungs out and then eventually, I started to enjoy the ride. Good thing I was wearing my jacket since the air up there was cold.

Not bad for some who's terrified of heights, right?

After we conquered the longest and highest zipline, the other ones were already pretty easy (haha yabang!).

We even tried doing it upside down and boy, was Marv scared! Hahaha!

Aminin niyo, not bad, right?

Once we have tried all the ziplines, we decided to go back to CDO since we still needed to freshen up before we meet the others for dinner.

When Jobs, Ian, and Toni were already settled in their room, all 8 of us went to Limketkai Center since the famous Kagay-anon Restaurant was there. This restaurant, somewhat pricey, is known because of its signature ostrich dishes and delicious Filipino cuisine.





With Toni





Ostrich Salpicao, Kagay-anon Restaurant is known for its ostrich dishes

Baked scallops

 

Buttered Chicken

Team CDO (L-R): Marv, Pareng Ian, Jobs, Moi, Toni, Kit, Reg, Marvin

I think the others went out for some drinks while us, couples, Jobs & Ian and Marv & I, decided to sleep early. We had a full day the next day and it would start at 5:00 AM.

Day 3
Jan 26, Wed

We woke up at 5:00 AM & got ready -- Bugsay, the white water rafting company, will be picking us up at 5:30 AM. It was still dark when we got to their office as our guides still had to pack paddles, helmets, life jackets, etc.

By the way, Tita Ami organized this tour for us -- she was the one who called her friends from Bugsay for our reservations. And guess what? We got one person for free! Thank you Bugsay and Tita Ami! So the 8 of us just split the total bill.

Before going to the river, our Bugsay guides took us first to a small cave. Took us about 5-10 minutes and we requested that we wanted to start with the water activities already. We were so excited!

 

The sun was already up when we reached the river. Our guides had to orient us before we start the activity. Some of the tips I recall are:

• Try to lay down when you fall off the raft so that your feet/legs don't get hit by rocks
• When the guide tells you to paddle, you paddle as strong as you can during each rapid
• Everytime you pass a rapid, you need to shout, "BUGSAY!"

Sounds fun, right? Well, it was!



Bugsay's guests for the day



Since there were 8 of us + 2 Koreans, we were split into two rafts. Reg, Kit, Marv, Toni were in Raft A while the 2 Koreans, Jobs, Ian, Marv, and I were in Raft B.

Our very first rapid!!!

And this is what happened after that rapid haha.

Bugsay!



They call this our "Graduation" -- they made us climb up a rock and then...

JUMP!



Bugsay guides are really good in entertaining and taking care of their guests. Aside from the fun paddling, they also gave us some free time to play in the water and to race.

But it won't be fun and complete if there was no one who fell into the water while paddling across a rapid.

READ: Our CDO White Water Rafting Experience

After our rafting adventure around 12:00 PM, Bugsay was kind enough to bring us back to Agora Terminal, where our journey to Camiguin will start.

There are two ways to go to Camiguin from CDO:

• The fastest yet more expensive way is via Macabalan Pier. However, the fast crafts only have limited schedules per day (only around 8:30 in the morning, I think) and hence, won't fit our schedule.
• What we did and which happens to be more affordable is via Balingoan Port. To go there, one has to ride a bus (headed to Butuan) from Agora Terminal and tell the driver to drop you off at Balingoan Bus Terminal (travel time is around 2 hours). From there, you may walk to the port or take a tricycle -- we chose to walk. Make sure you get there early in the afternoon since the last trip from Balingoan Port to Benoni Port, Camiguin is at 5:00 PM. Travel time from Balingoan to Benoni is around an hour but it took us more than an hour because of the strong current.

From Benoni Port, we hired a multicab that will take us to our house (Tita Grace helped us look for a place to stay in Camiguin and we got a whole house with 1 room, 1 kitchen, and a common area to ourselves) and then tour us around Camiguin for a half-day tour.

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate during our entire stay in Camiguin. And this experience has taught me one of the most important things one needs to know when you're travelling: check weather forecasts.

But the strong rain and wind did not stop us from touring Camiguin. Here are some places you can go to (but I recommend that you hire them for a whole day tour and start in the morning, standard rate is PhP1,500):

• Sunken Cemetery - this used to be a typical cemetery but when a volcano erupted, it caused some areas of the town as well as the cemetery to sink below sea level. Now, a huge cross stands in the ocean to remind people of their loved ones who were buried there.
• Ardent Hot Springs
• Sto Nino Cold Spring
• Soda Water Pool
• Old Catarman (Gui-ob) Church Ruins
• White Island - a small white sand beach 5-minutes away from Camiguin
• Katibawasan Falls

This is also where the movie, Ouija, was taken. Google it to find out why I was freaked out when we were there

No one brought a waterproof camera and since we didn't want our cameras to get soaked in the rain, no one took them out of our drybags; hence, not much photos in Camiguin haha.


Day 4
Jan 27, Wed

The four of us, Ian, Jobs, Marv and I took a boat to White Island. Due to the strong winds, the short boat ride to the island was bumpy. I never felt happier when we reached a small island with fine white sand.

Marv's camera died when we got to White Island; we had to have it fixed when we got back to Manila. Good thing Jobs brought one too.

Bombastar as always

Jobs and I doing jump shots albeit the gloomy weather

We spent our time on White Island, bought pastel from the original Vjandep Store in Camiguin, and went back to CDO via Benoni-Balingoan again. It was a short but sweet stay in Camiguin; I just wished the weather cooperated. But that means I have another reason to go back there, right?

After buying pasalubong and doing a quick city tour, we went to airport to catch our night flight back to Manila.


My Take on CDO, Bukidnon, & Camiguin

In spite of our short stay in Misamis Oriental, we were able to do and see most of the tourist spots and activities that they offered. But I wish I we stayed longer so that Marv and I were able to be with my family.

People in CDO, which is known to be the City of Golden Friendship, live up to its name and are genuinely friendly. They helped us get to where we wanted to go. The travel to Camiguin would have been easier and more comfortable if we did it via Mabacalan Port -- even kids and oldies can visit Camiguin.

But I would not trade the habal-habal experience going to Dahilayan Park for any van or private transportation. The ride gave me some sort of adrenaline rush while enjoying the view. I felt like one of the locals who would ride the habal-habal if they wanted to go somewhere.

And I would definitely recommend Bugsay to anyone who'd like to experience white water rafting in CDO. Never leave CDO without doing this!



Sample Itinerary
Which we weren't able to follow but I'll just post it here

Contacts

Bugsay White Water Rafting
Tel: (088) 309 1991
Cell: 0917-3-BUGSAY
Website: http://bugsayrafting.com/