Before the year would end, I would make my last journey.
The plan is to go to Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin with side trips for Iligan and Bukidnon.
The planned travel date would be November 3, 2011.
It would just be a four day vacation.
DAY 1:
It's another journey wherein there would be new people that I'm going to go with. We all met up in the airport. I met a new friend named Jameson. We would be staying in his place on our stay in CDO. Our flight would be 5:00 A.M. via Cebu Pacific Air. We arrived in the airport around 3 A.M. to get our boarding pass. By 5:25 A.M, we already arrived in the airport. We didn't have to worry about the transportation because Jameson has hired someone to take us to the different places we would like to go. We had breakfast first in Jollibee and by 7:30, we are on our way to our destination.
First stop is the Divine Mercy Shrine located in El Salvador, Misamis Oriental. It is a very sacred place. You wouldn't be able to go inside if your wearing mini skirt, shorts, sleeveless and any revealing clothes. If you are wearing shorts or skirts, they will provide with a long skirt that you need to wear and a cloth cover if you are wearing tops or sleeveless. When you get inside the place, you would be able to see a big statue of the Divine Mercy Christ and below it are his rays. Overlooking the place is Macajalar Bay.
We then head on to our next destination, Maria Cristina Falls. It is also sometimes called the "Twin Falls" because there is a rock that would separate them. Just like what's said on our history books, it is a hydroelectric plant and it provides electricity to the city. It has an entrance fee of P35.00 and you could also stay there to have lunch by bringing your own food or purchasing it there. They also have a small zoo there and zipline.
Next stop would be Tinago falls which is located not quite far from Maria Cristina falls. I just remembered, when I watched the movie "Forever and a day", a movie by Sam Milby and KC Concepcion, he mentioned that it has 443 steps. When we arrived there, you still have to walk from the parking lot for vans/cars going to the entrance. In the entrance, you have to enter your complete information and have to pay P20.00 for the entrance. You will have to pay an extra fee for the life vest. One has to pay extra also if you wanted to use a cottage or a raft to go near the falls. We had lunch there and also we went swimming for awhile.
After enjoying that swim, we then visited the Macapagal-Macaraeg Ancestral Home. There is no entrance fee when you visit it. It is the house of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when she was still a kid. When you go inside the house, you would be able to see the office of Diosdado Macapagal. In the living room area, you would see a painting of Gloria when she was still young. When you get upstairs, you would be able to see on the walls pictures of Arroyo when she's getting married and also when she had her first child. When you reach the top, you would be able to see there 3 rooms. I don't know who owns those rooms but surely one of it is Gloria's. They also have there a big dining area, lanai area and ground. Outside the house, there is a statue of two couples on a swing. There is also a miniature doll house outside in which Gloria would be playing.
Supposedly, we will be going to Timoga Spring but we are not amazed by the place. We decided to just purchase delicacies our friends back in Cebu. The very well known delicacy in Iligan would be the Cheding's peanuts. The 1/4 kilo peanuts would cost P40.00 and a different price for the others.
After purchasing those delicacies, we then head back to CDO. We had our dinner in a restaurant in CDO. It's a dinner buffet which would cost only P99.00. We then visited Limketkai, a very well known mall in CDO for a short visit. We then went to Camella Homes since that is where Jameson's house is located. We will be staying there for the night and then hit the road tomorrow.
DAY 2
We woke about 6:00 A.M and our itinerary for the day would be Water Rafting. We had a take out breakfast from Mcdonalds since we need to arrive in our location by 8:00 A.M.
We already booked on this rafting with The Great White Water Rafting. Rafting is a very challenging outdoor activity wherein you will have to pass through different levels of waves. There's the beginners course, advance course and extreme course.
We just took the advanced course.
The Great White Water Rafting employees are the ones leading us to the location. Supposedly, we would be riding the jeepney they provided but instead we just took the van with us and followed the trail going to the location. This package cost P1000 per person and it excludes the snacks. When we arrived in the location, we had to wear the life vest and helmet and get our paddles. There are a lot of people who are going on water rafting that day. Those that are included in our group for the orientation are also from Cebu. I'm sure that they are BPO agents. From the orientation, I learned the terms that are used such as "high five" (at the same time raising of the paddles) which would actually mean that you have conquered or succeeded those waves, "paddle" which would mean everyone should paddle, "paddle back" which means you will have to paddle backwards depending upon the side that you are in on the raft. We are very excited after the orientation since we would have to start the journey with the waves
Our guide for the trip is Cocoy a.k.a Cocoy Martin with his subordinate Warren and our photographer Jun-jun.
The first waves we encountered was JJR(Joke Joke Ra) which means its just a joke wave and there is no challenge to it. The other names of the waves are L, S, and etc.
We have passed through a lot of waves and at the advance course, there was a part wherein the other people in the group fell while I was able to hold on but was thrown off to a different part of the raft.
The whole 3 hours trip was really fun. Cocoy was really funny and we enjoyed the experience, the new jokes we learned and also the history.
After the adventures in the waters, its time now to head to the mountains. We head off to Bukidnon for our zipline adventure. We left about 1 P.M in CDO and we arrived in Dahilayan about 4 P.M. It took us awhile to get there because of the heavy traffic due to road repair. We even got lost because the driver doesn't know the way to get there. We were able to pass through Del Monte, the maker of pineapples in the Philippines. There's a field full of Pineapples when you pass by the road.
When we arrived in Dahilayan, it's raining and the place is closed. Since it would be a waste of time to go back to CDO and back in Dahilayan, we decided to stay there for the night and rent a room. It was fully booked in Pine Grooves hotel so we moved to another nearby hotel which is the Forest Park. We got a room twin room there which would cost P 2,800 a night. The feeling being in that place on a rainy evening is like in Baguio, it's very cold. The place is nice and the staffs are also very accommodating. The food is quite expensive since their Pork Stew cost P 170.00.
That night, we got drunk and talk about our love life. I was so sleepy so I headed to the bed.
Day 3
We woke up at 7 A.M and had our breakfast. After breakfast, we purchased our tickets for the Zipline. We purchased the ticket for P 600.00 since we chose to ride the longest zipline which is the 840m and the 320m + 150m. On my own opinion, there is no challenge for that longest zipline. I was not even scared compared to my first zipline experience in Danao, Bohol. After the zipline, we just roam around the place and took pictures.
We then left Bukidnon and went back to CDO to get our things. After getting our things, we purchased our other 'pasalubongs'. We then left CDO to go to Villa Arcadia. That resort is owned by our friend Jameson and its near the port going to Camiguin.
We stayed there for a night since tomorrow would be our Camiguin trip.
Day 4
It's my second visit in Camiguin. The first one was way back 1999.
We left 6:30 A.M in our place and then went to the port. We should be in the port by 6:45 since that would be our trip but we were late. We took the next ferry which is by 7:15. It's a 1 hour trip so we got there by 8:15. We had our breakfast in a nearby cafeteria. We then took the multicab that we rented for P 1,500. The first place we've been to is the Katibawasan falls. The entrance fee there is P 15.00 for adults. We just took a picture of the falls and left.
We ate that delicacy in Camiguin also.
We then went to Ardent Hot Spring and took pictures as well but did not dip in. The weather is not good when we arrived in the hot spring since its raining.
We then headed to the area where we are going to ride a pump boat going to White Island. White Island is very famous in Camiguin since you would only see it when the tide is low but if the tide is high, then you wouldn't see it since it would sink. The payment for the pump boat would be P 500. We just stayed there for a few minutes since its very hot. Though there are umbrellas that you could rent for P 100.00 but it doesn't seem to be a good idea to stay there longer. We just had pictorial sessions and then left afterwards.
After being back in Camiguin, we visited the Sto. Niño Cold Spring, Bura Natural Soda Water Swimming Pool,Old Catarman Church Ruinsand the Sunken Cemetery.
I heard a history about Camiguin that in 2008, many people died because the volcano exploded and many people died but there is just one church that remained unharmed and everyone believed that its miraculous.
After finishing one whole day for the trip, we then purchased 'pasalubong' and went back to Villa Arcadia.
We packed our things since the next day would be our trip back to Cebu.
Day 5
We woke up at 2 in the morning and then left Villa Arcadia to go to the airport. Our departure would be 6:00 AM and arrival in Cebu would be 7:00 A.M via Cebu Pacific. It was my first time to fly with one of the small airplanes of Cebu Pacific. When we got our boarding pass, they have to weigh us in including the things that we brought. When we boarded the plane, there was a cute flight attendant. I was not able to get his name. I'm hoping in my next flight in Cebu Pacific, I would meet him.
We had a safe arrival in Cebu and is back to reality.
