Jay Javier
Camiguin was never part of my must-see places list. That list was short, and it always had been Batanes on top, and the rest of the entries are a blur. but since I’ve been there already -would love to come back, though- I had to go somewhere else.
And then photographer-friend Jay Javier just had to tell the RFilipinas group that his assistant won’t be available for a Camiguin workshop he’d be conducting. Somehow, I got the part.
So that makes this one FREE trip #2 for this year. And it doesn’t even relate to my actual work at all.
The workshop dates were May 1-4, but the first day would be allotted for the workshop, and the last day will be an early morning trip back. The plane ride to Cagayan de Oro, the 2 hour land trip to Balingoan port, and the hour-long ferry tide to Camiguin itself sounded real neat to me, since I’ve never been outside of Luzon, and I’m even going to skip Visayas this time.
We settled at the Camiguin Highland Resort, had lunch mid-afternoon due to a flight delay, rested a bit and prepared for the workshop. Jay and I didn’t get to sleep the night before, as I was also working on a video slideshow of his photos. The lectures ended late in the evening, and a lot of us were all too tired to complete the discussions slated for the day.
Camiguin’s White Island was the first destination for the next day, a sandbar with white sand, and a great view of the island. My Horizon panoramic camera had a heyday that time, here’s hoping the photos will come out good enough.
The beach scenes were typical, but a little girl who sat on a plastic chair writing on her diary was the scene of the day. Ah, the making of an angsty individual!
Girl writing on her journal at White Island
Next stop was Ardent Hot Springs, where Sunshine, one of the workshoppers became an impromptu model for some of us:
Jay and Sunshine at an impromptu shoot at Ardent Hot Springs
Outside Katibawasan Falls, our next stop, was where some of us had crispy kiping smothered in arnibal. Interesting, as I’m more familiar with the Lucban variety.
And the falls? Very cool, not a lot of people around, and the water was just above 4 feet. There were a lot of kids to shoot photos of, too.
Kids at Katibawasan Falls
Up next was the Enigmata Treehouse Galeri, which was apparently an artist community’s abode with plenty of sculptures and fauna around. We were served fern pizza as well, with sweet salabat. Jay and I concluded that this would be very interesting accommodations for our group if ever we decide to set foot in Camiguin again.
Enigmata Treehouse
Last stop was the Sunken Cemetery. Quick reference to why its called such:
Located in Bonbon, Catarman a huge cross marker has been installed by the Provincial government to mark the community cemetery that sunk during the 1871 volcanic holocaust. Years ago, gravestones were visible during low tide. Today, it is an interesting diving site (source)
And here’s one take of mine of the unique almost-sundown scene:
Cross at the Sunken Cemetery
View the Flickr photoset here.
More on Camiguin on next entry.
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