By J.A. Fillarca
WHATEVER gloominess I may have been feeling for the previous months, what with the eventful goings-on in my life, gave me all the more reason to grab the opportunity for the most sought R and R I could get last weekend to again be a witness of the 26th Anniversary of the Lanzaones Festival in Camiguin and to savor a much-needed revitalization, if I may say that.
By and large, the festival was at its usual splendor. My admiration over it has never faded through time. Compared to last year though, the Lanzones fruit is really in its profusion!
Camiguin is situated in the northern tip of Northern Mindanao, a 64-kilometer island that lies between the Bohol Sea and Mindanao Sea.
For all nature-loving folks, Camiguin is a must-visit place. In fact, the Department of Tourism advocates the island as one of the tourist-destinations in Philippines.
True to form, Camiguin is paradise on earth. While in Camiguin, one should not miss being in places like--the c-shaped White Island and its other pristine beaches, the Katibawasan water falls, its natural springs - hot and cold, travel back in time and see in your mind's eye to put back the pieces of the church ruins still evident and the cemetery that have become sunken, or savor its natural bounty--this year's lanzones fruit really abounds. For those who love the mountains, be on high, as you trek the island's famous Mt. Hibok-Hibok and other peaks.
If the above destinations really are a part of my indispensable itinerary every time I am in Camiguin, there are also areas I have been in this last visit I consider as breaks in that journey.
First on that is the Soda pool. Geographically, Camiguin is endowed with 7 volcanoes. This though may sound disparaging. Because when we speak of volcanoes, we always equate it to the destruction it would cause upon its outburst. For all we know, even up to this time, the island keeps on evolving.
What with the continual movement of the Earth! To my mind, the presence of this projections and its geographical formation per se is what makes Camiguin what it is. For example, why the presence of the hot springs? Naturally, because of the chemical processes underground that caused the release of hot spring water! Well, found in Catarman, is the newly opened soda pool. Scientifically, soda or otherwise known as carbonated water found in most of our beverages, contains an amount of sodium bicarbonate - an alkaline, believed to have medical effects that helps neutralize an acidic stomach. It is a by-product of the normal atmospheric high pressure underground, thus, the volcanic formations inherent in the island. The next I will be stepping in Camiguin, I'll include in my Things-to-do-while-in-the-island to take a dip in the soda pool. It must have a positive effect for the body. To avail of the amenities of the place, you only get to pay a minimal fee of P10-15 pesos.
Another stop over in the journey, is the Giant Clam Ocean Nursery, a project of the Community-Based Livelihood Assistance Special Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources which is found in So Kibila, Cantaan, Guinsiliban. The program is for the conservation of the soon-to-be extinct giant clamshells. In the area are 6 species, 4 of which locally survives in the island, while the two other classes, the Tridacna Gigas and the Tridacna Derasa came all the way from Bolinao, Pangasinan. The Cantaan Youth Marine Resource Angelo King Association (CYMRAKA) takes charge of the subsistence of these species. My heart goes well for this same move of the preservation of the same. As Gifford Pinchot has said "Worldwide practice of conservation and the fair and continued access by all nations to the resources they need are the two indispensable foundations of continuous plenty and of permanent peace."
To make your stay more comfy while in Camiguin, take lodgings of its newest place offerings, the Villa Paraiso Resort. It is found in the heart of Camiguin.
A 2-storey stylish apartment type dwelling with a pool as one of its come-on amenities. For all those planning to visit the place, this is one place I'm sold out with.
Also, among my best bits in our 2-day stay in Camiguin was the superb dinner hosted by the ever-gracious owners of the Camiguin Highland Resort, as its wy of saying thank you for their 1st anniversary. If you want a much-deserved rest apart from the harried life we usually have in the City, then, you opt to stay in this resort. You could not imagine being in that luxurious place almost at the top of the mountain.
For me, Camiguin will remain the nearest get-away for an ailing heart and mind, physiologically and figuratively. So, the next time you see me alone in the island, you bet I may be in a heart-trending mode!
Sunstar
