Camiguin has lots of hot and cold springs, and we chose to go this one, out of the many springs in the area to save time. Plus the rumor that the water here tastes like soda, made us want to visit it more. We were anxious to get in and find out for ourselves the taste of this so-called Soda pool.

Upon entering the place, you’d instantly see huge banners of soft drinks in the area, which sort-of made it more believable that this could be a real soda-pool.

But you wont really find an answer what’s the content of this pool. The locals had devised some kind of  script on tourists there, because when you ask what’s in it.. They’d always reply with the cliche ‘just see for yourself’. And we did. Not only did we ‘see it for ourselves‘, we tasted the water, and tasted it more… and more… and more. For some reason, every taste doesn’t taste like soda, it’s just regular water. We thought our taste buds were just missing it.

It was after our trip that we knew we were played, Soda Swimming pool is not called by it’s name because it tastes like soda. It’s the bubbly characteristic of the water that made it the Soda Swimming pool that it is.

This is a great joke if you’re traveling with many people. Keep this secret to your self as well, and have the trip of your life.

Fees and Fares

Entrance Fee :20php/person

*Based on October 2008 trip

More pictures of Camiguin here:

(click on the picture to view the album)

How to go to Camiguin

Mambajao Island, is located near Camiguin. Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have regular flights going to Cagayan de oro. Fare ranges from 2000 to 5000 pesos. (One way, non-promo fare)

Check out our Travel Promos category for the latest promo fare from Cebu Pacific Air and Philippine Airlines.

For our trip, we took a taxi from Cagayan de Oro Airport to take us to Balingoan, were the ferries bound to Camiguin can be found. The ferry trip is about 1 to 1.5 hours long, where it will dock at the port of Benoni. Ferry fare to Camiguin is P135.00. (October 2008)

How to go to Mantigue

From Mantigue, we stayed at Enigmata Tree House, where in the receptionist at the area arranged us with a boat going to Mambajao. Alternatively, you can find boat men in the ports of Benoni, or at Mantigue to take you there.

What to See – Tourist Spot in Camiguin

Mantigue has  a very rich aquatic life. Upon going there through boat, we can already see the sea grounds near the island. There were lots of corals, fishes, and star fishes you can see from that point.

Mantigue is perfect for diving and snorkeling, though we werent able to do that because we came there late. What we did is just stroll around the island, where in we were still able to take a look at Mantigue’s aquatic life.

From Mantigue, you can still view the beautiful island of Camiguin, including Mt. Timpoong.

Camiguin, as seen from Mantigue

Fares and Fees

Ferry fare to Camiguin : P135.00

Boat Fare going to Mantigue : about P1100.00

More pictures of Mantigue and Camiguin here:

(Click on the picture to view the album)

Gecko sculpture at Enigmata

How to go to Camiguin

Cebu Pacific and Philippine Airlines have regular flights going to Cagayan de oro. Fare ranges from 2000 to 5000 pesos. (One way, non-promo fare)

For our trip, we took a taxi from Cagayan de Oro Airport to take us to Balingoan, were the ferries bound to Camiguin can be found. The ferry trip is about 1 to 1.5 hours long, where it will dock at the port of Benoni. Ferry fare to Camiguin is P135.00. (October 2008)

How to go to Enigmata Tree House

From the port of Benoni, take a jeep going to Mambajao. Tell the driver to drop you off at Enigmata Tree House. Most jeepney drivers and passengers knows where it is. But in case they don’t, just watch out for a 10-foot igorot statue on the road. That’s where the tree house is.

The tree house of Enigmata

What to See – Tourist Spots in Camiguin

Enigmata Tree house is a nature-inspired hotel or lodge. It is built in a tree, and has four rooms available for rent.

Here are the room types available at Enigmata: (source:enigmatatreehouse.com)

• Bartender’s Backpackers Room
  at the bar with rooftop for moon gazingPhp200 per pax four persons shared toilet and bath
• Swing Garden Backpackers
  right beside the mother acacia treePhp250 per pax8 persons private toilet and bath
• Shell Garden Suite
  Php950 per 2 paxplus Php200 per extra pax4 persons private toilet and bath
• Eagles Nest Suite
  P950 per 2 pax plus 200 for each additional personprivate toilet and bath

The tree house is environment-friendly. Most of the items located in the house are recycled.

Recycled bottles makes up the walls of the mini-library in Enigmata

The reception area can be found at the ground floor of the tree house. In there are different hand-crafted souvenirs which visitors can buy. There’s also a class room (for arts and crafts), a library, and a music room in the reception.

Reception area

Outside the grounds of the tree house are different statues made by Kublai (resident artist of Enigmata Tree House) and other artists can be found.

One of Kublai's sculture in Enigmata

The room we availed at Enigmata was the 3rd floor room (Eagles Nest) where a star gazing area is available, at the very top of the tree.

There are two beds, and two extra ones available in the our room. Best feature of the room is that we have a private bathroom

One of the beds at our tree house room

On our last day at the tree house, we were treated to a hearty breakfast for free since it was the owner’s birthday that time. Our breakfast included organic brown rice from Bohol, bacon, egg, ham and coffee.

Visitors can also log on their guest book after a nice visit to the tree house. Here is the lame one I did:

Enigmata's guestbook

(Other post on Enigmata’s Tree House can be found HERE)

Fares and Fees in Camiguin

Fare from Balingoan to Benoni – P135.00

Jeep from Benoni to Enigmata – about P15.00

Enigmata Room Tree House: P900(base rate) + 400(2 additional pax) = P1300.00

Tips and Traps

• The tree house has limited rooms, reserve a room prior to your visit at Enigmata.
• The lights in the tree house are dim, and the electricity is turned off at night, so bring a flashlight.
• Don’t forget to bring your insect repelant. The tree house is open area and different insects visit you at night.
• The comfort room (in the room we availed) is open area, there are little holes in the bathroom, in case you are conscious with that, you can bring your sarong to cover up the bathroom.
• The path going to the tree house is not asphalted. Bring your most comfortable shoes/slippers for walking.

Sources

Enigmata Tree House website: http://www.enigmatatreehouse.com

More pictures of Enigmata Tree House in Camiguin

(click on the picture to view album)

This kid jumped from the third level of the ferry

One of our friend, (lets call her L)  ‘L’s most hated part during our tours was riding ferries. She easily gets sick and dizzy with these rides. Unfortunately for her, our February trip was full of ferry rides.

Ferries are the only transportation available for islands in the Philippines that aren’t connected by bridges  yet. It’s not always fun to ride Ferries, due to violent waves disturbing the seas at times.

Playing around at the cockpit of the ferry

Ferry rides can be looooong and boring, and seating for a long time always hurts my butt. So what else could you do inside the ferry other than sleep? Play around inside!

Talk to the locals beside you, ask them whats up to the place that you’re going to. They would always give you the most updated information. We actually found a great place to stay in at Siquijor, through the advice of a local we were seated with in the ferry.

Ask them what places are worth visiting or how much is the standard fee for vehicles in the area. You can also ask them if there are ‘aswangs’ or ghost there, hehe. Or better yet, you can navigate the boat yourself like what me and catnap did here:

Getting off the ferry is one of the exciting part of a tour. Just as when you see the island you’re suppose to go to seems so close. People would stand up and prepare their things. Everyone’s in a ‘go-mode’, People swarms to the exit, The door is about to be opened.

As soon as it opens… everyone runs, carrying their heaviest bags. Why do you ask? Jeepneys and Vans aren’t very common to most provinces. They get filled up fast, and if you’re a slow poke you’ll get left behind, and you’d probably have to wait for another van or jeepney, or worst, hire another vehicle to take you to your destination, which is costly.

The race going out of the ferry

We always participate in this marathon, The first person to get to the van/jeep has to reserve four seats immediately. There was this time in Camiguin, where some folks was ran to a parked van and started placing their things at the back of the vehicle, only to find out it was a private vehicle. Haha.

Virgin island as seen from a boat

Virgin Island – This is a crescent-moon shaped, white sandbar located in Panglao, Bohol. A few trees and mangroves abound the area. The mangroves are just starting to grow. Its sand is white and fine like any other 1st-class, white-sand beaches. There are no inhabitants in the area as the locals say that it submerges completely during high tide. Marine life like starfishes, sea urchins and fishes surround the region where the mangroves are growing (the hollow part of the crescent moon-shape). Crushed shells are also abundant in the shallow area so it is not advisable to swim and walk in this part. The islet is ideal for snorkeling though. The water is clear and deep enough that you can see the marine life thriving there.

White island as seen from the island itself

White Island – This is a small, irregularly-shaped sandbar located in Camiguin. Neither trees nor mangroves are planted here. There are also no inhabitants in the area as the islet also submerges completely during high tide. Its sand is a mixture of fine and coarse, powdery-white granules. Except for small fishes, there are no marine lives visible in the shallow part. There may be areas ideal for snorkeling, but I cannot guarantee what can be seen here since I haven’t tried it. The area is great for swimming as the shallow side is vast and is around 4ft deep (it depends on the tide). Just think of it as a beach with a huge swimming area. An added attraction is the Mt. Hibok-Hibok as background.

So which one is better?

• Swimming: White Island
• Snorkeling: Virgin Island
• Quality of Sand: White Island. It is a close race
• Travel time: White Island. Virgin Island is approximately 50 mins. from Alona Beach while White Island is about 15 mins from Paras
• Size: Virgin Island is larger
• Cleanliness: White Island. Sad to say, there are small litters in Virgin Island. I hope tourists are responsible enough to bring home their trash.
• View: Virgin Island. Both sandbars are magnificent. Virgin Island is best viewed from afar.

Overall, both sandbars are great and can be called a paradise. See for yourself and describe it as ^@#$*@#.