Sweeter the second time around | Camiguin, Philippines

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You can head over to Google and key in "must-visit destinations in Camiguin" to jumpstart another one-of-a-kind adventure in the tropical paradise that is the Philippines but luckily, I didn't have to do that for this particular trip as everything was prepared for us in advance. Yup, this is another incentive trip fully funded by the company I'm currently affiliated with.

Oh! Hi there! 😁 It was rude of me to start writing this travel blog as if I haven't been away for A MONTH! I wrote this post a month ago believing that I will finally be able to have better control over my work schedule but turned out I was wrong. A month is a long break from Hive but I certainly have no plans of extending it further. I have another meeting in less than 2 hours but I just need to quickly pen this post or the month hiatus might turn into six (6) or a year. It just feels nice to write again and reminisce this trip of mine.

Special treatment

I love solo backpacking and making the most out of my limited resources (financial side); it challenges my creativity and resourcefulness even my skills in planning and budgeting. But there's this side of incentive trips that I love the most: special treatment. We get to experience this again during our annual incentive trip to Camiguin. It came as a surprise when upon check-in we noticed an entire check-in counter solely alloted for our company. With this, we didn't have to worry about waiting in long lines. Sometimes, it's nice to be treated like VIPs, too!

It was supposed to be a smooth flight given that it was a sunny day in August 2019, but it turned out to be a rough flight filled with crazy turbulence every once in a while. It felt like riding a rollercoaster which I unexpectedly enjoyed while the rest of my workmates panicked and got scared that the plane would crash. 😂

Team Lunch

Nonetheless, we arrived in Camiguin in one piece. 😂 Right after claiming our checked-in baggage, the tour operator picked us up and the journey to one of the best incentive trips began.

From Camiguin Airport in Mambajao, it was roughly a 30-minute ride to our first stop, J&A Fishpen Resort and Restaurant. Camiguin is less crowded compared to other destinations in the Philippines such as El Nido, Cebu, and Siargao. We shared a sumptuous seafood lunch by the tranquil Taguines Lagoon; you could only imagine how this team lunch set the tone for the rest of the time we spent in Camiguin.

They're actually harvesting the seafood from their own fish pens so the freshness of the food is not an issue at all. This restaurant is kinda far from Camiguin's center so expect nothing but nature's blissful sound to serenade you in your future visit here.

Chill time, playtime

Another thing I love about this trip is that Day 1 was solely allotted for whatever we wanted to do. After checking in at Paras Beach Resort, we had the entire afternoon to chill by the beach, have some refreshing drinks, and play billiards; some even took power naps. It was actually my second time in this hotel; the first was during our Strategic Planning back in 2016.

Don't be fooled, I may look like I play billiards well but it was my first time and I absolutely despise the idea that there's something I couldn't do well despite trying so hard! 😂 Oh, maybe in another lifetime.

Right after realizing that I'm up for no good, I decided to hit the road in Camiguin. I shared it last time here.

It's adventure time!

Day 2 came swiftly and we were up early for our jampacked schedule that day. Glammed like ladies who just came out of puberty, we traveled to our first destination, Tuasan Falls.

Tuasan Falls was a bit far from our resort about 19km away but because we're in the countryside, it took us less than 30 minutes to get there. That's one thing I love about Camiguin, no traffic even in the center of this majestic Province.

Despite the fact that it's not my first time in Camiguin, I was still bursting with excitement to visit the destinations that I visited in 2016 including Tuasan Falls. Three years since my last visit, it was still standing mightily against all odds, exuding grace in all aspects you could ask from a waterfall. It might be narrower than other falls I've visited in other regions of the Philippines but its unique and often underrated charm never failed to bewitch me.

This time I was able to explore Tuasan Falls from other angles. One of my closest workmates who is based in Davao City and I found a spot where Tuasan's beauty was, for me, at its finest. What a waste of opportunity if we let it go without taking photos. Take note that Tuasan Falls is most likely included in standard tour packages in Camiguin; it's wise to come here early if you want to avoid the flock of tourists.

I obviously had so much fun in Tuasan. I love that I finally took a dip in its refreshing and calming water, something I wasn't able to experience during my first visit. I was also able to replace a not-so-good memory back in 2016 when I fell from a rock while taking a photo. Shit happens, but I just wish that shit didn't happen in front of my boss. HAHA!

Not everyone got themselves wet in Tuasan; some preferred to take photos and watched us have fun in the water. But of course, we need to take the mandatory group photo for documentation purposes. 😂

Hot spring on a tropical island

Camiguin is also known as "Island Born of Fire" because of the several active volcanoes and volcanic domes located on the island. Consequently, various natural hot springs are found in the area. One of which is the Ardent Hot Spring.

To be very honest, I was a bit disappointed with this destination. During the time of our visit, I find the place unpleasant; it wasn't terribly dirty or what, it's just that compared to other destinations, this place is less interesting. That's just my opinion tho.

The water in the manmade pool looked stagnant and unidentified particles were afloat, a number of mosquitoes were hovering over us during our stay and the water wasn't even that hot for this to be called a hot spring. My standard for hotness is kinda high! 😂

There are other springs in Camiguin that are far better than this; you might want to check them out instead. 😁

Now we're talking!

Our last destination that day was Mantigue Island. It's one of the best destinations and I should say something you don't want to miss whenever you visit Camiguin. During my first visit to Camiguin, we didn't visit Mantigue Island so the explorer in me was definitely excited to see this gem for the first time.

Whenever I travel solo, I conduct intensive research about the place I'm planning to visit, look at photos (a lot of them actually), and ensure that I know every single detail of the destinations on my list. Compared when traveling for incentive trips, I do nothing prior to the trip except either find the best OOTDs in my closet or buy new from thrift stores. And I just love that I get to do that, you know be surprised with what I'd see whenever we reach our destinations.

Mantigue Island surprised me. Picture me in the boat nearing the island with jaws dropped and even locked for a few seconds in utter amazement and fascination with this island's grandeur. From afar, it looked calm and humble but as we got nearer and nearer, it unfolded a beauty I haven't seen somewhere else. Even with the countless and equally beautiful islands I've visited, Mantigue Island offered nothing but pure bliss. There's always something new and more that the Philippines could offer. And even I, a Filipino, couldn't help but still be surprised.

Here are photos I took right after having lunch in Mantigue Island.

When we arrived, it was still too hot to even think about getting out there, exploring the other side of the island, or even swimming. So we took our time and did a quick photoshoot first under the shade of this tree.

The gang behind every single photo of me on the island. They took photography seriously; one workmate even brought his Fujifilm DSLR and volunteered to take photos of whoever wants to model for him. 😂

More photos, more proof of us having fun on the island...

After a few moments, we decided it was about time to swim; it was still too hot but we figured by the time the sun's nowhere to be seen, we'd be back in mainland Camiguin and that would mean we'd miss our chance fully experiencing Mantigue Island. We didn't want that to happen of course.

To give you an idea of how clear the water in Mantigue is, here are photos of us getting our much-deserved vitamin sea 😂 Take note that all photos in this post aren't edited. They're all raw and what you see if what you get, you have my word for that!

If it's not obvious in the photos, the waves were huge during our visit which added fun and excitement during our swimming. It's a shame we couldn't explore the marine sanctuary here for the same reason tho. Well, more reasons to come back!

More photos of me enjoying the beach on Mantigue Island:

We went home feeling refreshed and energized. It was a jampacked day for all of us and we couldn't wait for Day 3 to unfold.

That's about it for now, I'm just glad I was able to finish writing this post in one sitting! Patting my back for pushing myself a notch higher despite everything that's on my plate right now.

I promise it won't take another month before I tell you what happened during our Day 3 in Camiguin. I hope you stay tuned! 😁

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