SUMMARY: Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon

Hello there! First of all, I want to greet you all a happy Sunday! I have always loved Saturdays more than Sundays but these past few weeks I've been really blessed and was able to enjoy a lot of family time during the 7th day of the week so I'm starting to love it a lot. Although I'm still a Saturday person! Possibly forever and always lol

Anyway!!! As promised I am back to share with you our itinerary and rough list of expenses for day 3 and day 4 as well of my Northern Mindanao adventure. To give you a heads up though, since we availed the package solely from Red Rafts I won't have it divided anymore. So sorry, I already forgot and pretty much didn't ask how much is everything if done independently from a package.

DAY 3: SAMPLE ITINERARY

• 07:00am to 08:00am - Pick up from hotel / travel time to drop-off point for river rafting / orientation or briefing
• 08:00am to 12:00nn - White water river rafting 
• 12:00nn to 12:45pm - Lunch / shower and dress up
• 12:45pm - Departure to Bukidnon
• 02:30pm - Expected time of arrival at Dahilayan Adventure Park
• 05:00pm - Departure to Cagayan de Oro
• 07:00pm - ETA at hotel
• 07:00pm to 08:00pm - Rest / wash up
• 08:00pm - Dinner / socials / beer night
• 10:00pm - ETA back at the hotel

DAY 3: ROUGH LIST OF EXPENSES

(Please note that this is individually quoted and based on the number of persons who traveled which is in our case 4)

• Breakfast in McDonald's - P100 (because I'm legit matakaw)
• Packaged tour from Red Rafts - P2,300 per pax (transportation to drop-off point for white water rafting, Dahilayan Adventure Park in Bukidnon, and back to hotel, white water rafting advance intermediate course, Dahilayan Adventure Park Zip Zones - longest dual, 150m, and 350m, lunch)
• Pictures during our white water rafting adventure - P50
• Snacks - P50
• Dinner - P200 (again because I'm legit matakaw)

TOTAL: 2,700/PERSON

DAY 4: SAMPLE ITINERARY

(This day was supposed to be for our Tinago Falls Day Tour but since we weren't able to come then I'll be writing only what we were able to do)

• 09:00am - Wake up / breakfast from hotel
• 10:00am - Leave for Vjandep Bakeshop
• 10:30am - Arrival at Vjandep
• 11:30am - Departure to Gaisano Mall for SLERS
• 12:00nn - Arrival at Gaisano
• 12:30pm - Lunch at Ayala Mall Cagayan de Oro
• 01:30pm - ETA back at hotel / rest / dress up
• 02:30pm - Departure from hotel to Laguindingan International Airport
• 04:00pm - ETA at Laguindingan Internation Airport

DAY 4: ROUGH LIST OF EXPENSES

(Please note that this is individually quoted and based on the number of persons who traveled which is in our case 4)

• Breakfast from hotel - P150
• Tricycle from hotel to terminal of jeepneys going to Vjandep - P10
• Jeep from terminal to Vjandep Bakeshop - P13
• Pasalubongs from Vjandep (we're all heavy pasalubong buyers we take it seriously, must warn you ahead of time haha) - P800 to P1,000
• Jeep from Vjandep Bakeshop to Gaisano Mall - P13
• Pasalubongs from SLERS - P300 to P500
• Lunch at Ayala Mall - P200
• Tricycle back to hotel - P10
• Cab from hotel to airport - P200
• Airport terminal fee - P200

TOTAL: 1,896 to 2,296/PERSON

I repeat these are rough estimates and solely based on how I budget my money when traveling which is not high maintenance but not strict either. You can still maximize or minimize this according to how you prefer.

PLACES OR ACTIVITIES YOU SHOULDN'T MISS

1. White Water Rafting
2. Dahilayan Adventure Park
3. Go to Iligan if you still have a lot of time and spend a day or two!

TIPS-slash-NOTES:

• Book your stay at the city center! A lot of places are cheap (250-300 per night kind of cheap) and you are not away from the commercialized part of CDO where everything is basically around you.
• Get Red Rafts for your white water rafting activity. The river guides are funny and friendly. No regrets! You can always avail the white water rafting separate from Dahilayan if you'd want it that way.
• During the white water rafting, wear a rash guard and strapped slippers or aqua shoes because this is nothing else other than an activity involving a lot of water so don't expect your rubber shoes to be dry if you're wearing them!
• It would help if you shower and eat fast so you can leave early for Bukidnon. Travel time takes almost two hours.
• Bring an estimate of P1,500-2,000 for all the activities in Dahilayan in case you won't be availing the packaged tour. If you will, then a good P1,000 for the other activities will be good!
• Make sure you don't forget your jacket for Dahilayan since it's located in the mountains. Pretty cold!
• If you want a hassle-free and private transportation to the airport, you can avail services from Kuya Along our very mabait and honest driver! +639174607499
• Don't forget to bring SLERS Chicharon and Vjandep Pastel for pasalubong!
• Get the latest flight back to Manila so you can still do a half day at Tinago Falls in Iligan.
• ALL-IN-ALL WE SPENT P9,013.50. All trips were packaged and private tours.

Have other tips? Share it on the comment box below and help other people who also plan on doing a Northern Mindanao tour!

Love,

Faye

Riding Rapids in Cagayan de Oro & Superhero Feels in Bukidnon

As we all know my trip to Northern Mindanao in Camiguin and CDO is one of my favorite travel experiences! It's the perfect mixture of fun, gorgeous and breathtaking places, and rich culture. No doubt I will always say yes to an opportunity of coming back ..after I finish all the local tourist destinations of course! I have already told you my first two days of the trip which mainly consists of Camiguin and it's just about the right time to talk about day three!

Since I am a no-backpacker type of person who basically just travels the place freelance type (apart from Cebu --it's an exception) and so are my friends (well most of them coz they, Eds and Mar, might not agree lol), we avail scheduled tours most of the time. First because a trip with a scheduled tour saves you from a lot of hassle and second you can customize it the way you want it 90% of the time! Plus this is the bomb, most of the scheduled tours that we get are private and cheap which means you don't have to worry about thinking of other people and your group still gets a hold of time in all ways possible.

Going back to my supposed narrative of day 3 ..we woke up at around 6, well not really, supposed to be 6 but we woke up at around 6:45 in the morning to prep and get dressed to be picked up at 7! Exactly 7 because we'd have to pick up other people who also availed the white water rafting package. We rode a *coughs* not to mention, a very cool red jeepney with all those red stuff since we availed the package from Red Rafts obviously haha if you want to avail a scheduled white water rafting package from them as well, you can visit their facebook page or contact Kuya Rex (+639178556983 / +639355998908). They have super funny tour guides and I seriously loved them for the hassle free and very maalaga way they treated us! Hello they have to carry you back to the raft whenever you go swimming in the river! Considering how thin I am... too much effort was put in. lol

Before you start, you would have about 10-15 minutes briefing. Really really short just to orient you of the do's and don't/s while riding the rapids and instructions on what you're going to do in case the boat capsizes. At first I was too nervous since being the imaginative person that I am I was expecting that the boat would capsize and I'll be the person who slides on the rocks etc etc but listening carefully will give you an advantage so make sure you remember every single word kuya says!

Then you start your 4-hour ride along the Cagayan de Oro river! I actually thought it's gonna be long but since the whole activity is too fun you won't even notice the time running by. You'll be going through 21 rapids, depending on the course you'll take. Since ours is advance intermediate, we had 21 rapids along the way. Halfway through, you'll also be permitted to swim in the river so make the most out of it! Plunge in and enjoy the cool green water!

The journey would be quite hot you would be developing life-vest-tan-lines lol so spread a bit of sunscreen and if your skin happens to be a little sensitive than usual, wearing a rash guard might help a lot too! PS Don't be hard on the paddle assigned to you, one of our group mates broke it and there weren't a lot of extras so one of us always had to have a sort of downtime to give everyone else a chance of paddling. Take it seriously but go easy, boy!

In case you're wondering how we got our *coughs* beautiful photos, on the way there our river guide asked us if we wanted to avail the CD with all the photos only for P200 so we grabbed the chance and got it! Nothing to regret anyway since all of it are gorgeous and we get to keep a lifetime (KESO) of our memories in the Cagayan de Oro river forever.

Lunch was also included in the scheduled tour that we availed from Red Rafts. Near our exit point was a mini-resort with a pool, eatery, and comfort room where you can eventually freshen up and change clothes. It's not the buffet kind of lunch but it was good nonetheless. We were too hungry to take pictures though but you can trust me when I say that the food is actually good both in terms of aesthetics and taste haha

Shortly after we hopped in our rented cab (still part of our Red Rafts scheduled tour) and made our way to Dahilayan Adventure Park in Bukidnon. The ride from the exit point to Dahilayan took almost two hours. It's a long ride so make sure you eat fast and get there quick since most of the park attractions close at 3.

We were able to avail the Asia's Longest Dual Zipline and 350m + 150m dual zipline also paid in advance aka included in our packaged tour! See? As promised, hassle free!

It can be pretty cold here as it is located in the mountains and judging from the pine trees everywhere obviously you'd survive better with a jacket. So tag along a comfy hoodie or a scarf or anything just to minimize the low temperature going on. They still have other attractions to see, unfortunately for us since it rained they opted to close some of it ahead of time. Definitely another reason to come back ..and maybe even stay in their Baguio-like hotel inside the adventure park as well!

Kuya Along, our very honest and mabait driver, waited for us 'til we finished and escorted us back to the hotel. He also assisted us in our pineapple field stopover and took gorgeous pictures! Tourist guides and locals are SLR oriented people, techie if I must say and can really take good photos!  If you want to hire a cab service in CDO you can also contact him at +639174607499.

Upon reaching the hotel, we all decided to rest for a bit. We originally planned to experience the CDO culture by meeting new people and having drinks for the night but since Eds had fever and Marianne took care of her, dinner outside was left for Jamie and I. We went to the resto-bar just across our hotel and pigged out from the grill stuff! lol were we hungry! Plus it was pretty cheap too! If I'm not mistaken we only spent P200 each considering we both ordered a lot haha

We planned on doing a Tinago-Falls-tour the next day so we decided to go back right after dinner to sleep and get our beauty rest! Unfortunately, upon realizing we might not make it for our flight at 6pm and we woke up late too, we were not able to carry out our plan for day 4! But we all agreed to do an Iligan Trip next time :D ohh don't worry I'll be posting a sample itinerary and expenses list on my next entry since this is too long already!

Any fun experiences while you were in CDO and Bukidnon? Feel free to share it on the comment  box below!

Happy travels!

Love,

Faye

Awe-filling Northern Mindanao

The "City of Golden Friendship" as it is described by many. Home of the friendliest locals, who without a doubt embodies their city's brand. Cagayan de Oro is one of the provinces of Misamis Oriental in Mindanao and it is one of the highly urbanized cities there is located down the archipelago. It serves as a regional center and business hubs for Northern Mindanao. The place is most famous for their whitewater rafting as well as kayaking adventures along the Cagayan de Oro river. Apart from this, it can also be a gateway to one of the heavenliest places there is in the Philippines - Camiguin! Goodness cow, these two places when combined can give you a hell of a good time! It's surely one of my trips to remember!

Good news is I have planned this with my friends beforehand! Which means... there will be an itinerary waiting for you at the end of this lol and a budget! I hate to call it budget since I'm not a heavy budget person but it is what it is. Or maybe I should call it out-of-the-ordinary expenses list. Hmm hmm, let's see! 

I have also decided that to shorten my entries (ahem* since most of my readers are working or studying) I will be blogging about places one day at a time! Should I explain this further? Day 1, Day 2, etc, etc... Going back! We arrived at Laguindingan International Airport at around 6 or past six in the morning. Yes because we took the earliest flight at around 4:40 or 5am, I think. It's a breeze when you arrive earlier honestly, since you have the luxury to walk in pace, especially if you were like us who dedicated half of their day on the way to an island 5 hours away from the airport. You might be thinking right now 'WHY THE HECK DID SHE SPEND HER TIME DESCRIBING CAGAYAN DE ORO WHEN SHE ACTUALLY WENT TO CAMIGUIN FIRST' lol pretty much because it's were we landed! Hashtag writer problems, sorry

Anyway, so we rode a cab to Agora Market where the bus going to Balingoan were all located. Travel time takes approximately an hour, rate ranges from P180-P200. From there, you ride a bus going to Balingoan Port (P130). Be sure to pick a comfy place for you to sit on since it'll take more than 2 hours - almost 3 if I remember it correctly. From the drop-off point of the bus, you can either walk going to the terminal which will take about 5-10 minutes or take a tric (like all of us lazy people) for P10 per person. From there you'll see a ferry which leaves every hour, earliest from Balingoan Port (CDO) to Benoni Port (Camiguin) is at 4:30am and the latest is at 2:45pm and fare is at P130/person. IMPORTANT REMINDER: Be there an hour before - you'd be asked to pay some stuff and have your baggage checked so no last minute wrap ups! Ferry ride takes an hour even if you can already see Camiguin from a distance lol something I would never understand.

We have made prior arrangements with Paguia's Cottages Camiguin for the tours. One reason we picked them is because you can customize the whole thing from deciding what will be the places for day 1/day 2 and they have affordable rates, a decent place to stay in, and your private multicab with the most upbeat songs! We basically forgot about our phones and just went through their music lol

See? Camiguin from a distance!

© Marianne Matic

Shall we begin with Day 1? After that long and tiring introduction lol we started off with lunch before we head on to our first destination which is Katibawasan Falls. Just a little bit of segway, food is cheap in Camiguin you can actually eat with P50 on your wallet depending on how #baboy you are. In my case, I prefer it within the P100 range.

Katibawasan Falls

The falls, even in its simplest form, is a sight. The green trees surrounding the cold water, the sound of the birds that go perfect with your ears, and the serenity that would make you want to stay for hours either swimming or just sitting there thinking nothing more than how some places can be this amazing - no matter how simple and plain it is. Too bad, we left our swimsuits inside our bags but we had a dip if that changes anything lol

Shortly after Katibawasan, we headed to Sto. Nino Cold Spring. But we made a quick stop as we passed by the landmark of Camiguin's Old Volcano. You'll know why when you finally get there! The view is gorgeous, as usual. I bet it's a natural thing for Camiguin having all these gorgeous places.

Camiguin's Old Volcano

The way the sun beams and reflects on the water is such a magnificent view. I actually like how Camiguin is surrounded everywhere with water. There's a sea on the side for every road you pass on. It glistens along with the radiating sun. Ugh I love this place I can be here for weeks!

Anyhow going back... So we went to Sto. Nino Cold Spring which is by the way as natural as the beauty of Camiguin. Everything here is effortless and pretty natural lol it's a great place to relax and chill from the long day that you just had. Pair it up with a buko juice and you're good to go!

Sto Nino Cold Spring

After our relaxing swim at the cold spring, we hurriedly proceeded to the Sunken Cemetery before Mr. Sun totally says goodbye. I don't know why but the huge marker cross on its own is already a sight to see. We weren't able to ride the small paddle boats anymore to go to the cross but we surely had magnificent pictures stored in our minds. I am in awe of how Camiguin was built into this really amazing location with nothing but breathtaking scenery.

Sunken Cemetery

We spent around 5-10 minutes just looking at the view and taking pictures. After that, we passed by at the restaurant where we'll have dinner before going to another relaxing swim at Ardent Hot Spring. The first step we had at the water, it was so relaxing we forgot to take pictures lol missed on the food for dinner too! But we ordered mostly grilled stuff like chicken and pork, it's actually good. However, the one thing that disappointed us the most is when we asked for another cup of rice their reply surprised us with rage. "Naubusan po kami ng kanin" and we were all like WHO DOES THAT? SERIOUSLY! lol you don't mess with hungry people in all ways more than one. We waited for a good 30 minutes because they said they would try to look for rice but ended up cancelling the order since they obviously didn't address the problem at all.

Anyway, we had beer night to cap off our first day! That is to celebrate on how amazing the place is ..and to lament on how the eatery we'd gone for dinner didn't have an extra serving of rice lol

DAY 1: ITINERARY

• 06:45am - Arrival at Laguindingan International Airport
• 07:45am - Agora Market - board the bus going to Balingoan Port
• 07:45am to 08:30am - Waiting time for bus to board passengers
• 08:30am - Departure from Agora Market Bus Terminal
• 11:30am - ETA Balingoan Port - ride ferry going to Benoni Port
• 12:30pm - ETA at Benoni Port
• 12:30pm to 1:30pm - Lunch
• 1:30pm to 8:00pm - Camiguin Tour: Katibawasan Falls, Sto Nino Cold Spring, Old Volcano, Sunken Cemetery, Ardent Hot Spring
• 08:30pm - Dinner
• 09:00pm - Socials/Beer Night

DAY 1: ROUGH LIST OF EXPENSES

(Please note that this is individually quoted and based on the number of persons who traveled which is on our case, 4)

• Cab from Laguindingan International Airport to Camiguin - P50
• Bus from Agora Market to Balingoan Port - P130
• Ferry from Balingoan Port to Camiguin - P130
• Half Day Tour from Paguia's Cottages (an estimate only since we had a customized tour on our whole stay; includes a multicab rental, going around the city and entrance fees that you'd have to pay) - P600
• Lunch - P100
• Dinner - P100
• Beer for socials (2 bottles) - P60
• Accommodation (1 night) - P375

TOTAL: 1,545/PERSON

I repeat these are rough estimates and based on how I budget my money when traveling which is not high maintenance but not strict either. If you're just like me, this is good to go.

Happy travels!

Love,

Faye

And I'm back!

I am very sorry for not updating my blog for the past 4 weeks as my laptop went through a hell of a time but I'm back now with a new posting device which is apparently my phone! But it's a long story so... we better change the topic.

Anyway, this will be more of a warm up since I don't think I already have the right words for my next entry yet which will be about Cagayan de Oro and Camiguin. It's a really great place to write about so it better be close to perfect! Some of the readers were asking for a few changes on the posts, say including a budget or providing them with a sample itinerary, which of course I will be glad to write about. The previous trips were all non-itinerary based aka more of yolo decisions which my friends and I are very good about (Cebu) and some of it I'm with my Mom and friends so I pretty much go by as to what they deem fit (Anawangin and Palawan). I should prolly sort my trips to those categories - yolo, planned, and hmm... oldies? Lol but kidding aside, don't you worry, I'll have the entries sort out nice and quick so you'll get to browse easier and will provide more of itineraries and budget estimates! You should know prior though that I'm not exactly the super 'backpacker' type but not one of a high maintenance traveler too. Somewhere in the middle should be great!

Here are a few eye candy pictures from CDO and Camiguin to keep you company while I prepare my next entry.

Katibawasan Falls

Sto. Nino Cold Spring

Sunken Cemetery

White Sandbar

Mantigue Island

Camiguin: View from the ferry

White Water Rafting

Pineapple Fields, Bukidnon

Cagayan de Oro City

It's a gorgeous place and the locals are one of the friendliest I've met! Will get back to you once I have redeemed (?) my words.

Happy travels!

Love,

Faye