The Island That is Camotes

About 1PM in the afternoon we were on our way to the bus that will take us to the port in Danao. At 3PM we were on our way to Danao. We arrived at around 4PM, had some snacks and at around 4:30PM we boarded the ship that will take us to Camotes. The waves were calm accompanied with relaxing winds; it was a pleasant ride indeed. Watching from the ship, Camotes is rather dark having countable lights glimmering off-coast. It was almost 7PM and the the boat is scheduled to arrive at 7:30; looking back to Cebu, you really can see the glow of the city even from afar in comparison to the skyline of Camotes, you can really distinguish the starless skyline in the city from the sky in Camotes, we even sited a few shooting stars, some falling. Nearing Camotes, the lights that gleamed off-coast were actually fishing boats so that means Camotes has few lighting systems making it very dark and mysterious. When we arrived at about 8PM, we dropped-off some of the baggage. The bus that took us to Camotes is actually full of cargoes; half of the bus was for cargoes and half for people, and it was old but good enough to drive us across two islands. As we travel through the headlights-lit road, it kind of hit me how Camotes was very poor-lit with maybe a row of street lights and the rest is darkness. The ride reminded me of one of those old Filipino horror movies, imagine this: you are in an old beaten bus full of cargoes traveling into a dark night and you’re bathed in yellow fluorescent light. I know right! It is that scary. After dropping-off some of the baggage, we finally arrived in our destination. We stayed at the beachhouse of our friend's boyfriend, it was very nice and airy.

Day one of our Camotes adventures, we rented a couple of motorcycles. We went island hopping—is it even called island hopping when you only hopped one island? But I don’t care as long as we enjoyed it, we circled Tuland Diot Island. Below are the pictures taken from the island:

Day two of our travels, we went to Timubo Cave. This cave is actually an underground cave, and what you will see inside is a freshwater pool. It reminds me of the Hinagdanan cave in Bohol. The water inside is stagnant so don't pee inside there—poor future visitors. After Timubo cave, we went to Lake Danao. Lake Danao is very breathtaking. It’s calmness is toxic and the beauty is just utterly amazing. There’s actually a legend behind Lake Danao and you have to go there in order to know—long story short, it’s a tragic love story. Here are the photos taken:

Best halo-halo I've tasted so far in my entire life!

After our day two travels, we ended the day with good ol' 'smores.

Day three in Camotes, we went to the famous Santiago bay. The sand in there was very fine, almost like powdered sugar. If I was wearing makeup, I would use those sands as loose powder—it is that fine. The seashore is rather full of seaweeds which spoil the beauty of the coastline; they should keep it clean though to make the place picturesque. I don’t have enough money to avail the luxury of staying in one of the resorts there in Santiago that boasts the view of the bay—we were on a tight budget and we don’t have a mum or dad. After Santiago Bay, we went to Buho Rock which is famous for its cliff diving. Pretty much Buho Rock garnered the likes of adrenaline junkies. The view there is dahvayn, its to die for. I even jumped on one of the shorter cliffs, I didn’t jump on the three-storey house drop though because I’d have to have one day of contemplation about my life if I were to jump. Our last trip was to Busay Falls, it is just a pretty small falls; it’s like one of those man-made falls you see on one of those backyards of rich people. It just consists of a small falls and a pool and that’s it. Here are some of the pictures:

On our last day, we took a dip into the beach that has been inviting us since the night we arrived in our place. We had lunch by the shore and then washed-off the remaining bits of Camotes we’ve had been carrying around on our skins. On the pictures below are one of the stills I took on our way home:

My first tip for a good experience in Camotes is that better travel in a motorcycle to enjoy the fresh air in Camotes than travel in a van breathing air-conditioner air that you’ve become accustomed to in the city. Our budget in this trip was P1000 each person since Camotes has very cheap entrance fees and boat-rentals; their prices range about P10-P60 per person. That P1000 though does not include the accommodation which then leads us to my second tip: Make sure you know someone that is a local there so that he/she will take you places you’ve yet to discover and a local comes with a free accommodation too but if you can afford hotel rates, why not get one then? My last tip, bring good friends to enjoy Camotes with, bring a camera to take memorable moments, bring food to befriend your stomach and bring home memories that you can share when you’re old. Camotes is one of my bucket lists that just got its check mark!  Cheers to beautiful, fun-filled and safe adventures. Godspeed everyone and Godspeed Camotes!

Below is our travel video taken and edited by my sister Patrice Bea Marie Camacho: