Timubo Cave, Camotes Island

We were all surprised when the driver announced that we already reached Timubo Cave. We were still far from the mountains and we were in the middle of corns and cassava fields. 

But right there, on the ground itself is an opening for an underground entrance. We always thought that a cave opening is somewhere at the side of a mountain. "To see is to believe" right? So we now know more than before.

Not all of us were brave enough to go down. I, too, were afraid of the dark. But when I saw the children getting inside the opening, I just ran after them. They needed adult supervision and their mothers were not up for that challenge yet. I set aside my fears and followed them.

There were lights inside and there were stairs too. At least the journey underground was not that difficult. But overcoming creepy thoughts was not an easy fight. The shadows, rock formations and sudden movements planted scary imaginations to my brain cells. Good thing that we descended in groups and my heart was strong enough to carry me downward.

It was a long trip down. We were all excited to see waters flowing somewhere inside this cave. My nephew exclaimed when he saw a small pond and started swimming. He was reprimanded for shouting and running. We were instructed to stay quiet and to take extra care not to distract whatever there was inside this cave.

Hidden by the rocks, is a deep, cold, crystal clear lake. They even tasted the water, haha! And it was good and tasty. The lake is not that big but with space enough to swim from corner to corner. It's 5 feet deep on a low tide so just imagine how deep will it be during high tides.

We enjoyed the water and the scenery so their mothers were encouraged to get down and enjoy the water as well. We all then posed for perfect group photo. The memories here was the most memorable for the children. When asked what they love most during our trip to Camotes Island, they will all agree that swimming inside Timubo Cave was what they enjoyed most.

During the World Wars, old folks said that inhabitants of Camotes Island survived by hiding on these caves. Yes caves, because there are lot of caves in the island. After war, inhabitants used to fetch water here for drinking and household use. Women even prefer to do the laundry inside the cave. I can just imagine the joy of the children who lived here. They have access here for unlimited swimming adventure. Yes, adventure because they can be swimming in the dark.

The Beaches of Camotes Island

After taking our breakfast, we roamed around the property that we rented. The front yard makes us very happy. It was all green and cool to look and to explore. 

But the beach is solid rock all the way along the coast. It turned out to be in closed with dead corals of about 1 to 1.5 meters high instead of white sands that we were hoping it to be. Whether high tide or low tide, the water still reaches these cliffs so fishes, big and small are free to hide somewhere under it. We decided to forget the swimming part and instead the children will need some fishing rods  to go fishing. Besides sharks may just be under those cliffs so it is not safe to just jump off the cliff and go swimming.

Our next stop was the public beach located in Santiago. The beach is free for swimming but the structures are for rent. It is managed by the government and is very affordable. The sand is white and finely powdered. The beach can definitely lure every tourist to take a dip and enjoy the water.

We almost decided to take a long stop here but then we wanted to check first the Mangudlong Beach Resort which is also one of the beaches in Santiago. The sun was so fierce at us when we reached it so the children decided to swim at Timubo Cave. Besides the entrance fee was so discouraging knowing that we could swam that same sea for free at the public beach. Of course, before we left we all posed for a perfect photo.

I observed that most part of the island's shoreline are cliffs that endlessly stretches along it's coast. So the story I heard that boats are the means of transportation there was for real. Passengers can just stand anywhere along the shore as boats can easily pick them up and drop them wherever coast they wanted. It was just like a commuter in a city waiting for a taxi along the road. The Santiago's beach is the only exception I guess because the boat may not be able to dock there during low tide.

But that should be long time ago before the RORO was implemented. RORO ship provides a safer means of transportation to and from the island. Tourist and even natives prefer the ferry boat rides pushing those small boats out of business. In fact the jeep that we hired was bought from the proceeds of those small boats. The owner was wise enough to convert his sea investments to land transport when the former proved to be hopeless.

The Visit to Camotes Island

It has been awhile since my last post. Today, I decided to continue the blog and minimize my online gaming and reading. It's about time to write and share another piece of me to the world. Here I go again!!

Camotes Island is just across my home city. A body of water separated the island from Danawanons. I used to looked at the island from afar, wondering if one day I will ever visit the island right in front of me. When the weather is bad, especially when it rains, the island is nowhere to be seen. Old folks say that the island has sink due to rough seas. Haha! It was just a joke and a simple explanation enough to satisfy the young minds.

Approximately two years ago, we visited the island. This post is so long overdue but what can I do? At least I decided to post it now.

From Danao City, my home sweet city, we need to ride a ferry boat to reach the island. It should be a two hours ride but it actually took us three hours to reach the island and you may end up four hours in a bad weather. An improvement is definitely needed in this area to encourage tourists.

We met Korean tourists during the trip. I heard that they prefer this destination because it is cheaper and the island is at par compared to other islands in the country. It is true. The beach here is comparable to other famous beaches in the country. We encountered a huge group of big motorbike riders too. The island should be a good destination for these activities. Unfortunately, I have not thought of asking one of the riders on "why they choose the island?". If I could get another chance, I will make sure to ask and post it here.

After the ferry ride, a passenger jeep fetched us at Consuelo Port. From there, we decided to drop our things first at a private resort in Nonoc which is 15 minutes away from the port.

We are eighteen and to fit us all in the jeep is a challenge. We should encourage the clan to undergo diet to remove space issues in the future. But still we enjoy the ride. We bought a portable music box for the dance presentation just in case we have electricity problems. We played it during the ride and sung with it. That is why the quite road did not bother at us at all.

The road is clean and green. The outskirts of the town are in rough road. It is very quite and peaceful. This makes this place a good haven for those who are soul searching.

Along the way, there were plenty of bananas and coconuts. Clark was very happy to see all those coconuts because he loves buko. But his older brother was worried of not seeing plenty of people around. Actually, he was looking for a place for us to eat. With no stores and restaurants around, he realized that food was going to be a problem. He certainly hated that, haha!

Finally we arrived at the private resort that will accommodate us for a night. Yeppeh! It's time to free ourselves from our baggage. We arrived there around 9AM. We departed from Danao City around 5:30AM. It was a long travel indeed but we did enjoy the morning views and family times while at sea.

This house is quite perfect for retreat activities. We ate our breakfast here before we started our island tour. We visited Santiago Public Beach, Mangudlong Rock Resort, Timubo Cave, Lake Danao Park and Camotes Bayview. I will feature each on the next blog.

We almost missed this trip because a typhoon was forecast to hit the place during that week. We prayed that it will pass fast or go the other way for we already bought the tickets for that weekend trip. The typhoon did hit the island but on a weekday so we were still able to pursue the trip. Plus, the typhoon was not that strong and it traveled fast so the island was spared from major damage. Prayer granted, we praise the Lord!!!