I phrased the title that way because as soon as I got on board our 5:10AM flight to Cagayan de Oro, Gwen Stefani’s Sweet Escape blasted through the plane, and turned my happyhappy (mode#1, hun. haha.) mood just a little bit up the notch. at 5AM folks!!!

My trip last weekend counts for a full photo blog entry. I’ll try my very best to not go crazy with the photos and just focus on the highlights. Mainly because there were one too many, and everything seemed to fall under the unforgettable category. But I digress.

This was definitely a spur-of-the-moment plan of the ‘mommys.’ You see, I have an extended barkada. From my close circle of friends, I have three friends whose families are also close to my own family (inclusive of thy sweet siblings). Jam, Karen and Adrian are three of my close high school friends whose parents (moms most especially) are considered as close friends of my own mom. To make it even more interesting, their own siblings: Jam and her two younger sibs (Janine and Jenelle), Karen and her younger sister (Trina), and Adrian and her younger sister (Alex) are also friends of my two younger sisters (Rubie and Mara.) Janine worked with Rubie during their council days in High School and have gotten close, while Trina, Alex and Mara are all from the same batch.

Phew. However, you have to admit it is pretty cool, and there are some wild perks into having an extended barkada such as this. Our recent summer adventure should be the best proof of all. Planning was totally random. Over one buffet dinner at Dads sometime end of April, Camiguin became the topic of interest amongst the four mothers. (FYI: It’s also my province, and I’ve been going there ever since I was a kid.) I guess since they are parents and have actual resources in their pockets, they can easily plan trips like these. Sheesh. The next thing I knew, everyone had their own plane tickets and were all incredibly excited. I know I was.

The picture above was taken just before we left for Cagayan de Oro. Shot with my two friends: Karen and Jam. It’s a shame Adrian couldn’t join us. Blame it on Ateneo’s Summer class. But oh well. It was an all-girls trip to remember. The best part about it was that I had some personal bonding time with my two girl friends, and our own respective families. With all our adventures, there was no doubt we all ended up getting that chance to know more and learn about each other.

Anyway, recounting the day-to-day’s itinerary is exhausting, so I’ll stick to the highlights of the trip.

One of our first-stops include the beautiful Katibawasan Falls in Camiguin. I’ve been there before, but every time I actually come back to visit, I still find myself enthralled. Ahhhh… the wonders of nature. Camiguin boasts itself with everything a tropical country like the Philippines should be proud of: abundance of coconut trees, fields and mountains, diverse wildlife, pristine waters, and great sunny/windy weather. It’s no surprise to find tourists and foreigners from another part of the globe strolling around and pondering on settling down and living beside the beach. On the other hand, the falls was freakin’ cold that we couldn’t just swim in our swimsuits! But we had to try it. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find yourself getting used to the icy-cold waters.

Here’s a shot of the ‘daughters’ (the adults, the teens and the kids) after our icy adventure with our towels and sarongs. Technically, we’re not really ‘adults’ and the ‘kids’ aren’t exactly kids, but it was easier that way. haha. We were in for another resort after, so we couldn’t afford to change into dry clothes just yet. Our towels had to make do.

Fresh from icy waterfalls water, we took a dip at a warm pool over at Bahay Bakasyunan. The place was serene and quiet and overlooked a gorgeous sunset by the beach. While the moms sipped their umbrella-encrusted coconuts, the girls had fun with our own ‘mini-photoshoot.’ Armed with an underwater camera that truly became our best friend on the trip (goes down to 33 feet too!), we snapped our water-blues away.

Our next adventure happened early on the following day. We woke up at around 5AM to catch the speed boat ride heading towards White Island. The island is known purely for it’s white sand, shells and the crystal clear waters surrounding it. It’s really very beautiful. The sun continued to be blazing in on us as the day went longer, but I still had time to take a swim and even snorkel around. Yep, that’s me snorkeling. I love our underwater camera!

Apart from being blessed with beautiful flora and fauna, Camiguin also has that unique “island charm” that I adore. The island is so small, everyone knows each other. The houses are almost open to everyone. We were even fortunate enough to chance upon a fiesta, and found ourselves immediately accommodated with warmth by people. One of our memorable lunches include dining beside a blue lagoon with fish pens around that we can feed! We stuffed ourselves with seafood and the memorable liempo and calamares. More than that, we got to meet our kick-ass server/entertainer/all-around helper, Bert. Check out Berty below.

We also got to visit the Sunken Cemetery. You actually have to dive in to see the graves below. The only visible remnant is the huge cross that floats on top of the sea. Below that are hundreds of graves that sunk because of a volcanic eruption. Other places we also stopped over for are the Soda Water swimming pool, and the PhilVocs place. The former is actually this huge pool that uses a unique kind of natural water. We had a separate tasting (meaning not from the pool, but from a good water resource) and discovered it has some kind of ‘fizz’ into it, sorta like some kind of carbonated beverage. The latter, on the other hand, is the control place for all the volcanic action that happens in the island. Camiguin is home to 7 volcanoes. Most of which are dormant. There are 2 active ones though. The place overlooks a spectacular view too.

Upon request of the governor himself, we visited his mansion. A bit exhausted from all the different places we previously visited, we resorted to lots of cam-whoring.

After two days of Camiguin sunny bliss, we were visited by a passing storm late at night during the second day. The winds blew strong until the supposed time we had to wake-up to catch our ferry back to Cagayan. I think at some point, we all got a bit worried or scared. Praying that the waves will calm down soon enough, we hurriedly dressed up. Minutes later, the sky began to clear up, the winds finally calmed down and the waters slowly become still. We even had a sneak peek at a beautiful rainbow.

Before heading on back to the city life, we stopped over at Duka Bay Resort in Medina for breakfast and a chance to ride their glass boat rides. Their boats allowed us to take a peek underwater and see the immaculate corals and fishes of all shapes, colors and sizes below. It was beautiful. From Medina, we got back to our hotel in Cagayan and headed on to another invitation by my mom’s cousin at Malasag, who also works for the Dept of Tourism. We were greeted to another hearty late lunch, with Jam’s memorable 5 crabs!

But the highlight of my entire trip was a visit to Macahambus Adventure Park in Cagayan de Oro. It’s a popular spot for adventure-seekers and extreme-sports enthusiasts as it has been featured many times on TV. This was another totally spur-of-the-moment thing that I’m so glad we took! We ended up taking the skybridge and zipline experience that hangs on 150 feet below. It was exhilirating to say the least.

The brave group in all our harness glory posing for the camera. O, nauna pa si cute little Kim sa amin! Grabe, idol ko yang batang yan. Pag may anak ako, gusto ko fearless din. haha. We all love her.

“Look up daw sabi ni Manong.”

Smiley and crazy me. May paposepose pa ako during my 14 second drop kahit suspended sa cable.

Shucks. It was such a great experience that I vow to go back as soon as possible to try on their other adventure packages!

The day after, we finally had to bid adieu to Mindanao and hop on board to Manila. I think it’s safe to say that we all wanted at least 2 days more to make the most out of it. Bitin talaga. I was especially worried about everything that was waiting for me back home. My escape from my e-mail was sweet indeed.

That’s a shot inside the terminal of Cagayan de Oro airport. We played ‘Killer Killer game’ just before we boarded. Hard to explain what that is. To give a hint, it involves lots of winking. Haha.

As soon as I arrived here in Manila and got inside my room, I was beyond jet-lagged. To make it worse, I was burning up and sore all over. I got very, very sick late in the afternoon and into the night. The following day I had a BlueRep meeting to attend to, which meant I had to get well. Fortunately, I have recovered.

I still have sooo many things to do. At this time, I’m off for a shoot at Candy. Don’t forget to check out my blog entry over at the Candy blogs and leave a comment or two. Au revoir, folks!