lenten in camiguin

camiguin island - what a place, what an experience. i was there together with my family from maundy thursday to easter sunday. what made the visit worthwhile was i was able to climb an old volcano which they made into the 14 stations of the cross. so inspite of the asthma and vertigo, i slowly trod the way as jesus did in his way to golgotha. with all its twists and turns, i can feel my knees shaking and the shortness of my breath is apparent. well, maybe it is a sign that i have sinned the past year so i really tried very hard and did my best to go unto the top. it was an exhilarating experience. when i was in the 14th station, i sat down and prayed more. i prayed for peace, good health and happiness to all i can think of. i had my personal prayers for my family and i prayed for atonement of my sins.
then the adventure: first destination was the santo nino cold spring. it was a surprise because i was expecting a pool with cold water, but no it was a pool with cold flowing water. so the explanation maybe is as fast as the flow of the water then the counterpart of water springing from the ground was the same. i dont know about science but we had a nice dip. we went there thursday and went back after our climb of the via cruces.
saturday was a long day. we woke up 3am to be fetch by our service at 4am going to the white island. we arrived at the island by a motorized banca at 5am and gave instruction that we wanted to go back at 7am. we were the first to be there except of course for the stall owners. it was a very spectacular sight, the moon was still in the heavens and you can see the sun rising from the horizon. talk about nature triping. true indeed the sand was white and again we have a nice swim inspite of the cold water. well who are we to complain? amidst the sun, sand and sky we were like children playing in paradise.
third stop was the capital town of mambajao. we tour around, bought their famous pastel and had lunch near the parola.(lighthouse) then we proceeded to the katibawasan waterfalls. it was a sight to behold when i saw the falls. there was a rainbow forming in the middle of the drop. awesome. we hurriedly went into the pool and didnt dare go where the drop is, afraid that it would break our shoulder blades because of its strenght. the sprays and the mists was enough for us.
then the ardent hot spring. we were tired this time already but still we submerge ourselves to the pool that has 38 degrees in temperature. it was a change from the places weve been. the water was just right for our weary bones but we lasted for 15 minutes. we felt that we were soft boiled na. hahaha. then to the sunken cemetery memorial. you can see the limestone tombs underwater. they were the casualties of the first eruption of mt. volcan. then straight to the ruins of the old church. i have this eerie feeling when we were there. it felt like we were in a hallowed ground. some parts of the church is still standing against the test of time.
there were still places to go and sites to discover but alas, it was time for us to go home. what really is amazing is that there are group or bunch of people who has their panata to be in camiguin every lenten season. they walk around the island for 48 kilometers. you can see 14 big white crosses along the highway because it is their stations. they dont mind the harsh weather because day in and day out they keep on walking until they finish their own version of the via cruces.
so i made a decision that im going to have my panata too. it is going to be an annual sojourn for me to be in this island for lenten season. in the first place as the locals are saying, camiguin means "come again." yon na.