Hello Hive!
It's time for another entry under my series Philippine Islands. Last entry under this series was all about Cebu and Visayas Islands as a celebratory post when it has been awarded as the Best in Asia by Conde Nast Traveler's The Best Islands in the World: 2020 Readers' Choice Awards. To find more about why the recognition is well deserved, you can check out my compilation post in the link below:
This time, I have two islands to feature. These islands are part of my Camiguin Island tour which is still dragging along even if it was already more than a month since I started this. Anyway, you can find the first two parts of this series in the links below:
Alright! Let's get it on.
Both islands are off the coast of the volcanic island province of Camiguin. The first island is larger than the second one, but both have gleaming white sand beaches. I'll start with Mantigue Island.
Mantigue Island
Mantigue is just 3.5 kilometers off the coast of the municipality of Mahinog in Camiguin. It's one of Camiguin's top tourist spots because of its white sand beach and crystal clear waters that's surrounding the island while a deep drop-off that's good for scuba diving is located on one side of the island.
After that gruelling climb to Mt. Hibok-Hibok, we immediately went to San Roque Port in Mahinog and then rode a boat to Mantigue Island. It would take about 20 minutes boat ride and then you'll be welcomed by that gleaming white sand beach, a lush nature park, and the crystal clear waters surrounding the whole island.
I got really tired with the climb that I didn't do much on the island which was one of my many regrets after visiting Camiguin. We just rented one cottage and I just stayed there most of the time while my friends were snorkelling and swimming to their heart's content.
If given an opportunity to visit Camiguin again, I will definitely try all the activities in Mantigue. From what I learned, you can stroll around the island in just 30 minutes. Coral reefs are also abundant in there so scuba diving will be a great activity. I missed the nature walk that would take you from one end of the island to the other end.
Map Coordinates: [//]:# (!pinmapple 9.172214 lat 124.824224 long d3scr)
White Island
White Island is a horseshoe-shaped sandbar that's 1.4 kilometers off the shore of Mambajao. From our rented apartment, we just walk a few meters to where the boats were that will bring us to the sandbar. There's no plant nor permanent structure. It's just pure white sand that's constantly reshaping and resizing due to the tides. However, the water surrounding the island is so pristine.
The sandbar provides a panoramic view of the whole Camiguin Island. It has also a very good view of Mt. Hibok-Hibok that's usually shrouded by clouds especially early in the morning.
We went there on our last day in Camiguin and it was around 6:00 AM, but there are already a lot of tourists in the sandbar. Maybe because there's no structure that could provide shade, staying in the sandbar until noon is not really a good idea unless you wanted to have a good tan. Snorkelling is also a great activity there.
It's just sad that my photos are not that great. I will definitely go back there someday and take as many photos as I want. I just find it really strange to have a white sandbar on a volcanic island. The sandbar is a very stark contrast to the black sand across Mambajao.
Map Coordinates: [//]:# (!pinmapple 9.259443 lat 124.655139 long d3scr)
I guess that's all for this showcase of Philippine Islands. I hope you'll be able to visit one of these islands and also share your experiences. As for the last post under my Camiguin series, I will share more of the places we visited especially the springs. I don't have photos of those springs though. It's because we visited them at night. Our schedule was too packed at that time.
See you in my next post!
Kim Ybañez
Welcome to Kim's small corner in Hive. He is a chemical engineer by profession, but a blogger by passion. He is a wanderlust and an adventure seeker. Join his quests as he visits secluded destinations, climbs mountains, tries new and exotic dishes, and explores his country (The Philippines) and the rest of the world even if he's still a poor corporate slave with tons of bills to pay and two siblings to support in college.
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