Amazing Adventures in Awesome Agusan del Norte and Agusan del Sur (II)

The province of Agusan was named after a Malay word meaning where water flows", probably because o the might river that travellers the whole area. Early migrants from Borneo and  Celebes came to the region in Balanghais or wooden boats. Nine such boats were excavated and carbon-dated to be between the 4th and 13th centuries. The Malay settlers drove the aborigines, called Mamanwas, to the hinterlands.

By the time the Spaniards arrived, the natives were already trading with foreign merchants, as attested by 10th century ceramics unearthed near Butuan. Some historians claim that Magellan held the first mass in the Philippines in Masao at the month of the Agusan River, and not in Limsasawa, Leyte, on Easter Sunday of March 15, in the year 1521.

Must see in Agusan del Norte: "Pur Lady of Assumption Parish/Musuem: Fr. Urious instigated the people of Jabonga to look for a higher ground for a permanent church. Today, it is the oldest surviving Spanish church in the entire of Carage located in Jabonga.

"Lake Mainit", an incredible confluence of 28 rivers, a 17,430 hectare lake situated 80 feet above sea level with a mean depth of 128 meters as the 4th biggest in the country. Endemic fishes are the Gabot and Pidjanga. Native flora include the Pagosi and Tabokali, fauna includes the Giant Purple Heron, among others.  I really appreciate, that ecotourism activities are availabe and here canoeing, bird-watching, and cultual contact.

(Agusan del Sur, TO BE CONTINUED!)

Camiguin Island - an Island of Your Imagination Born On Fire

I never expected having a very hectic schedule as an expatriate living in the Philippines. BUT, I still take my time out, travelling around this beautiful country, especially Mindanao.

Camiguin is a very small island province of the Philippines off the northern coast of Mindanao. Its capital is Mambajao. The island of Camiguin is in the Bohol Sea about 10 km north of Misamis Oriental.

Sagay Church facade  

The name Camiguin is derived from the native word  "Kamagong", a tree of the Ebony family that thrives near Lake Mainit in the province of Surigao del Norte. The original inhabitants of Camiguin were "manobos" who migrated from Surigao. The old native language in Camigiun is called "Kinamiguin", which is similar to the dialcet speaken in Suriago.

(During the volcanic birth of mount Vulcan, some areas in the town of Bonbon subsided, sinking the cemetery of the town below sea level.)

There are a lot of tourist destinations, i.e. the Old Catarman Church Ruins in Bonbon, 16 km's from the center of Catarman. What remains are ruins of adobe walls, belfry and convent that are testimonials to the devastating 1871 earthquake which wiped out the illustrious town of Catarman established earlier as a Spanish settlement in 1967.

(Katibawasan Falls, 5 km South East from Mambajao)

Camiguin Island - this means Tuasan Falls, Sto. Nino Cold Spring, Mount Hibok-Hibok, Old Vulcan, 13 kms west of the capital Mambajao, the "White Island", 3 kms across Agogo and Yumbing, an uninhabited small white sand bar and many other places to be discovered.