Camiguin Revisited -- Lanzones Festival 08

Travel Photos by Ryan Macalandag

Yep, we did "travel" via the P400-peso slow ferry to Camiguin from Jagna but we didn't really get to travel around Camiguin because of the damned rain. I shot a few frames though during the "travel" so that should qualify them as "travel photographs" and me, a "travel photographer".



You can puke now.

That is me holding Deb's camera with my wide Tokina lens attached. It's an old (and dusty, offered to clean it) Nikon film camera with the nifty-fifty (Nikon 50mm 1.8) as a primary lens (used with my D80 on this photo).

Nah, really, I'm just a guy roaming around with a digital camera. So that makes me more of a "Roaming Photographer" and my photos "roaming photographs". Less stomach-upsetting terms. (more photos after the jump)





So we left Jagna at 1 p.m. (Saturday, October 25) aboard the Super Shuttle Ferry. We were a decent group of 12 adults plus a bunch of kids. There was me and Lourd (photographers), Scott the Crazy Aussie, Lee and Debbie with their kids, the French guy (forgot his name) with his Filipina wife and daughter, Anna Marie also French and Lenny a Swiss-based Boholana who's back for some vaca-time. Bea, another photographer, went early the previous day and was already in Camiguin.

The voyage was so slow that we finished a couple movies and arrived at a little past 6pm in Camiguin. It was already dark by then.



Later that night, after checking in at our hotel (I booked Caves Dive Resort), we went out to the Mambajao to get dinner. The group opted for an eat-all-you-can over at a restaurant at the Old Parola Strip in front of Pedros'. I forgot the name but it had a blinking lighthouse on its signage. Buffet was great! I was quite literally stuffed.



By the time, we were finished, everyone was already out in the streets for the street party sponsored by San Miguel. We all wobbled out with our stomachs all full. The street was crawling with people and we had to stand by the sides coz there wasn't one table left for us. We had beer either way.





We left quite to soon after a couple grandes of beer. At that moment, sleep was the better option than beer - which is seldom. Either way, Lourd and I also had to prepare for the next day's shoot...

...which never happened because it rained so hard early in the morning and never stopped until later in the day. We felt that our schedule for the day was pretty much wasted and after breakfast we opted to go the hot springs instead. Scott, Lee and Harisson (Lee's 6-year old) went up to Hibok-hibok despite of the weather. Crazy people. They came back alive though, thank God.

Ann Marie, bless her French soul, was terrible at calculating distances and thought the way up to Ardent Hot Springs was "not that far". So we went (me, Lourd, Lenny, Deb and her younger sons, Jordan and Will) and did the 3.5 kilometer one-hour uphill walk. It was far alright. My legs, both in pain, agreed.

We never got to swim in the hot pool though, Lourd and me. We didn't have anything dry to place our cameras on as all of the cottages were occupied -- even if we paid for the P75 cottage fee.



I should not have brought my camera with me 'coz my shots were pretty lousy anyways.

Lourd and I decided to break away from the group and go to Mambajao to cover the street dancing. The streets were all closed for the 15 contingents. Based on Bea's shots of the previous day's street dancing, Sunday's event paled in comparison. So, with empty stomachs, we chose to do lunch at Pedro's instead. We hungrily devoured the kinilaw, grilled fishm, lapu2x soup and mounds of hot rice while listening to the slowly fading sound of drums and chants. The street dance finished after our little feast at around 2:30. It was really a lousy day.

So we went back to the resort and found Lee and Debbie with the kids on the beach. Lourd decided to experiment a bit and use the Black and White (BW) functions of our digital cameras and experiment. It was really cool not having to see the color and only mind the framing and moment. Shooting BW freed our vision of all the junk bland color of the foul-weathered day that it was. It was amazing.







Scott, Lee and Debbie were more than willing subjects! I borrowed Deb's 50mm 1.8 lens to do some nice portraits.

By the way, one more bad thing that happened was that the lazones harvest this year was really bad. At P85 per kilo compared to last year's P15 per kilo, we had no chance of buying for chow since there wasn't any sold.

I saw Bea's photos from Saturday's street dancing (when the sun was up and shining and the dancers were all nicely costumed) and saw not a single lanzones. Where art thou oh sweet succulent fruit?

Scott explained it was the earth's way to replenish the nutrients from last year's bountiful harvest. Lee heard from the driver that this phenomenon happens during even numbered years. Last year, 2007, was fine.







In the next hour after that, we just basically chilled and waited for the sun to set.









When the sun finally did set, it was glorious. The color was rich and warm. It was as though the sun was trying to make up for its full day's absence. It didn't mind the still gray and thick clouds hanging.

After sunset, it was again boring. The rain resumed to drizzle which didn't stop until early in the morning when it really poured.

I slept in my little cot with a rock-hard pillow under my head and thought what a waste traveling for naught. The damn rain sucks.

I woke up late and had to hurry to catch the 8am slow boat back to Bohol. As the boat sluggishly maneuvered its way into the Bohol Sea with the beautiful island of Camiguin capped with gray storm clouds in the background, I thought, at least I still have a reason to go back next year.

When the rain won't pour and the lazones will be back.

For more photos from this set, please visit my flickr page.