DBM XII Escapades ...: CY 2012 Annual Assessment - Day 2 (Walkway to the Old Volcano, Sunken Cemetery and Ruins of the Old Church)

Still at our Day Two... we left Katibawasan Falls to PHIVOLCS Observatory.... Camiguin island plays host to seven volcanoes, including the still-active Mount Hibok-Hibok. Because of this a trip to the PHIVOLCS observatory is very interesting.

The road up to it starts straight mid-town Mambajao and climbs about 2.5 km. It is all concrete. The visit of the observatory including the travel took about one hour.

PHIVOLCS, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology permanently supervises the activity of Mount Hibok-Hibok.

taken outside the PHIVOLCS Office ... overlooking the Camiguin Proper ...

photo by ayla

the Phivolcs staff, briefing us of the volcano eruption ...

After PHIVOLCS we then proceeded to the Walkway to the Old Volcano. It is a series of steps on Mount Vulcan which the locals call the "Old Volcano." History records show that Mount Vulcan started as a volcanic fissure on April 30, 1871 after weeks of earthquakes on the island.

It is located in barangay Bonbon, town of Catarman

We didn't actually reach the top since there were lots of steps to be taken hence, I can't tell if it will be worth it. But I can tell you that it will surely be a tiring and a long climb.

photo by ayla

There are lots of souvenir shops and sari-sari store (convenience store) at the bottom. Exactly what we needed when we got back down ^_^.

After the Walkway to the Old Volcano, we then proceeded to the Sunken Cemetery. This island’s famous Sunken Cemetery, marked by a cross standing in the middle of the sea, resulted from the birth of Mount Vulcan in 1871. After continuously spewing out lava into the sea, it gained a height of nearly 2,000 feet and submerged areas of Catarman, including the former capitol’s cemetery. Remnants of the structures and gravestones of the cemetery were still seen during low tide until 1948 when Mount Vulcan erupted for the fourth time, which buried the area deeper by 20 feet. The cemetery is a popular spot. It is said that between 5 to 20 meters one can find gravestones already gilded with colorful soft and hard corals inhabited by abundant marine life.

In 1982, a large cross was built on the solidified lava to mark this old gravesite. This cross is a favorite subject for photographers and tourists alike providing a focal point for astonishing shots of calm sea in Camiguin.

photo by ayla

Next stop was the Old Church Ruins in Bonbon, Catarman, Camiguin. It's actually the remnants of the church destroyed in the big eruption in 1871. It was called Guiob church before. Now only some of the walls remain in the ruins. History told us that it was constructed in the 16th century but it met its destruction a century later. On May 13, 1871, Catarman’s peace was rattled by an intense trembling of the ground brought about by the rumbling of Mt. Vulcan. The earthquake shook the town mercilessly until houses and other structures were down to debris. But that wasn’t the end of it. That evening, Mt. Vulcan let loose its most shocking power when it erupted and destroyed what was left of the town.

Guiob Church was one of the structures that remained standing after the disastrous eruption. Although the church has lost its roof, its strong walls and columns still stand today — a huge, physical reminder of the past; a scar.

It looked like a simple ancient wall, like a castle. Surrounded by towering trees, the walls continued to give a vivid picture of how the old church looked like and how big it was.

an enormous, towering tree, one of the biggest I’d seen in my life... this century-old tree survived the earthquake and the eruption

the tree stands victoriously on a cliff ... its branches embracing the sunlight...

On the other end of the historical site standing side by side with the enormous tree was what used to be the Convent. But even this was not spared by the disaster. Only the walls were left ... trees were lined up parallel to a series of tough columns...