The Beautiful Graveyard: New Beginnings in the Sunken Cemetery, Camiguin

In Brgy. Bonbon of Catarman lies one of the gems of Camiguin Island. During the volcanic birth of Mt. Vulcan that lasted from 1871 to about 1875, some areas in the town of Bonbon subsided, sinking the cemetery of the town to below sea level. 

OTW to the huge landmark of the Sunken Cemetery

You have 3 options:

1. Get a small boat + guide in the entrance for P100.00 per boat or P20/pax for more than 5 people and the guide will paddle your way to the monument across.
2. Snorkelling from the monument: Across the entrance gate is the tourism office. P150.00 rent for a set of diving mask, snornel, fins, & life jacket. You will be paying small additional fees and a guide fee, and the P100.00 boat fee.
3. Snorkel your way to the monument! Pay only the snorket rent and guide fee and you're good to go. You start from the shore :O This might give you the best experience.

We had option 2 due to limited time; we still had places to go to. And surely we would never take option 1; I'm a freediver and always want to explore the world beneath the surface!But before going into the water, we took some time taking pictures in and of the huge cross.

The giant cross, the landmark of the Sunken Cemetery of Camiguin

Time to go! Equip yourself with what you need. 

Getting ready for the snorkelling; No diving unfortunately, the water is not deep enough.

A lot of people come here and just come to the giant cross. What they don't realize is that what they're standing on is not really the Sunken Cemetery, but only the recreation of it, as a landmark that can be seen from a far.But what this beautiful graveyard is hiding is something more than piles of monuments; it has transformed into..

  

..what has been protected for 15 years, a marine sanctuary! The place is so rich in corals that almost no empty patch of sand can be seen. Found beneath the surface are the collection of clams in just this shallow water.. and Nemo!

Snorkelling with clams

the biggest of them

What is lost can always be found!

Further away is what awaits this main expedition. The giant cross was not made for the sake of a landmark, but it was a tribute, a representation, a recreation, of what was here in its time. Behold, the original cross of the famous Sunken Cemetery lying on the shallow sea!

on the way to the original cross

The original cross of the sunken cemetery

Before leaving, we explored the other side and found more beauty of it.

Oops! No picking of flowers!

Going to Camiguin? This is what awaits you! 

Travelling is beautiful, but without a little curiosity there is only so much you're going to miss. Explore, take risks; you don't know what mystery lies behind that rock. It may be life or death. How do you find out? You look at what's behind. It's your call.

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Camera used: GoPro Hero 4 SE, no red filter, just post-processing
Photo post-processing: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC, get your free trial now!

© All photos are taken by me. Use or modification of these photos are allowed only with my permission. Feel free to contact me just about anything: fb.com/pakinimo (Ed Lim).

Suggestions/comments/questions down below, or PM me on facebook. *I am willing to advertise any product that could aid my future expeditions! x