This is going to be a short post, about the glimpse of the Sunken Cemetery that we got while passing by the place, I admit to having taken a lot of photos when we went there, but as I was going through them, they were basically all the same, haha!
If there is one attraction in this island province that comes to mind when the name “Camiguin” is mentioned, it’d probably be the Sunken Cemetery. It’s kinda like the Burnham Park of Baguio City, or Eiffel Tower of Paris.
What I’m saying is that your visit to Camiguin won’t be complete if you don’t at least lay your eyes on it.
The Sunken Cemetery of Camiguin is exactly that: a cemetery that has sunk under the water.
Or, more like, it became submerged when a volcanic eruption pretty much buried towns and much of the island.
Remember that volcanic eruption I talked about that took place in 1871, instrumental in leaving behind the Old Church Ruins that I blogged about previously? That was the same tragedy that resulted in this sunken cemetery.
The cemetery that had the remains of the ancestors of the island were swept into the water and there it stays to this day. Today, it is marked by a giant cross built atop lava from the eruption that had solidified.
That cross is what visitors to the place can see.
In the mornings, when the tide is relatively low, people can see the tombstones of the old cemetery under the water, even if they are standing from the shore, as we were. However, it was afternoon when we got there, so we can’t really see them.
For a certain fee, you can ride on many of the boats docked on the beach and get closer to the large cross, for a much closer look at the sunken cemetery. Visitors can also snorkel around the area, and that can definitely bring you up closer and more personal with the place.
Our landlord did suggest that, which is why we rented snorkels. But it was already in the middle of the afternoon when we got here, and the weather was quite gloomy after having rained early during the day, so snorkeling kinda lost its appeal.
Personally, I think there is a degree of romanticism in how this place came to be. It’s like the spirits of the beloved ancestors of Camiguin buried in the cemetery refused to let nature completely drive them away from their home. So they made a compromise and stayed a fair distance from the land, but still close enough to still be able to keep watch over their children and people, much like guardians would.
So we just made do with viewing the large cross from the top of the stairs leading down to the beach. Took some photos with the help of the boatmen who were waiting for visitors to take a boat ride, bought some souvenirs, then made our way to the last stop of our multicab tour for the day.
