zuma vs. nobu

On my last day in Hong Kong, I decided to take the MTR to Central and see if 8 1/2 Otto E Mezzo Bombata at Alexandra House would take me without a reservation. Alas, they were fully booked. So I went to the next building, The Landmark, home of my beloved L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon, and stood in front of the directory to choose a restaurant.

And there it was: Zuma. Cuisine: Japanese. A welcome change from all the Chinese food I'd been eating the past four days.

12 noon on 15 August 2012. The calm before the storm.

When I was a small DB, I used to read a Pinoy komiks series called "Anak ni Zuma". It was about a girl named Galema who had two snakes growing out of her... er, nape. Her father was the evil serpent- man Zuma. Obviously this restaurant has nothing to do with that.

"Antipodes" means any two places that are on opposite sides of the earth. It's also the name of a group of islands in New Zealand which is diametrically opposite Greenwich, England. You learn something new everyday.

last day in camiguin

We didn't have to leave Camiguin until mid-afternoon and so we hired a multicab to take us to the sights we weren't able to visit the previous day because of the downpour. Including a ride to Benoni Pier to catch the ferry back to the city, we paid 1,200 pesos.

At 9AM, Ardent Hot Spring was practically deserted.

the facts of luna

1. Luna Ristorante Italiano is one of the best restaurants in Camiguin.

2. There are only a few "real" restaurants in Camiguin, so chances are you will end up at Luna anyway.

3. The flavors of their version of Inslata Caprese are alright, even though the mozzarella is the low-moisture kind, not the semi-soft fresh type. I'm always happy to see our sweet and plump native tomatoes used in salads, instead of the bland imported or greenhouse varieties. And the extra virgin olive oil is green and fruity-- obviously high quality.

Luna's Insalata Caprese, 4.25/5

90 kilometers in one day

The best way to explore Camiguin Island is by motorcycle. Not a lot of people know this.

This is what commonly happens: As soon as you step off the ferry at Benoni Pier you are accosted, albeit politely, by a dozen tour guide/drivers offering their services for the day. You pick a guy and negotiate a rate, usually 1500 to 2500 pesos, depending on how many are in your group and how many hours you expect to rent his vehicle. You get into a multicab which can fit six to eight people. Maybe more, if you're skinny and/or enjoy close physical contact. You are then whisked off in an Amazing Race-like fashion to visit all the must-sees on the island. You make it back to the pier in time for the last ferry so that you can go back to Cagayan de Oro City and upload your pictures on Facebook.

But that's not how we roll. We prefer to take our time, to stop and smell the proverbial roses, to get to know the local people in their natural habitat and to eat the native specialties. A motorbike is perfect for this type of undertaking.

Our first stop was the Philvolcs (Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology) Observatory on Mt. Hibok-hibok. It was only a few minutes' drive from our cottage near the beach in Mambajao but it felt like a different world.

One of the scientists at the facility took a break from "observing" and we had a nice long chat about the importance of their work, what it's like to live in Camiguin, the problems of Mindanao and how to attract more tourists and foreign investors. Friendly guy.

how to get to camiguin

Last November, two local airlines declared a seat sale. I just couldn't resist the rock-bottom prices and bought a whole bunch of plane tickets. That's how I ended up going to Cagayan de Oro in June for only 1,300 pesos round trip from Manila.

But Cagayan de Oro was not the objective. It just so happens that Lumbia Airport in CDO is the closest airport to the island province of Camiguin, a place I last visited in the early 1990s.

We arrived at Lumbia around 830AM, too late to catch the Ocean Jet ferry at the CDO pier which, um, jets to Camiguin only once a day. The alternative is to take the bus to Balingoan port where the RORO (roll on, roll off) ferries are scheduled every hour throughout the day.

From the airport, it was about 50 minutes by taxi to Agora Bus Terminal in the city. We paid the driver 200 pesos for two people, which is what we agreed on when we got into the cab. He let the meter run and it read PHP197.50 at the end of the ride, so it wasn't a bad deal at all.

After a quick and cheap breakfast outside the terminal, we paid the 2 peso "usage fee" to enter and luckily an air-conditioned bus was just about to leave. The bus fare was PHP128 and it took us a slightly grueling 2.5 hours to get from Agora to Balingoan.

When we alighted from the bus, it was lunchtime. There were a couple of clean-looking eateries right across from where the buses were parked. We had a very tasty meal at Agnus Lechon Baboy for only 60 pesos per head. So cheap, and they had an impressive array of pre-cooked dishes. There wasn't any lechon, though.