Thursday, October 24, 2013

Sto. Niño Cold Spring Camiguin - Dipping into Frigid Water in the middle of a Volcanic Island

      One of the last destinations in our tour of this enchanted island is a visit to the Sto. Nino Cold Springs. The term "cold" is too subtle a word to describe its waters.  Haven't you noticed that despite the intense heat of summer beating down on this volcanic island only a few dared to dip into its most inviting water?  You know why?  Because the water is FREAKING, FRIGIDY COLD!  A jump into its freezing coldness will send shivers up your spine.  Wow! a cold spring in a volcanic island.  That's indeed an astonishing freak of nature!
      This a natural pool where cold water naturally rises up from the bowels of this infernal environment to serve as a thermostat that stabilizes the temperature of the surrounding terrain enabling life to flourish on its surface.  When the cold water reaches the surface, it fills up the pool and overflows to the adjoining river where it eventually drains into the sea.  Diving into the pool with your goggles on will allow you to enjoy seeing fishes in the pool, the kind that can tolerate such extreme temperature.  Unfortunately, the water was too cold to allow me to scrutinize what species of fishes are there in the pool.

      By the sudden expression on  my face, you can immediately imagine how cold the water is.  However, don't be afraid that one might suffer from severe hypothermia while swimming in this pool.  I'm am just a little bit exaggerating the situation probably because of the excitement it has caused me.  Dipping and swimming in this cold pool is a truly memorable experience indeed!

      If you give it some time,  your body will gradually adjust and no sooner than you think, you will be accustomed to the cold and gradually begin to float into a relaxing position in the water.  You can enjoy it homeostatic euphoria of the moment as long as you stay in the water.  But when you suddenly leave the water, the coldness will suddenly be intensified as the wind hits your body and it would difficult to jump into the water again because a kind of positive feedback mechanism makes the water colder than before.  So my advice to you, stay in the water for as long as you can, and when you're ready to leave the pool, make sure you won't go back if you cannot stand the heat.. I mean cold.

      As the afternoon slowly ebbs away the daylight,  I am very thankful that the Philippines is an archipelago. Because of the sheer "smallness" of our country, the scenario would have been different if we are just one island nation.  All tourist sites would be accessible to everyone and places like this are most vulnerable to overloading its carrying capacity.  We wouldn't have enjoyed the clean, cool waters of the Sto. Nino Cold Springs if it can easily be reached by many.

    For now, the place is very clean.  The surrounding community is not yet big enough to cause an environmental impact to this beautiful, natural pool.  I hope that this place will still remain as it is indefinitely in the years to come so that future generations will still be able to freak out when diving into its cold waters.

    In behalf of the Pasig City Slickers, which are of course composed of my beautiful nieces Ndreah, Nizhelle and Nezh and only child Speed.  We are also very thankful to the guiding hands of our able-bodied tour guides namely Wowie and Bernie, who are of course my cousin and nephew respectively.

Join us again in our other adventures together with my sister Dannah, I am DocFun - The Doctor of Fun and Adventure!  MAUPAY NA PAGDINI! even though I do not know what it means. ha ha ha ha!