Saturday, February 18, 2012

day3: cagayan de oro whitewater rafting


I just cleaned my room and painted my nails and now I can't get out of my room 'cos I'm more than 100 percent sure that my niece will ruin my nails if I do and now I'm stuck with my laptop and the internet and I just thought that blogging is the wisest thing to do and if you noticed I just couldn't end this sentence no matter how long and incorrect it is now. Hahaha! :))

You still with me? Yes? Oh good! Because I have the last leg of my Mindanao series all for you guysss! Recap: We're done with our Bukidnon Adventure and we're back in CDO to end our lives. At joke yun syempre. I mean we're back in Cagayan de Oro for our whitewater rafting adventure. Yeah right, that's what I really meant.

We arrived there just in time for lunch. Our package is inclusive of lunch but I honestly didn't expect too much. To my surprise, it's the best meal of our entire trip. They served us shrimps, grilled tuna belly and chicken inasal. Tuna belly, FTW. Haha! May bonus pang soft drinks and banana. Our conclusion? They serve really good lunch with the possibility that it might be the last lunch of our lives. Very good logic, kiddos!

last lunch not! thank you Lord :*

After lunch, we headed to the starting point. Our preparation included wearing our life vests and helmets, putting tons of sunblock and listening to Kuya Jerome {or Jericho? or Joel? bad at names really} as he give instructions and reminders. We also had paddling lessons - forward, backward and.. uhmm.. strong forward ata yung isa! Bad memory. You have to understand I just studied hard for a certification exam and the braincells carrying my Mindanao memories were pushed far behind. Haha! Tell me it's a good excuse. :D

and so what kung naka-longsleeves and leggings ako?

We took the basic course with 14 rapids, the 11th being the most difficult one.  It was a three-hour endless paddling, counting, screaming and whining. Hay nako, the whiny lola inside me. Haha!

To give you an idea how it's like to go through a rapid.. First our main guide will shout "lock your feet", meaning we should insert our foot to what seem like pockets in the raft. We always answer with "naka-lock na" because to be honest we never take it off. Haha! Then he will shout "Forward" then we will all paddle while counting "1, 2, 1, 2".  One of us reached "3" while counting. Don't you just love that kind of presence of mind? Hahaha! :)) Everytime we're done battling a rapid, our main guide will shout "High Five" and we all have to raise our paddles, blades up of course, to the middle of the raft. Naimagine nyo na ba ang adrenaline rush? 

one of our first rapid encounters

Where the current is not too strong, they said it's safe to go down the raft for a swim. Hala sige, babaan naman kame. This is my first time to ever trust a life vest and I really had fun pretending I can swim. Someday, little miss, someday. 

peace y'all. i felt so brave. :P

Some more rapid stories. This might be a spoiler for those who have yet to try whitewater rafting. Skip it, as you wish. Anyway, remember the "high five" act? Sometimes the main guide will shout high five in the middle of a rapid just before an unexpected fall. Obviously, their goal is to take-away your focus so that eventually you'll fall from the raft. So remember to stay alert even while doing the high five. Take it from the experts. *ehem* Just so you know, our raft didn't overturn and no one from our group fell off the raft. Kapit-tuko awardees of 2o12. :P

high fiiiveee!!

zoom in to see how composed-looking i was
#thethingscameracando

Update 11.05.2013
Just saw our rafting vids again. Why didn't I share them here before? Why?!! It's never too late though. Here are the best ones..



We also passed by some mini waterfalls and the guides made sure that everyone gets to feel their refreshing water. It was so cold I almost can't stand it. It was that clean too, they even drank it.

refreshing spring water ♥

EA and I had our bida moment too. Bwahahaha! The second time they asked us if we want to go for a swim, only EA and I went down. With matching jump shots pa! Good thing I left my chicken courage in Manila. Travel tip: Magbaon ng madaming lakas ng loob. That's all you ever need, really.

here we gooo! *splasshhh*

We also passed by a snake cave. We didn't see a snake though, only shed skin hanging. After we saw the skin, they might have thought we're already convinced that snakes do live there and so they began with their evil plan. With the raft facing the cameraman, our main guide threw a black rope and shouted snake. We were all shocked to their delight. Harhar, you evil people.

And because I am evil as well, I chose a picture where I already realized it was just a rope. Look at how EA and I were already laughing while Sheena, Jelai and Dwin were still terrified. I can't help but laugh seeing this picture. Hahahaha! Best actress award goes tooo... Sheena! Peace, teh! You have your blog, you can get even! Haha! :)))

just for laughs :)

And finally as we approach the end of our adventure, we passed by another source of spring water. It was the most refreshing banlaw of my life. Imagine being soaked under the sun for three hours while your wet with not-so-clean river water. You'll definitely feel  relieved. See below for our FHM worthy wet looks. Haha!

awkward pose 'cause I was hiding my face :P

Our package included our ride back to the hotel but we asked them to drop us to Vjandep instead to buy pasalubong. We just took a tryc to go back to the hotel - damp, probably stinking and all. 

And that, folks, is the last story of my Mindanao Adventures. Now, I owe you the itinerary and the budget. That can wait for my next post. Give me some time to dig down my memory and squeeze my poor braincells. Sounds gross. Haha!

5 comments:

Lady_Blue said...

naku!! napalapit ka sa akin, sana nagkita tau.. haha! ganda ng water rafting s CDO lalo na sa Dahilayan, D Zipline.. WOW!

ganda ng mga pictures mo..

Sey said...

and habang ako ay nangangarap mag kayak mas wild pala ang ginagawa mo. hahaha. Di ko mapigilan tumawa sa mga lines mo, you always make me happy...ikonek ba yung masarap na lunch sa rafting. pero kung ako yun baka naisip ko din yun.

3 hours is way too long para sa nerbyosang tulad ko pero, this year I'm in for more fun and adventure so I'll definitely wait for the itinerary and the budget.

I'll remember your tips and if ever given the chance, kapit tuko din ako, hahaha, just to make sure I'll make it up till the end.

I love the pictures. Pero talo kayo nung manong sa pose. hahaha.

Kristeta  (kalokang Pinay) said...

Super cool & fun! Inggetz naman =)
Always wanted to try this but never had the chance. Great photos Apple at ang sarap naman ng food. Pero parang mas ok sa akin kung after ang food? Kaloka kapag malakas ang alon tapos super busog ka, haha!

Apple Borbon said...

@mommy-razz. sayang po. sana nagkita tayo. haha!

@wrey and robby. thanks for visiting. i followed you already. ;)

@sey. korek! mas bongga pa ang post ni manong.

@kristeta. may konting rest naman po after lunch. hope you get to try this too. ;)

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