CDO : Day 1

after five months of waiting, the day of our eagerly anticipated trip to cagayan de oro finally came. while the number of those who were going thinned out to just jona, allan, van and me, we we're still excited to go. I've arranged the lodgings and the schedule of activities (with the help of ting) two weeks before august 23. our flight via cebu pacific was at 505am so we had to be at the airport at least 45mins before or our seats will be given to waitlisted passengers. i woke up sometime around 230am to shower and do some final prep before driving to jona's house where i was to leave my car. we actually packed light for this trip - i myself managing to cram everything in my abercrombie knapsack with enough clothes, sandals, my nike presto and speedo flipflops. thankfully, ali's brother alexis drove us to the airport and we managed to check-in even with the early morning boo-boo's like allan coming in late and van forgetting to bring her e-tickets. we sorta did the walk of shame going to our seats at the tail end of the plane while those seated were eyeing us as if saying "latecomers!"

we got into cdo without any problems and ting's mom & dad picked us up from the airport. we were actually going to sleepover ting's house that night (yeah, while ting is back in manila) and we were lucky they even agreed to house people they never met before (laugh here!) - kapal no? tito francis was quiet and serious while tita jing was very much like ting, soft-spoken and nice you'd think she never gets mad in her life. they took us to their house pass by the xavier school and a few kilometers before the sm mall. the ramos house in cagayan de oro was big and spacious and had an awesome view of the hills and sunset (which we found out later). it was a house where you would want to retire and savor the peacefulness while rocking steadily on the chair overlooking the hillside. we were exuberant with joy that tita jing invited us to breakfast since were starving and we feasted on baudnon (super yum dilis-like), eggs sunny-side up, pork adobo and brown rice. we had some time to settle down after breakfast waiting for our pick-up to go white water rafting.

the jeep ride to where the rafting starts took a good 30-45mins ride. there were five other people on the jeep with us which we mistook for korean tourists but turned out to be from cagayan since they spoke some tagalog and talked with some local twang. when we got to the drop off point and were putting up our lifejackets and helmets, we were anxious what the first rapids will feel like since the first one was just a few meters away from the starting point - talk about baptism by fire, right? after some orientation about the basics of paddling, with camera (enclosed in a waterproof/underwater casing) in tow, we were all excited to start the ride. arlan, our guide, mentioned that there were 14 rapids in the trip and lunch was going to be sometime after the seventh rapids. admittedly, the first rush of water was nerve-wracking as i wondered what will happen if the raft capsized in the middle of the turbulent waters but after a couple more rapids and i was feeling mighty confident already. there were even two instances wherein we were asked to stand and paddle while we went through the rapids - talk about adrenaline rush. there was even a portion in river wherein you can float and let the current carry you off one of the smoother rapids - van & ali tried this one while allan & i stayed on the raft.

when we docked somewhere and waited for lunch to be ready, we waded in the water and swam towards the big rock in the middle of the river. this was no easy feat since the current were pretty strong and you can get dragged on away from the rock if you are not a strong swimmer. it was a bit difficult maneuvering with one hand while my other hand was holding the camera but i managed to swim through. when lunch time came, it consisted of crabs, shrimps, liempo, lechon manok and rice that came in heart-shaped coconut leaves (they called it "puso"). diets were off and we feasted like we didn't have anything for breakfast.

the next leg of the rafting adventure had ali & van on the front of the raft while allan and i were forced to the backseat (bummer!). we still had fun maneuvering the remaining rapids, other times trying to paddle through the more turbulent waters. there were some side trips along the way with one having us try to cross a portion of the shallow water only to get dragged along by the strong rapids/current. we had more photo opportunities along the way with arlan (our guide) managing to take some awesome background shots of the mountains, caves and water. there were a lot of jokes during the trip - our guide was actually a very funny guy. the last stop was actually a big rock wherein you can jump to the river. now this, ali, van and allan tried it and i decided to stay behind because i didn't want to get any more wet. i took some pictures of them jumping but they didn't really come out great because the light was against them.

when we got back to the ramos' house, we showered and change clothes and just chilled at the veranda overlooking the hillside. tita jing served us some popcorn, peanuts and later on some chocolate crinkles. we managed to take some nice sunset pictures even with some low clouds covering the sun. dinner was again a feast with fried chicken, salad, sweet corn, baked ribs, rice and ice cream. tita was really spoiling us and ting's family were excellent hosts. we chatted a lot with ting's sister guia who we learned is going to take the board exam like ting but in cagayan, and not in manila. we slept with a smile that night savoring the experience of the white water rafting. tomorrow was again something to look forward to.

white water rafting reservations :
rupert +63917-7073583
P1,400 (with lunch)
our guide arlan's friendster addy : riverguide_2003@yahoo.co,

for more white water rafting pictures :
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