Parrot's Peak, Mt. Pico de Loro [via iPhone]
travels
Cagayan de Oro (part 2- RAFTING)
Before we got to the river we had to trek 45 minutes downhill and we weren't prepared for that. As if forgetting my rash guard wasn't enough, it was a challenge to tread using my super thin flipflops. I'm just thankful they survived. Red's rubber shoes fell apart (the soles detached) and Steven's sandals were broken into pieces! Nevertheless, I had so much fun during the hike down but we had to wait for about 20 minutes for the rest to arrive. This part made me rethink bringing my family over for rafting. Maybe the advance level requires much less walking? The guys who weren't too active before this trip had their legs shaking for about an hour because of the trail (or lack thereof).
Diving into the cold water after the hike down = pure bliss
Oh dear, I pose like a dude.
I'm not sure if it was because we were all famished, but this meal was just SO GOOD. The guides set up a fire at one of our stops and cooked these on the spot.
Yes, our boat capsized. Our guide said it was the first time this had happened to him in 7 years! And to think their group's used to all the extreme sports.
You can see our raft approaching at 0:24 and I'm the one at the back with the grey sleeves and black helmet. Being the one farthest from the side where the boat tipped, I was stuck under it for a while! I was seriously scared of being underwater for too long since I couldn't open my eyes because of my contact lenses. I had to feel around the boat and I even tried pushing it to get it off me (major fail). Good thing the guides were able to move it away just so I can resurface and gasp for air. The vest was pushing me up while I was below the boat underwater- it was a challenge!
Fear just hit me after looking at this video- what if they weren't able to move the boat? I swallowed and inhaled so much water in panic. SO thankful I came out of that unscathed. My first thought when I came out of the water was to look for the rest. Apparently they had already been "rescued" by the other rafts.
Honestly, I'm not scared of anything (bugs, heights, animals, horror flicks, ghosts/spirits - nada) but I am scared of drowning. Have you seen the movie The Rage: Carrie 2? The ending still haunts me to this day and I think dying that way is just so painful. So far I've had 3 near-drowning experiences but it has never stopped me from hitting the waves. I just think the need to get laser eye surgery is even stronger.
Ayen and Red fell off their boat twice and yes, it was also captured on video. You can't really drown because you have a vest on, so the only risk is getting squished in between the rocks OR accidentally having your foot lodged in between two rocks and then eventually breaking it (okay, I may have sourced that from my imagination). We were taught to always keep our feet up before waiting to get rescued.
Ew, I look too happy.
One of the bridges damaged by [typhoon] Sendong
The entire trip I kept a deadpan face and my friends always make fun of me for that, but I was really just trying to take it all in. Being stuck in a building and in a city of noise and pollution with strategically-placed trees just drains you. I will always be in awe of nature and its untouched beauty!
Hope you guys had fun looking through the photos! These were all taken by one of the guides from Bugsay Rafting. The whole experience was just too much fun and I wish I could do it every year!
❤
Cagayan de Oro (part 1)
A few of my high school batchmates and I decided to book tickets to Cagayan de Oro after Sinulog since my college buddies Ayen & Steph convinced us to visit while they were guests at my house. I've been to CDO before with the girls from PSID (see previous posts here and here) and I had loads of fun, so I was so excited to travel again with my childhood friends (most of us have been classmates from nursery til high school!).
Our group had 3 girls and 9 boys, plus Ayen and Steph (who flew in from Manila just for us!)
I arrived with Kaine, Jed and Javy first and our flight was at 4AM. River trekking was supposed to be the first thing on our agenda, but we had to cancel it since the rain was so strong that morning. We even thought a storm was coming! Thankfully the weather got better at around 11.
We waited for more people and had lunch at Candy's at the new Centrio/Ayala mall.
This ice cream cake was amazing! It was 6" across and it wasn't too sweet. Totally forgot the name but it was the only ice cream cake they had. The lady took it out of the fridge when I asked what dessert was good for sharing.
We picked up some more people at the airport after lunch and proceeded to the hotel (The Ridge View Chalets). Some of us slept and then freshened up before dinner and some drinks.
DAY 2- Dahilayan Adventure Park
Most of us have already tried the zip lines so we were looking forward to the new installment in the park which was the Drop Zone. We still went on the longer zip line upon arriving since the pass allowed us to try out all the rides.
I was able to take a video and some photos of the view while on the zip line
The Drop Zone hauls you up 120 feet. You swing downwards as soon as you pull the release. Some of my friends were about to cry and my other friend closed her eyes the entire time. I guess it's not easy to look at if you're scared of heights.
I was talking to Kaine during the way up and as soon as we swung downwards we just concentrated on the view so we were so quiet during the entire thing. You can hear Red yelling "Boooring!" right before I scream "Rock On!" in the most whiny voice.
After Dahilayan we went to Kampo Juan where we tried the Anicycle, another zip line and the hanging bridge.
cool chairs and tables made entirely out of tires
It's basically a bike that has grooves on its tires as guides for the wires. The only trick to getting across without the fear of falling off (trust me, the bikes shake A LOT) is to remember that you're wired and strapped so it's perfectly safe! I love these types of things since you can really see everything below and around you. It's amazing!
The hanging bridge for me was the only one that was slightly scary. If you fall you land on the rocks on the river so it's instant death! Kidding aside, you're still strapped and all so shaking the bridge to scare your friends can be fun. By the way, that's the area where my iPhone fell off. The zip line before this required us to lean back before the end so it slipped out of my pocket. There was just too much force caused by the breaks. The battery's drained so the forest gnomes and fairies might need to rely on solar power to be able to use that thing.
We had dinner at a Filipino restaurant then some wine to end the night.
Missy BonBon gelato
Some photos around the hotel we stayed in...
