Wet and Wild

Cagayan de oro- Day 2

We woke up early excited at the rafting adventure. It was going to be a VERY WET DAY.

The company we booked picked us up at the hotel  at 7:30. The jeepney we were riding had the red rafts piled up on top. COOL. 

After we picked up all the other people who booked the tour, it was another 30 minutes before we got to the starting point at the Cagayan River.. I secured my things in a waterproof bag and strapped my shoes real tight..


START
We were given a life vest, a helmet and a paddle and proceeded to the river bank.The guides then informed us about the safety rules we should keep in mind:

1. If you know how to swim- DON"T. The river is stronger than you think.
2. When you fall off the boat, FLOAT. That is what the life vest and the hat is for. They help you float. keep you head up and your feet up. Even though it was dry season and river was shallow, - do not attempt to stand. You could  get yourself stuck between the rocks and injure yourself.
3. Alway follow the commands of the guide (how to row, etc)

As you can see.. the rural people wash their clothes in the river, so if you fall off and taste detergent.... you know!! hahahaa

The river course was about 30 miles long.... and it will pass through about 22 rapids (we had a choice to have a beginners course and a extreme course.... we chose the extreme one!)

We chose to sit in front of the raft- better view and as with roller coaters, a more exciting ride! The rafts had a foot hold (a pouchlike indentation where you can put your foot to secure yourself). The funny part about it was that the right front had NO foothold and that was where my husband sat. FYI- He was the first one to fall off the boat.




ok. we would eventually get dunked... it was part of the fun after all..

.    ..

   sputter... sputter.... I was under the swirl of the water for what seemed like a loooong time.... it was kind of scary and I was thinking I will reach the surface at one point... (I had a lifevest)... I just kept repeating the things the guide told me... float and wait for the "rescue" ... pull your legs up....(so that it won't get caught in the rocks)... relax....

We passed by some rocks and had a nice rest, the views were wonderful... limestone cliffs... I took so many pictures, I can't possibly put them all here... we even saw some boys jumping off a hanging bridge.. showing off their diving skills....

and I put on sunblock.... guess it wasn't enough.. got REALLY sunburned.....

overall.... it was an EXPERIENCE....!!!

Flying like superman (or woman)

I'm BAAAACCCCK!!!! har har.. tired from all the fun.... but gotta go back to work as usual..

so many thing to blog about... I have to do it in increments...

ZIPLINE- Cagayan de oro City (south of Manila)

 First of all, I went on the 840 meter zipline. It was an hour drive from Cagayan de Oro city... the place was called Dahilayan. 

On the way there, we passed through the Del monte plantation.... pineapples as far as the eye could see....

Getting to the park, we signed up and waited for our turn. There were three lines you can try. a 150M one, a 320M one and the big momma... 840M!!
We decided to get the whole 3 lines for 600 pesos ($15) and since the lines at the shorter ones were quite long, we decided to take on the 840M one first.

You have to ride up to the top of the hill via a jeep they provided.
I don't know which was scarier, the jeep ride up or the zipline down.. the driver of the jeep that bought us up there was weaving around the dirt road like he wanted to throw me off.... hahahaa-- madman!

The platform looked like some kind of launchpad, or suicide drop, depending on your disposition. Even the walkway added to the drama of the zipline. (a hanging bridge? GULP!)
I got strapped on the line... and the place was a loooong way up... (was getting nervous) and watching other people screaming their way down was not helping.

As they let go of my harness, I was thinking about all the things the safety crew told me:
-- no jerky movements
--when reaching the bottom, tuck your head in
-- dont move your feet

I sure wasn't going to move.... bec I felt that if I did, I would fall off the harness that was holding me...

And then I was FLYING. The trees whizzed past me, the ground was a long way down. I was nervous, thrilled, contemplating what would happen if my harness broke all at the same time.

840 meters was quite long... about one minute from the top to the bottom.... that 1 minute, seems like forever.. by the halfway mark, I was feeling easier and could appreciate the beautiful scenery around me. WOW. When the line ended, you get a feeling that you wanted the last part to last longer.


THER 320M AND 150M LINES

After which we did the shorter ones. the 350 meters and the 120 meters.. by this time, it was a breeze... ( no screaming )... 840m was cooler BY FAR.