White
Water Rafting in CDO
Extreme Adventure of a Lifetime
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 6)
‘This is what we came for to CDO.’
I told my fifteen year old daughter
as I
booked for a white water at the hotel
immediately after arriving in the city.
We were given a choice if we wanted the
The 3 hour shorter beginner’s
rafting adventure
or the
longer advanced rafting adventure.
.
We chose the one for beginners as we had
no
previous experience In white water rafting
except of course for the more benign
theme
park rides like Seaworld’s
Shipwreck
Island in San
Diego.
…the Grizzly
River Run at Disney’s
California
Adventure Park in Anaheim,
…and locally, Enchanted Kingdom’s
I booked on the Wednesday night,
our first day in the city, for a Saturday
morning rafting as we would be staying
overnight in Dahilayan the next day.
Saturday
came, my daughter and
I woke up very early for the rafting.
My wife and young son were still asleep.
We had a heavy breakfast at the Misto,
…and a jeepney picked us up at the hotel
by
three guys from Bugsay,
the rafting operator contracted by Seda
Hotel.
We were taken aback for a while
when we saw the jeepney,
… it has been more than two decades
since I have taken my last jeepney ride.
I also have no knowledge if my daughter
had ever taken a jeepney in her lifetime.
She said ‘yes, in school’ when I asked her.
It turned out as a pleasant surprise that
the rough
jeepney ride was an adventure on its own.
Does this car have any suspension at all?
I jokingly asked the driver as it felt like
riding
a roller coaster despite the very smooth
city roads.
We picked up a Singaporean family of four
from another hotel who would be joining
us on the rafting expedition.
They
need at least four to six persons per boat
so that makes us six in our group -
together with the two guides
makes us eight. A very ideal number
and according one of the guides- lucky.
We dropped by their office near Divisoria
to pay our dues and sign consent….
…and off we went uphill and upstream where
our
white water rafting adventure will begin.
We had a pre- rafting orientation by the
riverside
and this was the time we knew that Bugsay
is a Visayan word for paddle.
We would be apparently passing fourteen
major rapids and the first one was just few
meters away from the starting point.
The official photographer and videographer
that Bugsay commissioned for the trip was also ready..
I looked scary at first- but after the
thrilling rough rolling and tumbling-
we were ready to rock-
Our first rapid got us all excited and
had all our adrenalins rushing to the max-
and when it was over-
…and we were asking for more rapids-
....and much much more.
Later, we gained so much confidence that we were
brave enough to face the next rapid standing up.
In between the rocking and the rolling,
we were treated to some
of the most beautiful sights in our lives.
It was nature at its best…
We paddled under waterfalls,
…inside bat caves,
…amidst virgin rain forests,
and rustic countryside.
The guides also allowed us to swim on
the safe parts of the river…
…and even allowed the kids to ride
the smaller canoe.
After our fourteenth and final rapid…
...it left us craving for more
and we didn’t want to stop anymore.
Our White Water rafting experience
was an extreme adventure of our lifetime-
...that made our trip to Cagayan de Oro
worthwhile and worth coming back again.
We’ll have enough time to prepare
For more advanced rafting adventure
on our return to Cagayan de Oro.
When we returned to Seda Hotel and realized
that we would be returning home to Naga City
the next
day- we started missing CDO already
and we have not even left yet.
Watch out for my Blogs on
Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon Series
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 1)
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 3)
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 5)
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 7)
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 8)
(CDO and Bukidnon Series 9)
