Camiguin - Cagayan De Oro 2012: a Photo Blog [Part 2]

Dear Juliet,

This is Part 2 of a three-part recollection of my trip to Camiguin and Cagayan de Oro last September 2012. If you missed the first part, check it out HERE :)

Day 2 started off early. We all changed to our swim wears and off we went to Camiguin's White Beach via two chartered bangkas.

Camiguin's White Beach is actually an island. No, actually, it's more of a sand bar in the middle of the sea. It has white sand. Not as white and fine as Boracay's, though. I think it's the lulubog-lilitaw kind of island so I'm not sure if it's safe to stay overnight and go camping. But, here are other activities which you might enjoy...

1. Ask a friendly tourist to shoot a Tabing Ilog inspired peg.

2. Enjoy wading in the water, stick your tongue out like Marilee, and sunbathe to get sexy tan lines. Don't forget to wear your sun glasses!

3. Jump for joy! Celebrate the beautiful gifts of nature.

4. Cartwheel if you can. Minsan ka lang makaka-tambling sa ganito kagandang lugar.

5. Orchestrate a Street Fighter inspired shot. Be sure to be the stronger guy, like Brenda in the picture, so you can tell your friends about your super powers ;p

6. Lastly, write on the sand. Proclaim that you've been to Camiguin's awesome White Beach. It's worth bragging about! Hehehe :)

After having breakfast in the lodge we were staying in, we headed back to the seaport to catch the RORO that'll take us back to Cagayan De Oro. Once again, we were fetched by our well-loved driver-slash-guide. [Notice the difference in treatment between Kuya Jimmy and the other "kuya." Hahaha!] 

We arrived in Cagayan de Oro City at past noon. Again, we didn't have lunch. We only had this snack made of corn. I forgot how it's called, but judging from the faces of these ladies, you'll know it tastes good! :) We willingly skipped lunch because all of us were excited for the next activity: WHITE WATER RAFTING!

This jeepney took us to the point where all the awesomeness and adventure begins! 

To start the day's extreme adventure, we were given helmets and paddles--the essentials for the best water ride I've tried so far. 

Next, we were welcomed to Cagayan de Oro river. According to our guide, Kuya Steve, it is their "office." The river is a natural boundary which separates two territories--Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon. It's thrilling to note that I've been in two places at once! Oh di ba? A Walk to Remember ang effect! Lovet ♥ At this point, we were oriented about rafting, taught how to paddle, and given safety precautions. You have to raise your paddle and say, "HIGH FIVE" when you've surpassed wild rapids. In our case, we shouted, "Tope" in honor of our dear friend who had to go back home that day and miss all the fun cos of work.

There were a lot of rapids which gave us different experiences. If I remember it right, this was the first "wild" rapid we had to conquer. Our guides, Kuya Steve and Birthday Boy [I forgot his name, but he was celebrating his birthday that day, so let's call him as such], told us to stand and SURF THE RAPIDS. We all did as we were told. And guess what?

Everyone of us, except the guides, fell off the raft. Sinadya nila ang mga pangyayari. Pinagsamantalahan nila ang aming kahinaan! Hahaha. You want proof?

Look at Kuya Birthday Boy's sheepish smile. Deep down inside, he's screaming, "Ako ang nagwagi!" *insert evil laugh for added theatrical effects*

From then on, we became more aware of the succeeding rapids. As a new one approaches, we'd do our best to successfully conquer it. As I've said, the river had different rapids and each rapid gave us distinct experiences. The challenge was to stay inside the raft.

If you happen to be a weakling and you can't stay inside the raft, don't worry! Lahat ng kaibigan mo, dadamayan ka magpatihulog. There's no other way but to go down the water. Hahaha! You can't fight the rapids, you just can't.

But have no fear! The guides will always come to the rescue! They'll pull you out of the water and bring you to calm parts of the river! But first, you'll have to endure some washing machine action. What do i mean? View next photo.

Well, by some washing machine action, I mean, you'll have to stay underwater and get tossed by the river's current like clothes in the washing machine. These currents are strong, mind you. Marilee even bumped her butt on the rocks and acquired a bruise when we fell. The currents can get so strong that our raft even overturned at one critical rapid. Some of my friends got trapped under the raft. It was a struggle, especially for the guides who saved us one-by-one. See that face of mine? Zoom in and see that I was literally struggling for air. The currents seemed to be dragging me down. A near death experience, I have to say. I drank a lot of water that my lungs felt like they were burning!

But as I've said, the guides will rescue you. That's Kuya Steve posing after rescuing me from almost being swallowed by the currents. The secret is to stay calm. Look at the floating thing behind us. That's Mary Ann who shared the same fate as me. She just relaxed, didn't fight the currents, and floated away to the still part of the river. The motto taught to us was: DON'T PANIC; SMILE, THERE'S A CAMERA. And so in this shot, I gathered all my strength to stand up and smile for the camera.

Our white water rafting adventure in Cagayan de Oro can be considered as a metaphor of life. It's a journey of ups and downs. Most of the time, we got knocked down, but there were people who always helped us to go back up. Oha! May dramatics na ganyan. Bet nyo yun? ;)

Plus, life isn't all about challenges and raging currents. There are also calm points that'll allow us to breathe, smile, and take time to enjoy the view.

We survived! After our White Water Rafting adventure, we were served a festive meal. This was part of the package we availed from the Red Rafts, the rafting company who took care of us. For our late lunch, we had the best chicken inasal, buttered shrimp, blue marlins, and I can't remember what else. Hehehe! The two guys at the right are our guides.

After settling in our hotel, we decided to try out a famous barbecue restaurant, whose name I forgot. Then, we had dessert at this place which I also can't recall. That night, we just shared stories of how each of us survived the epic white water rafting. We were just overwhelmed of the experience that we can't stop laughing about it.

That's me, re-enacting how I struggled for air. Hahaha!

Our fun and exciting Day 2 ends at this point! Read about the third day HERE.

TOUGH TIMES NEVER LAST.

TOUGH PEOPLE DO.

★ HAPPIDEZZ