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Published: October 10th 2006
Eloi and I jumping off a 30-foot high bridge
This was my first attempt at freefall jumping (and did it thrice today). Tee hee!Today’s our last day here at Cagayan De Oro City or CDO. Similar to yesterday, De Oro Mountain Explorers or DOME (contact
Jerome at 09194043930) shall take us to a day of thrill and adventure. We are spelunking at
Kweba De Oro, which was first explored by DOME and first filmed with Beauty Queen and TV Host, Mirriam Quiambao. Afterwhich, we shall do what most tourists came to CDO for: Water Tubing, also known as
Pinoy White Water Rafting.
We were picked up from PNRoa at 7:30am. Via DOME’s jeep, it took us only 30 minutes to get to the cave’s point of entry. The cave is part of the municipality of Lumbia.
We trekked for 20 minutes around the local’s backyards and wet farmlands till we got into the slippery mouth of Kweba De Oro. We were donned in harnesses and yellow hard hats before we got inside the cave. I’m glad they provided each of us our own waterproof flashlights.
Rapelling at Kweba De Oro
The guides established ropeworks so we could rappel safely into the base of the cave (approximately 25 feet down). Most of my friends were climbers so it didn’t take too
long before all of us got down safely. I like rappelling. It was like walking… only backwards, vertically! Teehee!
Ahhh... the Smell of Bat Dung
We waited till everyone got down including our guides. The scent of bat dung didn’t get the better of me. It even smelled like Sinigang na Hipon (Shrimps in Tamarind Soup). Call me weird but that’s what my brain tells me. HEHE! Anyhow, I lost my developing appetite when a bat pooped on my right arm. I should have taken a picture of that, though. I beamed my flashlight on the cave ceiling and I saw hundreds of red bat eyes staring back at me. Others find it scary, but I find it cute. Nature never fails to amuse me.
We crawled deep into the cave and slipped on rocks drenched in wet soil and bat dung. We found stalactites and stalagmites, and some columns too. At one point, we had to work our way around a big rock that blocked the cavity of the cave. I heard loud water splashing only to know that some of the guides jumped into deep water! Wow! We saw formations of sparkling rock on the
Rapelling down Kweba De Oro
It's just like walking... only backwards, downwards, vertically upper walls of the cave. To me, some were shaped like shark teeth - white and sparking - only rough. We also found some fish which they say is blind fish. They could be right; these fish do not need their sense of sight to see any in the dark.
We went through more slippery rocks and pools of water. In an hour’s time we were at the exit of the cave. We had to totally immerse in the water though. There’s no other way, unless we walk and crawl back to where we started. We walked outside of the cave for about 15 minutes and found ourselves in someone’s backyard. We realized we have traveled under a mountain!
We boarded the jeepney waiting for us. It was already 11:00 am so we had lunch near Xavier School. We rested a bit for our next adventure…
Jumping off Cabula Bridge…
At 1:00pm, the jeepney brought us to Cabula Bridge which is in Bayanga, Lumbia. We were given PFDs (Personal Floating Device) and Jerome told us we are about to jump off the bridge which is 30 feet above the river. Yehey!!! He briefed us about
Moi
In a tunnel leading to a deep pool of water the proper way of entering the water. “Hold your vests. Elbows in. Straighten your legs.” Sounds easy… feels even better! I volunteered to jump first. So I did… Weeee! As I entered the water, it felt like the water slapped me on the butt. I realized I did not straighten my legs so as soon as one of the guides picked me up from the running river, I climbed up the bridge to make a second jump.
Jumping off Cabula Bridge… AGAIN
I was dripping wet and Eloi told me to jump with her. So we did! I straightened my legs this time and I felt a rush a few seconds before hitting the water. Then a few more moments as I hit the water, I felt stepping on the bottom of the river. I didn’t feel any pain this time. I am glad I did it right already. Wooohoo! (Direk isa pa! Naks, feeling Ate Vi)
Pinoy White Water Rafting / Water Tubing
We each sat on our own “raft” - not the kind of raft we used at Chico River in Kalinga two years ago. This time, it’s DOME’s special raft for White Water
Rafting, Pinoy Style. Although they have rafts for the original style, which is the Western style, we simply decided to try this for a change. This raft is a ring of air-filled rubber, probably like those placed inside truck wheels - only larger. I call this Water Tubing instead. It’s just me, HEHE. I’m just OC because I first tried Snow Tubing in Toronto and they use the same air-filled rubber to slide down the snow. Besides, when you say water rafting, it means paddling your way thru the rapids. Here, we won’t be doing any paddling. Only the guide does the paddling (still not with an oar, but with swimming paddles) whose own raft is connected to us.
We braved 14 rapids in a span of 1 and a half hours. Our raft flipped over once and the guides were quick in grabbing us from the strong current. It was fun flipping over - even in slow motion! I remember Jerome telling us that he will reward those who flipped over with VJandep Pastel! Yehooo now I have appetite for Pastel. Hehe!
The Eraser
I remember our guide paddling our raft under a huge protruding rock.
Shot taken in mid-air
A view from below the bridge I scampered into compressing myself down into my raft so as not to hit the rock which was already over our head. I screamed a bit and wondered why he had to take us there. We all had a good laugh anyhow. They call that rock “The Eraser” because it can erase and interchange our faces! Our guides told us he once brought tall men under that rock and they screamed like little girls! Bwahahaha!
Jumping off a 20-foot high rock
We approached a scenic rapid, which I consider my favorite. I remember seeing that vast stretch of rocks that caused such long rapid and there was a grown man standing and fishing amidst the rapids! Brave huh!
A few minutes later, we came close to a 20-foot high rock with some grassy vegetation. Our guides encouraged us to climb it and make another jump from the top! Only 3 of us did: Cary, Eloi and I. Looking down from the top of the rock, I felt a bit scared. Jumping off this rock felt harder than my previous jumps from the bridge, which was actually higher from the river. The water had stronger rapids, but more
Briefing before we brave the 14 rapids
That's Jerome of De Oro Mountain Explorers than that, I can’t remove from my mind the large rocks from below that my head my hit on and leave me unconscious. The guides convinced me there are no rocks beneath the current. They even jumped off into the water HEAD FIRST for several times to prove me wrong. I had to deal with my imaginary rocks. After Cary and one guide jumped off, I told myself to forget about the rocks. I jumped off, and so did Eloi. Whew!
I was already looking forward to my prized Pastel.
We went through a few more rapids, and then I tried body boarding. I like it because it makes me feel more immersed in the water. We all enjoyed the view of the mountains and lush greenery. It was a scene I wish I could take home with me. Too bad we didn’t have waterproof cameras with us, even the cheap disposable ones. =(
On the last rapid, our loyal jeepney was already on sight. The fun is over. But atleast, we can all have our Pastel! All of our rafts flipped over. Good thing.
A Night at the City
We were back at PNRoa
by 3:30pm. We all washed up and toured around the city. We saw CDO’s Divisoria and Xavier School which were adjacent to each other. We took a cab that took us to High Ridge, which was overlooking the whole city. It used to be an outdoor restaurant but it has ceased operations as per mayor’s instruction. After which, we had dinner at my relative’s house. We were lovingly served with an exclusive feast of crabs, shrimps, beef steak, and fruits such as watermelon and mangoes. Beer, red wine, and softdrinks were overflowing. We even took turns singing with the live band which my nephew runs.
Today’s activities were a perfect farewell to us. Goodbye friendly Cagayan De Oro. Till next time! Hello Camiguin!
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anonymous
non-member comment
I'm flip! I'm flip! wehehehe ;P