After eating a quick breakfast at Victoria Suites, our driver arrived and picked us up at four thirty in the morning. We took the still dark highway to the west towards Iligan, Lanao del Norte. Sleepy, our group once again fell asleep on the way. We only woke up to the endless shaking of our van as we took the rocky path towards one of the best places I've seen in the country: the pristine Tinago Falls.
With our guide, Kuya Jonathan, we descended the steep four hundred steps downwards the falls. After a few minutes, we finally arrived at the bottom, and we were all astounded by the color of the water: it was an unreal turquoise blue. The cold air made by the falls made me shiver with anticipation. We donned our life vests and took a balsa towards the falls. The water was very different: it was clean and fresh. I scaled a rock face about twenty or so feet high and jumped down. I was frightened, but the feeling of falling down in a seemingly endless plummet was one of the experiences I'll never forget. The wind rushing on my face until the splashing of the beautiful waters deafening my ears was something I want to do all over again. After listening to the stories of Kuya Jonathan while on the raft, we decided to leave the magnificent falls since we were pressed for time. With places still to set foot to, we tried ourselves against the challenge of the four hundred steep steps uphill. Our knees and legs creaked and groaned every step, but the experience of Tinago Falls served as a source of strength. After reaching the top, we said our thanks and bade goodbye to Kuya Jonathan, before starting to head back to Cagayan de Oro.
We took a short sidetrip to the Macapagal-Macaraeg Ancestral House, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's heritage home. There, we learned a little about history thanks to the very friendly and courteous staff who took care of the place. After that, we went to the country's highest waterfalls, Talon ng Maria Cristina, since it was just a short drive away. Situated inside a nature park in Lanao del Norte's biggest hydroelectic power plant, it is dubbed as the "Twin Waterfalls" since a rocky protrusion on the edge of the falls splits the water into two mighty currents. It was unfortunate that we were unable to see the falls in its full glory, since it was only during weekends when both segments of the falls are opened. Two hours on the road, we arrived back at Cagayan de Oro for our final adventure in the trip: the adrenaline-pumping white water rafting.
We transferred to a jeep and headed to the starting point of our adventure on the great rapids. After a hearty lunch and a few pointers from our raft guide, Kuya Bambam, we boarded our raft and started our adventure down Cagayan de Oro's river. We passed through numerous rapids, from simplest to the craziest ones. We paddled and steered our raft under the command of Kuya Bambam. After successfully conquering a leg of rapids, we raised our paddles high and shouted our cries of victory and relief. After almost four hours of white water rafting adventure, we arrived at the endpoint. At that time, it was the end of our adventure, so we dried ourselves and prepared for our return back home. Kuya Bambam gave us a lift back to Lumbia Airport, which was a convenient fifteen minute drive from the rafting adventure's endpoint. We said thanks and bade farewell, before entering the airport to board our plane back to Manila. After an uneventful wait for our delayed flight home, we boarded the plane at around nine in the evening, and shortly took off bound for Ninoy Aquino International Airport. At eleven in the evening, our plane made its final turn and landed safely and soundly at Manila.
The three days I spent in Mindanao was a tiring one. More than half of the time, we were on the road or on sea, traveling to our next destination. But all the sights we saw, people we met, and experiences we gained was definitely worth all the time and effort. This was my first time to travel somewhere far from where I grew up, and it made me see the glimpse on how exciting it is to embark on a journey to travel across new places.
No comments:
Post a Comment