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By Rome Jorge, Lifestyle Editor
The kayak’s nose shot up into the air and, for
a moment, paused, giving time to realize how sincere the peril of
the moment was. Then the roiling water beneath fell, much like a
path plummets into a ravine. The sensation was more akin to a body
slam, a pile driver or an aikido body toss than to any roller
coaster ride. Each of the white-capped waves that assaulted us now
revealed cavernous dark maw. And now Cagayan de Oro River, stoked
into roaring rage by rain, flipped the kayak over, threw all
overboard and submerged us completely. There was now nothing to see
but brown murkiness, nothing to breathe but hope, nothing to hear
but the memory of what the river adventure instructors said.
Survival now hinged on being a nerd.
Move away from underneath the vessel. Face into
the direction of the current and point your toes up so that it’s
your feet and not your head that bangs first into the boulders and
cliff walls. And most importantly, after each rapid is a section of
calm water. All this was repeated mentally while bidding time to
breathe once more. The rapids instantly flood the mouth with every
attempt at inhalation.
Besides the morbidly seductive silence that the
murky depth provides, what was reassuring was the quality life
vests, helmets, kayaks, rafts, paddles and most especially Detour
Adventure Company’s well-trained guides—all locals who have know
the river like their own mother. This is a calculated risk with a
proven formula. You can depend your lives on them.
There was no panic at all. And true enough, a
section of calm water gave us a chance to breathe, flip the kayak
and clamber on board. Having ridden the bucking bronco, we broke
into smiles, laughs and yahoos. That was but the first of four times
that the kayak would flip over a 17km stretch of the river riddled
with no less than 23 raging rapids. These ranged as high as Class
IV—whitewater with large waves, rocks, considerable drops and
necessitating sharp maneuvers—and had earned ominous nicknames
such as “Kiss the Wall,” “Broken Smile” and “Surprise.”
Needless to say, it was invigorating and safe fun.
The river adventure’s more tranquil stretches
also offer panoramas of limestone cliffs crowned with wild tropical
foliage, quaint waterfalls, iguana basking proudly in the sun, river
swifts with tangerine breasts roosting on cliffside nests and
swallows with most brilliant blue plumage.
According Geronimo Garcia—local mountaineer
and general manager of Detour Adventure Company—the company offers
13 rafts, each sitting eight tourists and two guides, and often
works with other operators to accommodate as many as 300 people, as
is often the case when conventions are held in Cagayan de Oro City.
Differentiating his company from those of other
operators, Garcia stresses that Detour employs only river folk and
maintains a higher ratio of guides to tourists. Kayaks accompanying
the rafts serve as rescue vehicles. The guides who man these kayaks
are also versed in operating one’s video and camera equipment and
can be entrusted to keep them safe and secure in dry bags. They
paddling ahead and shoot from the most opportune locations. Besides
rafts, Detour Adventure Company also offers “Pinoy
rafting”—rides in huge truck inner tubings. Though rides in the
two-man kayaks are not commercially available, guests are encouraged
to try them.
River rafting is but one of the thrills offered
by Detour Adventure Company. These include a canopy walk, caving,
rappelling, zip lining at the Macahambus Gorge.
Crossing 120-meter long steel-cabled monkey
bridges from one tree canopy to the next suspended 150-meter over
the gorge, one has an awe-inspiring view of the sinkhole from the
towering trees that sprout from it. Better still is the way back;
one slides down suspended from a cable at rocketing speed.
Garcia first offered canopy walks and zip line
rides 1992 after a Canadian ornithologist oriented him to the
harness technology involved.
The site of the first victory of Filipino
revolutionaries over American colonial forces in 1900, Macahambus
also offers a few caves to the public where one can trace the steps
of wily freedom fighters defeated a numerically and technologically
superior invaders. The cave leads to a majestic cliffside view of
the river where one can also rappel down to the river’s edge.
Garcia notes that many tourists fly to Cagayan
de Oro’s airport and head straight for the whitewater rafting
rides and fly out without having visited the city. This is a pity.
Cagayan de Oro City and its surrounding town as well as adjacent
regions offer so many cultural, culinary and natural attractions, as
showcased by the ongoing Heritage Festival. Go to Cagayan de Oro and
stay for the ride of your life.
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