We bought the airplane ticket going to Cagayan de Oro (CDO) eight months before our trip. Too far from the actual trip but who would say no to a ticket sale of a local airline.
The experience in the NAIA Terminal 3 was not so good for us. The plane has left us since we arrived late, 10 minutes after last call for boarding. So guys !!!! guys ! guys ! always arrive on time. Arrive 2 hours before the boarding so you still have time for any last minute things to do. Moving on, we don't want to waste the money that we paid for the tour so we bought new plane tickets.
While waiting for our flight (the second one :p)
Laguindingan Airport
Laguindingan Airport is the new airport in CDO since the old one is now used for other purposes. I like this airport because it has a great ambiance and nice landscape. The scenery is really cool, those trees, that cove and the wind that will blow upon arrival.
Shuttle is already waiting for just outside the exit of the terminal. We get in the car going to the hotel to check in and rest a bit since we don't have enough sleep the night before.
We were booked in Victoria Suite in the Divisoria Area of CDO. The hotel is just ok, the lobby, reception and dining is just ok. I am not impressed of our room, maybe it's their room for group backpackers. I am not quite sure of their rooms upstairs, if they look nice or just ok. We have tried the complementary breakfast on the last day of our stay and I did not like it :(. But this will do for a place to stay during the night. I will rate it 2 out of 5 since I am not impressed.
After checking in, we looked for a place where we can have brunch. It turns out that we were in the least restaurant studded area of CDO. We were all hungry so as much as we would like to walk a little bit farther to look for a local restaurant, Jollibee called our attention and there we had brunch.
12:30 in the afternoon, the guys from CDO Kagay has arrived. With the rafting boat loaded on top of the jeepney. This will be our service going to the famous CDO river. Kagay is a company facilitating the whitewater rafting in CDO. Kagay means river, it's their local dialect in the region. The team is very friendly and accommodating. They shared jokes during the trip going to the starting area of the rafting. Starting area is called the "Put in" because here, you put in the safety helmet and life jacket. There is a short lesson on how will the rafting be. The guides will teach you the precautionary measures and "what to dos" during the entire water adventure. Feel free to ask them because they are all friendly and ready to answer all your questions and address your whereabouts. I do not feel any hesitation in doing the water rafting because they seem to be professional in doing this.
What to wear and bring? Light material clothing, aqua shoes or durable slippers or rubber or sports sandals for the feet. Put sunblock as well especially during hot days. You can bring personal dry bags for the things that you want to bring during the adventure. You can get hungry during the rafting so you can also bring snacks that you can eat during the calm water parts. Put them inside the dry bags.
Us before the real adventure :D
Floating lesson before the actual rafting
Below are some pictures of our rafting adventure.
This concludes the adventure. This area is called the "Take out", where you take out the gears and wash.
You should try water rafting when you visit CDO. I strongly recommend Kagay for the whitewater rafting. We were insisting to treat them for a snack after rafting but they seem to be shy to accept our offer and they look busy for the next hours, maybe work related stuff for them. If I would rate them, I would give five out of five plus some extra points for the great water experience and taking good care of us during the entire time.
Kagay took us back to the hotel. We freshen ourselves and rest a little while waiting for our rafting pictures from Kagay to be delivered. When we got our pictures and videos clips in a CD, head out for dinner at Panagatan in the nearby mall. Panagatan is quite a famous region in the city as the locals told us. We had Pork Sisig, Shrimp in butter and garlic, Halaan, Kare-kare and rice. The food is great and just right for the exhaustive day that we had. We head back to the hotel after having some dessert in their mall as we need to wake up early the next day.
So why Paddle Forward? Go to CDO whitewater rafting to know :) Paddle forward !!! one, two ...
p.s. most rafting pictures are from Kagay, others were taken using my phone and my friends' phone.
Stay tuned for my next post about Mindanao.
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