Cagayan de Oro | White Water Rafting with Bugsay

CAGAYAN DE ORO | White Water Rafting with Bugsay
The World Class Water Rafting Adventure Of CDO

Paddle as if your life depends on it. An apt phrase for the foremost adventure of White Water Rafting that can be experienced in Cagayan de Oro. Though other places have already sprouted offering the same kind of thrill and adventure, Water Rafting in Cagayan de Oro remains to be the country's forefront in this kind of eco-tourism.

NOTE: These photos are from Bugsay, one of the few Water Rafting Tour group in CDO. We've paid for this photos as part of our souvenirs, and I enhance them using Picasa.

Before a wall of rock that is hidden in the shadows, we were struggling just to steer the boat forward.

I was with my travel buddy and 3 other guest we met in Budgetel. It has to be noted that the day prior to us partaking this adventure, it rained heavily in all over CDO, Bukidnon and Iligan. So the river is quite high, we can hardly call it White Water because of all the clay mud being swept, turning the water into brown. It's not by luck, but heavy rains actually means somber or tamer rapids rather than the usual killer. To our guides from Bugsay, todays trip is a lot less challenging, but for first timers like us, just looking at the surging waters off the side of the river somewhere in Bukidnon is daunting. Without protection, anyone who is swept by the current will be lost for sure. As we gather and prepare for take off, I marvel at the power of the rapids surging through, cold and loud splashes, it's like listening to the angry cries of the mountains that is echoing all over the valley.

Because the water is high at some part, we skimmed through with it marveling at the lush greenery before us.

Hundred meters from the jump off is marked by a foot bridge for locals to use. All along the rapids, we see locals along the river banks.

There are 2 types of Water Rafting tour that they can offer, that is the Elementary and the Intermediate, the difference though is not about the Intermediate as difficult, but that it is much longer. Even so, the tour starts with the gathering of guest in CDO, then bring them up the highlands of Bukidnon, and you guess it right, the snaking river brought us all the way back to the end point in CDO.

As what our rafting guide taught us prior to riding the rapids, is that there are many types of paddle that can be used, but on this one, we will use only 4 most common paddle, and these are for steering the raft.

The rapids go from calm to wild in just a matter of seconds. Though we took to finding the camera man at each calm point, we are kept alert of the next challenge.

For the most part, there is that calm raft boat ride, feels good to be under the shades of the thick foliage above.

Passing through the rapids, our photos are taken using a telephoto camera provided by Bugsay to document our adventure. Though I brought my camera, locked in my dry sack, it's just impossible to take good shots w/o splashing the camera. Bugsay had their camera man ride a Kayak instead, so he Kayak before or after us, then finding a calmer spot, he brings out the camera that's kept safe in a small dry sack. It has to be noted that I don't have an amphibious camera at the time of this trip, it would have made a difference photographing and taking video of our little adventure. The exertion alone took a toll off my buddies, though we work as a team, I can say I'm the only that goes to work out in a gym and regularly do cardio exercises, so really my only discomfort is that the sun hits the skin so harsh that we have to constantly get ourselves wet with the cold waters of the river.

Worried we might fall over; our guide was very good at steering though. He's the one at the back, and as you can see in the picture, I'm the odd one out next to him trying to balance.

We have high fives with our paddles, which is to keep us entertained perhaps.

Oh, I didnt miss to get a dip for myself. On the calmer banks that is, I took off swimming, and here you see me pulling my heavy ass up on my own.

Of course our adventure is not without the action, this addicting water sport just gave me the adrenaline fix I needed, and I can't wait to do it again.

Francis Balgos is a Call Center Agent, Weekend Travel Warrior, Amateur Spelunker, Sometime Surfer, Newbie Mountain Climber, Photography Enthusiast, Certified Beach Bum, A first born son, Faithful lover, True Explorer...

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