By: Gary Magpantay
As I arrived at the City of Golden Friendship (now being called as the City of Blossoms in Bloom and Boom), I rushed out of the airport and took a cab to check in my things on our hotel. Right after checking in, I hustled again towards a taxi to explore and experience my first itinerary. My journey towards my first stop was surely an adventurous one as I experienced to hop on a ‘habal-habal’.
Do you know what a habal-habal is? A motorcycle! Yes, literally a motorcycle. It is quite fascinating to know that a two-wheeled vehicle is used for public transport.
Well, it is cool enough for me to say that the way I commuted to the place was an adventurous one. As we went up towards the mountain and go through some of its rough and rocky road, I felt the shifting of the air from warm to cold breeze, sensing a wonderful reward at the destination of my trip.too
And at the end of this travel via a ‘habal-habal’ begins my first extreme journey.
Mapawa Nature Park:
Mapawa Nature Park offers hidden adventures in the middle of the mountains. You need to ride a mini truck for you to experience them.
When I arrived at the place, I was fascinated by some of the activities to choose from: such as the river trekking, sliding on a natural water slide, and diving from this 25 ft high cliff to plunge into the flowing river.
I was thrilled enough to be able to experience one of its amenities: “Rappelling.” The height of the cliff wherein I experienced to rappel was about 65 ft. I was quite nervous during the rappelling moments since there was a sudden change in the slope of the cliff that caused me to tangle at the middle. But as I reached the bottom part of the cliff, I can sense that fulfillment as I immerse to its cool and refreshing river.
The park surely offers fully loaded facilities. They have ready-made obstacle courses and a vast area of grasslands perfect for camping.
They have a refreshing view of river falls wherein you can sit and have a relaxing moment.
You can also enjoy and relieve your stress as you glide through their zip line.
It will also be ideal for kids, for they will enjoy its playground in a nature-designed perspective.
If you forget that this park offers amenities wherein you will get wet, don’t worry because they also offer t-shirts and shorts as souvenirs.
White Water Rafting
I believe, White Water Rafting is one of the best, or should I say, the best adventure that you will experience in Cagayan De Oro. If you have plans (if not, I encourage you to make a plan) to come to CDO, you may forget all the itineraries you have in mind but not this one. Just the mere thought of rafting through a 19-km river of CDO wherein you will encounter 22 major rapids (for advanced to beginners level – excluding the minor rapids) for 4 to 5 hours, surely, you will never ever forget this experience.
What’s more fascinating in this scene is that you will be travelling on the border of Bukidnon (right side) and Cagayan De Oro (left side) all throughout the 19-km route.
Mixed emotions (excitement and anxiousness) may bother your feelings about this adventure, but take your fears away as you will be protected by this safety gears.
Just a tip my friends: never forget to wear arm sleeves and leggings, apply sun blocks on your exposed skins as you will be exposed to extreme sunlight. If you want to keep your hands smooth, don’t forget to wear gloves, as the pressure on paddling may give you callous hands in the end.
This journey will surely be a great challenge for every rapid that will come your way. Dare to face your fears and keep your focus on never-ending paddling! If you lose focus, you might end falling off the rubber boats.
For every major rapid you will accomplish, you may raise your paddles, and altogether shout “high-five” (or whatever taglines you want) to release your tensions and after-shocks.
You might think that the trip is very exhausting. But don’t worry, for there are still streams and shores wherein you can stop and relax for a moment.
At the end of this journey is a still stream that calms you from that challenging adventure; an extreme opposite of what you have encountered during your white water rafting journey.
Jatico Adventures:
Do you want a place that offers you the sense of calm relaxation and extreme adrenaline? Come to Jatico and have both of these experiences.
At the top of Jatico is the Mahayhay peak. The place is an overlooking of Davao, Camiguin, Lanao, and Bukidnon.
Mahayhay peak also offers different amenities. One of which is a rest house made of bamboos wherein it swings along the breeze of the air, making it ideal for sleeping moments.
Sure bet that this place also offers jam-packed of adventures for they have facilities such as a 4-course zip line (to be upgraded to 5-course zip line), ATV, air soft and bungee jump.
But, the unique and amazing experience here in Jatico is the big swing. Do you believe you can fly? If you do, try this big swing and feel that flying is now possible. In the big swing, you will be pulled up by a mechanical pulley up to almost 90 degrees, and then… BOOM goes the landing. And on the other side of the swing, you’ll see yourself enjoying with an overlooking view.
Macahambus Adventure Park:
You need more adventures? Try Macahambus Adventure Park and experience its distinctive challenges. Yes, it may be almost the same as what others offer, but take note of its distinction.
First, try their zip line! Have you ever heard of a zip line that fluctuates as you glide through it? You’ll experience it here in Macahambus, as you see yourself going up and down as you glide through its zip line.
Next is rappelling. If you want extreme challenge, try it! What is its difference that makes it extreme? You will just rappel down from this 170-ft high tree!
But wait, there’s more! And take note of this! What’s more challenging in this rappelling experience is that you will need to go through a hole surrounded by leaves of what they call as poison ivy! Yes! If your skin bumps with these leaves, prepare yourself for one week of skin itch and irritation! Are you ready for this challenge?
They also have hanging bridges wherein you will definitely feel dizzy once you finished crossing these bridges.
Macahambus is also historical for this was the place where Filipinos attained their first victory of a battle with the Americans during the early 19th century.
It preserves a cave that was believed to be a hideout of the Filipinos during the Filipino-American war. This cave is surely one of its wonders. When you go along the other side of the cave, you’ll see an astonishing view of Cagayan De Oro river.
Food Specialties:
After these long exhausting, exciting, adventurous, overwhelming and wonderful journeys, what’s next? For me, it is FOOD of course!
Every journey you will accomplish, feel free to fill your tummy by the variety of foods that Cagayan De Oro offers.
Try this bilao filled with shrimps, sisig, pork barbeque and rice perfect for group of people such as barkadas, family, etc (available Cabula River Resort, just right after the 19-km White Water Rafting).
If you want to rest for a while and have a cozy moment, Coffee Works is a coffee shop that will suit your needs. I would definitely recommend this coffee shop as this is much more economical (almost half the price compared to other well-known coffee shops). What attracts me the most about this shop is that it was conceptualized and is owned by our fellow Filipino. Wow! I can really say that I’m a proud Pinoy!
For those who are ham-lovers, Slers ham would definitely be one of the best that you could have ever tasted. Do you know that their country style ham takes 3 months for its curing process? That span of time is worth it when you savour its sweet and juicy taste! With its taste, I can conclude that time is gold indeed!
With all of these experiences that I encountered, I can say that Cagayan De Oro is a place filled with extreme adventures. Plus have these bonuses of food specialties to conclude your visit to the city to be perfect and complete.
JIL Cagayan De Oro Sunday Service:
Place: 5232 Mabini Capistrano, Cagayan De Oro City
Time: First Service – 7:00 am to 9:00 am
Second Service – 10:00 am to 12:00 nn
Third Service – 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm