Thursday, March 10, 2005

Cagayan de Oro Extreme (Part 1)

*note: this article is long overdue. i should have post this weeks ago but i wasn't able to finish it. i was also waiting for the pictures to be scanned so i could upload them here. got no digicam yet so i have to have the pix scanned first but then, i always forget to bring them whenever i go to an internet shop. oh well... i'm posting this article already without the pix. err, i haven't scanned them, yet. ehehehe. could someone do it for me? lol i'll post them SOON. maybe tomorrow ;) or maybe on Saturday. i'll find time, promise!

february 9, 2005


i survived.

no, i did not joined GMA 7's reality show, Extra Challenge. well, i just thought i did... :)

imagine yourself about 12 stories up in the air, and the only thing supporting you is a metal bar two inches wide that's shaking in the wind. you move to step on the next little bar but you are distracted by what you see below... a 120-foot drop to the forest floor. can you feel it now? that's how i felt (worsen a hundred times) during my first few minutes at the CANOPY WALK in Misamis Oriental.

from Cagayan de Oro City, it took us (me, the Lovely Day Staff, and De Oro Mountain Explorer peeps) about an hour drive to reach the lush rainforest of Magbais in Claveria, a town in MO. sa sasakyan pa lang, nilalamig nako. well, bukod sa sadyang malamig ang simoy ng aircon ng umagang 'yun, nilalamig ako sa kaba. i've had enough on our first day (on Part 2, you will understand what i mean *wink*).

from the jump-off point, we had to take a 1.5-kilometer hike uphill to be able to reach the first platform (there are five platforms built on trees 100-120 feet tall). according to our guide, it will only take us about 20-30 minutes to get there. but i was pretty sure, it will double because we will be shooting Christian on the way. ironies nga naman ng buhay. nakabiyahe ka nga nang malayo at nakarating sa mga lugar na hindi lahat ay pinapalad marating, pero kailangan mo namang magtrabaho. sigh. oh well...

from the first platform, we had to slide-down rappel to be able to get to the 2nd deck. waaaaaa! parusa talaga ang first steps kahit kelan. i was sweating cold. felt like i was about to take a final exam without even opening a single page of my notes. hmm... think it's closer to THAT feeling when you hear a very URGENT call from Mother Nature and you're on a public transpo and still an hour away from home! bwahahahaha! yaiks! that feeling... get the picture? or let me say, i had a hundred butterflies inside my stomach. samahan mo pa ng isang daan ding larva na gumagapang sa dibdib ko! wehehehe!

but the rappel was great! after i've jumped and hung, everything else felt good. feeling ko, isa akong Mulawin na lumulipad sa himpapawid. hehehe! was even laughing at nagawa ko nang magbiro pa sa gitna ng ere. at gusto ko pang mapasigaw ng, "isa pa! isa pa!"

now, time to do THE WALK. to get from one platform to another, we had to walk on the hanging bridges made out of steel cables and two-inch stepping bars. imagine that! only TWO INCHES! just the thought gave me that shiver again and made my knees feel weak. very weak. "AYOKO NAAAA!!! sino ba nagsabing gusto kong mag-SP dito?" napasigaw talaga ako. sheesh. and all i hear was people laughing. sige, pagtawanan nyoko. pag ako nakatawid at kayo hindi, pagtatawanan ko din kayo... habang nagba-bike sa hanging bridge! bwehehehe! ok shao, dream on *lol*

even if there were two harnesses supporting me, the first steps were terrifying! no, make that double terrifying! the wind was kinda strong that day and the bridges sway with it. uh-oh... i felt like running to the next deck and hugging the tree for my dear dear beautiful life! hehe.

but then, all the tension and fright flew away with the blowing wind as i was amazed by the extraordinary forest view below and around me. for a few seconds, i was astounded. there i was standing on a gigantic tree (120plus-foot tall) and there are thousands more surrounding me! all of my fear vanished into thin air as I enjoyed the lush view of nature that's sooooo far from the city scene that i was used to. an escape. a sweet sweet escape from all the shitty things in my life. how i wished the clock would stop ticking. naisip ko, kapag yumaman ako, magpapagawa akong rest house sa tuktok ng isang higanteng puno sa pusod ng gubat. hehe.

the next steps were easy. sabi nga nila, sa umpisa lang yung kaba. once you're there, sisiw na. the longest bridge that we had to cross is about 500 meters long. ang yabang ko pa, "wala bang mas mahaba???" nyahahaha!

and really, i felt good and PROUD about myself when i finished the course. do you know that Vince Hizon and Diane Castillejo didn't make it? Vince was still Diane's co-host then in their sports program in ABS. Vince was cursing all the time while doing the slide-down rappel. when he reached the first deck, he immediately hugged the tree and cursed some more! sheesh. what a man! pa-macho-macho pa naman! hmmm... makes me think dirty, huh. know what i mean? *winkwink* lol

Diane went back there THREE times. she wasn't able to do it on the first and second time. she didn't even tried doing the rappel. what the...? she's done alot of extreme sports and she chickened out in Canopy Walk??? and like Vince, she was shouting bad words everywhere, dahil sa kaba malamang. well, Diane didn't finished the course even in her third attempt. she just stayed at the second deck and let the camera man do all the shoot up to the last deck. now, that made me feel more proud about myself and our staff. wahehehe! =p

"walang aatrasan... ituloy ang laban..."

there goes Extra Challenge's theme song. i just felt it suits me more now.


8 Comments:

At 5:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

wala kong masabi kung hindi.. WAY TO GO! hehe..

wanna see the pictures and see how terrified you looked. joke! pero ha.. belib ako sayo. tapang mo.. i'm afraid of heights so i think i can't do that canopy walk thingy. unless someone dared me to and of course when there's a huge prize money waiting on the other side. bwahahaha.. (mukhang pera eh noh! lolz)

-aRraH

 
At 5:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

wala kong masabi kung hindi.. WAY TO GO! hehe..

wanna see the pictures and see how terrified you looked. joke! pero ha.. belib ako sayo. tapang mo.. i'm afraid of heights so i think i can't do that canopy walk thingy. unless someone dared me to and of course when there's a huge prize money waiting on the other side. bwahahaha.. (mukhang pera eh noh! lolz)

-aRraH

 
At 5:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

ay hala.. nadoble.. sorry.. there was a glitch in the system. nagerror ampala napost din. ehehe.. sorry po. -aRraH

 
At 8:37 AM, Blogger NV said...

i admire your courage summer baby*hug* let's try skydiving and bungee jumping when i come home ok? i want to feel the rush when one falls off, to clear one's mind in preparation for that one leap..just like how it feels when one sets aside the fear of taking the plunge in a relationship. I look forward to those exciting pictures:)

 
At 4:16 PM, Blogger Summer Fire said...

ARRAH:
oh, i'm sorry dear. maganda pa rin ako sa pix kahit takot. nde halatang dinadaga ang dibdib! nyahaha! =p

NV:
i would love to skydive and bungee jump with you ;) i'm sure it would be alot easier and more fun because you are there beside me *hugsUback*

 
At 9:58 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

bwehehe.. oi, wala naman ako sinabing panget ka nung nagcanopy walk ka ha.. *winks* -aRraH

 
At 3:39 PM, Blogger Summer Fire said...

^^ nyahahahaha! ;p tara, canopy walk tayo. i wanna see how terrified YOU will look eh. hehehe.

 
At 6:11 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

bwahahaha.. takot nga ko sa heights eh. baka constipated itsura ko. hehehehe.. :P -aRraH

 

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