Fly by Wire #2

Escapades are never new to me, since I was young, I had lots of it. I’ve been to different places and seen different faces, but of all the escapades I’ve been, our trip at bukidnon was the best of them all.

It was just last year when our family decided to host an annual family reunion. It came out to be an unexpected event because we have our tradition of celebrating Christmas simultaneous with our family reunion.

My father and my uncle were the organizers of our family reunion. At that time all of us were much excited yet we don’t have any idea of the things we will do.  Everyone was expecting that it would be an ordinary family reunion with the traditional “SALO-SALO” and simple bonding with each other. But what really happened, was far from the expected.

The first day was the most exciting one. When we arrived at the pier to meet our cousins, we almost comsumed an hour with our short conversations, Then we went to McDonalds for the breakfast.  Then surprisingly, my father and my Uncle told us that before our trip to Bukidnon, there would be an activity for the family.

From McDonalds, we all left the two SUV’s at Divisoria and instead took a ride on a jeepney. After a 30 minute ride, we finally reached Brgy.Mambuaya, Cagayan de Oro City, the place of the famous white water rafting adventure. The day was so fine, and we all felt the excitement as we hear the roaring waters of the Cagayan de Oro river. After we gear up ourselves, we all splashed on the waters and took a 3-hour rafting adventure. We all enjoyed the bumpy ride, it was so amazing yet so tiring.

It was late in the afternoon when we finally took a ride to Bukidnon. The ride was quite unusual, imagine fitting-up 18 persons in a 13-seater van, it was really uncomfortable. Later on, we found it much comfortable with each-other's company. Though we are much exhausted after the rafting adventure, we still enjoy the beautiful cliffs, hills and mountains along the way. Our eyes were stunned by the spacious farms with lots of cows and farm animals , It feels so relaxing to see such places, away from the pollution and dusts in the city. We even had a quick taste of their local delicacies along the way. It took us 5 hours of travel, chatting, and laughing but the time was worthy.

Before we actually reached the resort, we drop-by to the place of my grandmother which was actually a 20-minute drive from the city. The place was really not that beautiful or amazing but what impressed us a lot was the people that were so hospitable and generous, we even met some of the “LUMAD” or what we called as the native people. We met our aunties and my grandmother’s sister, there we all enjoyed the simple “salo-salo” where we had a taste of their delicacies and the traditional “lechon”.

It was 9:30 pm when we finally arrived at RR family resort, Valencia City. The aura of the venue was really suited for our tired bodies, there were pools, restaurants, playground and there were beautiful landscapes. It was also very relaxing to see the rooms in a villa design, the place was spacious and it was really fitted for our event.
There were three rooms for us, two family sized room for my uncle and my family, and a huge room with 22 beds for all our cousins. Most of my cousins were all at the huge room, it was our first time to sleep together that’s why it was really fun.

At the morning when our bodies were recharged, we all woke-up and enjoy the cold water at the pool, we met a lot of people from the nearby cities in Valencia, and we had a lot of fun. We also had fun when we had a tour to the whole place with a golf-car. Our eyes were even stunned by the beautiful landscapes around the resort.

The last day of our reunion was really the most exciting one. Well who will not get excited to try the Asia’s longest zipline? Early in the morning we all went down from Valencia City to Dahilayan, Manolo Fortich. At that time I was thinking no to go with them, but I had realized I would be so lonely if I do so, and so for the sake of bonding, I really joined.We all travelled to Dahilayan with the same setting, two SUV’s, with 28 people packed like tunas.

When we actually reached the venue, we were amazed by the people we saw. There were Americans, Japanese, Koreans and even Chinese, and because it was holiday season, there were lots of people who wanted to try all the rides. I enjoyed the setting, but I was really shaking at that time.
At that time I was only thinking of the fun I would get and I tried to forget my fears. The ticket we have was good for three rides, first on the 230 m. line, second on the 350 m. line and then to the longest 850 m. line.
The starting point of the longest wire was at the top of tower in a mountain nearby. It can be seen from the visitor’s area and watching it from there was really horrifying it is like watching a jet falling from the skies.

When it was finally our turn, we rode a vintage vintage truck with huge wheels from the visitor’s area to the starting point. We were all wearing headgears and protective gears, and riding on a vintage truck, it’s like joining in a 4x4 competition.

When we finally reached the place, we all set ourselves for the ride of our lives. It was really a heart-stopping ride, all I can see was the tip of the tall pine trees, the cliff and I can’t even see the end point. I flew and I finally faced my greatest fears. It was really the ride of my life, it seemed to be fun for them, but for me it was between life and death. 

We finally end our day in a lunch, in a Canadian inspired restaurant just a five minute travel from the area. There we had lots of picture taking, we even played pool at the restaurant, and enjoy all the beautiful amenities. It was actually the end of our Escapade, it was the time when we say goodbye to each other, and it all ends up with a happy and fulfilled faces.

                                    

(CAPTURED MOMENTS)