A Trip Down South.

It has been years since I had been to Mindanao. Now, after 8 years of being away from the south, an invitation to spend a few days in Cagayan de Oro was just something not to say no to. Well, at first I did since I have no money, to start with. But I guess God is so good to those who are good. (No, I am not kidding.) I also want to take this opportunity to thank the people responsible for this trip. I have taken it upon myself not to include their names for their privacy and protection. Nevertheless, the trip was possible because of your goodness.

Supposedly, there were five of us. J, however, was not replying to any of our messages. Then a couple of days before our departure, T bailed out. So it was just us, G and M. With these changes, I guess it was also fitting to change our plans. 

Our flight to CDO was 4:15pm, due to personal reasons, it took us forever to get to the airport, thus, we weren't allowed to check-in and board our plane 30 minutes before the flight. Boo-hoo, right?

After so much deliberation, we decided to just take the boat to CDO. It was either that or just go home. Deep within me, I didn't want to go home. My mind was set for a break, even for a short one. We then boarded the only trip to CDO. We arrived around 5 in the morning. We had our breakfast at McDo and waited for our river guide.

Looking back now, though most of the time, is a blur. I guess I was really tired and sleepy at that time. Cagayan is a beautiful place early in the morning, mainly because of its fresh air, clean streets and that simple life feel it gives us. However, it gets uglier later in the day, especially if you put in "swapang" drivers, a thousand motorela (looks like Thailand's tok-tok), bad, bad traffic and poorly-lit roads.

Comparing this place to other towns and cities would be an insult. But to give you all a better description as to what the place was like, a comparison would be the best way to go. It is like a combination of Ormoc, Tacloban and Baybay minus the drivers who would charge you Php 100 for a Php50 ride or plus Php50 to your metered fare or Php300 to a Php200 taxi ride. Other than that, the place is beautiful.

We spent the entire morning white water rafting. At first I was apprehensive since I am afraid of falling off the raft or encountering snakes and crocodiles. Call me paranoid and psychotic, I really have irrational fears. As we went down the river, I realized that my fears were useless. The rafting was totally safe. It does not even matter if you don't know how to swim, the life vest would take care of that. 

This was the second time we were allowed to swim in the water. See, I conquered my irrational fear of swimming in still fresh waters.

It was one of the best experiences in my entire life. I really had a great time paddling down the river. The rapids were very challenging and exciting. I really thought I would fall over and be laughed at everyone in the raft but I didn't. 

After we had lunch, we were on our way to the island of Camiguin. we were on the road for about 2 hours and over an hour of ferry ride to the island itself and another 30 minutes on the road again to reach Mambajao. We looked for a place to stay in, had dinner and went to the hot springs to relax our tensed muscles.

 We went to the famous (sort of) White Island early the next day. We took a swim for a few minutes then went back to town to have breakfast and buy pasalubong.

Camiguin was disappointing. This trip to the place was disappointing. This, however, maybe due to the lack of time. Maybe if we got to spend atleast a couple of days there, maybe, just maybe we could have given this very simple island a chance to earn a place in our hearts, even at the bottom. I realized that there is so much of the place we did not see. Should I go back? Maybe, give or take ten years from now. 

I've always thought and believed that traveling brings about a sense of learning to the traveler. May it be common knowledge or learning more about one's self or thy companion/s. I've had my share of travels and travel companions. I have traveled with family, friends, neighbors and strangers. Each is different from the other, as I've said. And I will not tackle on that. 

This trip has made me see more about my life. 

What I want.

What I need.

What I have.

What I don't have.

What I tolerate.

I also realized that in every situation in my life, I always see the glass as half-full. I've always thought that I have a breaking point. That someday, somehow, I will succumb to pessimism and disappointment. 

And realizing now, I just can not put everything in my mind and heart here. I guess I really have to put boundaries/limitations in my posts. I am not quite sure if I understand the responsibilities of blogging. i have yet to be aware of that. 

Anyway.

All in all, this was definitely a trip worth remembering.

For more information about the trip, please check out my other blog.