Canyoneering in Cebu: The ultimate adrenaline rush
To embrace adven - ture is the key to an exhilarating life. Many times, a new adventure is what we need to keep us connected to our friends. More so to ourselves.
There was an indelible smile across the face of my nephew Vincent Soliven when we feted him on Valentine’s Day, his 20th birthday. Every joy that registered on his mien that night was courtesy of his recent adventure in Cebu with some of his closest friends.
“You should experience canyoneering,” Vincent told us. And what better way to explain it to all of us (his parents, uncles, aunts and cousins) than to show a video of his and his friends’ canyoneering adventure in Badian, a town three hours away from Cebu? They explored the three paradisiacal canyoneering sites of Kanlaon, Alegria and Kawasan.
Canyoneering is the sport of exploring canyons either by trekking, climbing, rappelling or rafting. My wanderlust has taken me through daredevil stunts in many parts of the world, but canyoneering’s appeal enveloped me as soon as Vincent started to play the video.
Meet the characters of their canyoneering expedition — all Ateneo de Manila University students: Andre Orandain (AB Interdisciplinary Studies) Patrick Edward Balisong (AB Social Sciences), Deanne Clarisse Heceta (AB Literature), Robi Andres (BS Electronics and Communications Engineering), Pia Sarza (BS Management-Communications Technology), Danni Villanueva (BFA Information Design), Vincent Soliven (BS Management) and Alexis Casas (BFA Information Design).
“You start from the town of Badian for canyoneering. It’s a three-hour drive from Cebu. You trek amidst the boulders and jump down the canyon gorges and waterfalls at a staggering height ranging from 10 feet to 40 feet,” Vincent told us. But that’s already getting ahead of my story.
Patrick, the “spokesman” of the group, sold us with his account of their canyoneering adventure. “In Badian, we were met by our guides at a church at 9 a.m. From the church we rode habal-habals (motorcycles) to the checkpoint where we had to sign some conformes (waiver forms).”
The group was assisted by two local guides who were more than familiar with the canyoneering terrain. The guides have two safety instructions. Rule No. 1: Make sure to step on the canyons (rocks and boulders) with the arch of your feet. Rule No. 2: Always, always listen to the guide.
“From the checkpoint we motored to the starting point of the trek. And five minutes later, off we jumped to a canyon that is 20 feet high!” said Patrick, who was still high on the canyoneering experience.
“We wanted to have more time trekking before the first jump. We wanted more time because we wanted to be more prepared mentally. But when we heard the rushing water — that’s it. Time to jump our first 20 feet down a canyon,” reminisced Alexis. The group was in Cebu upon the invitation of Alexis and her family. They were under the loving care of the Casas who provided a home for them for a few days that led to Sinulog.
Canyoneering, Vincent explained, necessitates the gutsy adventurer to be ready for the demands of the terrain. “You trek, you crawl and when there’s no way to navigate the terrain, you brace yourself and jump into the canyon where a river or stream awaits your fall. From the canyon, when there is still no way that you can navigate the terrain, you swim in the stream. It’s exhilarating!”
“Of course, we had life vests and helmets on. Safety is of utmost importance,” said Alexis. And as a rule, the first guide jumps first. The second guide jumps the last when everybody else in the group has jumped into the canyon.
As always, the first jump is the most memorable. Patrick has it recorded in his heart and soul. Every chilling, exciting, adrenaline-packed bit of their canyoneering experience is still pulsating in his system.
“Andre stepped up to the plate first; he had done this many times before in Bicol, I think,” Patrick began to narrate. “I came in second — I was in the mentality that if I were to go last I wouldn’t jump at all. My heart was pounding, my hearing was a bit muffled because my pulse was pounding. The guide was shouting instructions: ‘One foot first, then step off, don’t leap, keep your body straight, streamlined.’ I was just delaying. Then I heard him count to three. One, I recited the quickest ‘Our Father’ I’ve ever recited. Two ‘Hail Marys’... Three ‘Glory be to the...’ WAIT! I couldn’t jump yet. I asked the guide which foot to step off with, left or right? Dominant foot first. Then the countdown again. One, breathe in. Two, breathe out. Three! I was free-falling. It was one of the slowest three seconds of my life. Midway I thought, ‘Oh, God! Just let me hit the water already’ and then I was under. I swam up to the surface and met Andre to the side.
“I was still processing my emotions when Cas, the daredevil in the group, followed; then Robi, then Pia. When it was Danni’s turn to jump, we each shouted some words of encouragement. See, this was her first time doing this and she was extremely nervous. She did it nevertheless. Vincent followed and then Alexis, with her GoPro in hand.”
From their first jump, the group had to do seven more jumps. Each jump had an interval of five to 15 to 30 minutes of trekking. The canyons varied between 10 and 40 feet. Each stream or river they plunged into measured between 15 and 40 feet deep.
“The water is very cool. It was very sunny when we did our canyoneering yet we hardly felt the warmth of the water. The water was cool because the undulating terrain was verdant. The trees were robust. We even spotted monkeys up the trees,” Patrick recalled.
“It was nature at its best — unspoiled, au naturel,” Alexis added.
“The fifth jump was also memorable. It was done around the Alegria Falls. We had mastered our fears and we were ready for a 30-foot jump. The thrill was still there. And we gladly took the challenge,” Vincent added.
The group observed that the jumps around the Alegria terrain were mostly minor (10 to 15 feet at the most) but the boulders were big and slippery. It was harder to trek the terrains of Kanlaon, the first in the itinerary of their canyoneering that started at 9 a.m. and finished at 3 p.m.
After a few hours of trekking, swimming, sliding and jumping, they were beat. They needed to recharge. They had a long break by a small ihawan.
From Alegria, their longest trek was to the last jump in Kawasan. It was solid trekking of 30 minutes. In between they would walk or swim because Kawasan was downstream. They would trek by the riverbank, get swept in by the cool breeze, be rained on by falling leaves, get serenaded by the sound created by the forest biodiversity, or simply listen to the joyful beating of their hearts. The more they trekked, the more they discovered their individual strengths. Then they combined their strengths to create a bigger force of friendship — so much bigger than themselves. Along the way, they discovered all the more that theirs is a relationship for keeps.
“The 40-foot jump in Kawasan was optional. It was our eighth jump,” Patrick said.
They trekked a good 15 minutes until the guide showed them from a distance the 80-foot jump! But before they could all jump to the inviting canyon, the guide told them that the 80-foot jump point was not yet accessible to tourists.
After six hours of adrenaline-packed canyoneering, they were presented with a delicious feast: a variation of adobo, grilled pork and shrimp. The group was back to their normal pace. They were ready to head back to the city.
The following day, they continued their discovery of Cebu. They soaked up more sun by snorkeling in Hilutungan Island. And when hunger pangs attacked, they “attacked” the yummiest Cebu lechon.
The group recommends the following restaurants in Cebu City: Pigafetta for modern Italian cuisine; Maya, for highend Mexican fare; and Lemon Grass for Thai-Vietnamese cuisine; then Leona’s for fabulous desserts.
They also visited historical sites in Cebu like the Jesuit Residence on Zulueta Street in Cebu City. A visit to the Jesuit Residence, according to Patrick, would add to the itinerary of anyone interested in the history of Cebu or just looking for an edgy, hole-inthe-wall dip in archaeology.
Of course, a visit to Cebu is not complete without praying at the Basilica Menore del Santo Niño.
Now that they are all back in Manila, the group still talks about their Cebu experience. The hospitality of the Casas family is incomparable. And the adrenaline rush brought about by their canyoneering adventure always, always bonds the group together.
“Our canyoneering experience taught us clearly that our fears should not stop us from pursuing the desires of our hearts. It’s harder to deal with the ‘what ifs,’” Patrick philosophizes.
These youngsters prove that to embrace adventure is the key to an exhilarating life.
*** The whole canyoneering experience can be had for P1,200 per person for several jumps and hours with nature, food, guide and safety equipment. Call Lemuel Aspacio at +63 926 112 0868.