Cagayan De Oro White Water Rafting Adventure

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Cagayan De Oro White Water Rafting was immediately offerred and introduced to us, the first time we arrived in Cagayan De Oro.

My two officemates and  I were waiting for the rest of our companions, who were also arriving  to Cagayan from Manila the same day we arrived, when someone from Kagay, supposedly, CDO's premiere white water rafting outfitter, approached and offered us their outfit's water rafting adventure package. The three of us were  at the Plaza Divisoria( a well known commercial area in Cagayan), at the time. After a bit of chit-chat,  the Kagay person gave us  the rates and left  a calling card so we could contact  him in  case our group decided to go white water rafting. It wasn't really part of our itinerary yet, but I kept the calling card just in case.

We did not stay long in Cagayan that day. As soon the rest of my offficemates arrived, we immediately left CDO and went straight to its neighboring province, Camiguin.

After a day of adventure and misadventure in Camiguin, our group went back to CDO. We stayed at the Willshire Inn  near the Cogon Market area where other nearby hotels can also be found. The rooms at  Willshire Inn do not have any windows, but the rates are fairly affordable. It is located in Aguinaldo corner Yacapin Street. Amenities include airconditioned rooms, cable TV, hot/cold shower and telephone at the front desk. You can take a taxi from Lumbia Airport directly to Willshire Inn, or you can ask the taxi  driver to just take you to the Cogon Market area, and, from there, walk in on several nearby hotels so you can shop around for different rates that other hotels or inns offer.

After we've secured our things in the hotel, we went straight to Plaza Divisoria to meet up with the guides from Kagay who would take us to Cagayan River for our white water rafting adventure.

The Kagay people normally congregate at the Plaza Divisoria near the Cagayan De Oro Tourism Show House. You don't really need to exert effort in finding them, because, more often the not, they'll find you. Anybody that carries tell-tale signs of being a tourist (e.g. people carrying backpacks, toting shades or sunglasses, wearing shorts or caps) will be approached and offered to go water rafting. Although we did not contact the guides who offered to take us water rafting on our first day in CDO, we still got to use Kagay as our outfitter. A friend of one of my officemates knew someone from the outfit and recommended we use his contact person as guide to our white water rafting adventure

We met the guides at Plaza divisoria at around 8am. Transportation was provided for by the outfit. By 9am we were already at the water rafting site. We geared up and were given a short orientation.

After some paddling and safety instructions from the guides, we hit the rapids.I am not sure how the others felt,exactly, but it was everybody's first time to go water rafting. I was nervous and excited at the same time.

We were divided into two groups of 6 persons per group. There's an advance and a beginner's course. We took the beginner's course which has a total of 14 rapids over a 12 km stretch of white water  river and more than 2 hours of breathtaking, non-stop ride. The beginner's course costs 700 pesos per person.

Our guide was quite accommodating and injected a bit of humor on his travelogues and instructions, as he expertly guided us through the different rapids, which helped calm our nerves a little bit

At some point between non-stop paddling, getting wet and breathtaking views, my nervousness turned to adrenalin rush. I found myself enjoying each rapid and eager to find out what the next one would bring.

Our guide gave us descriptions and names of each rapids in between calm waters. I don't exactly remember the names of  all the rapids, but there is a rapid called washing machine. Before hitting this rapid, our guide told us what the rapids name was,  and, staying true to its name, our raft continuously spun 360 degrees clockwise until we got to this particular rapid's end point.

Each boat carried 6 passengers guided by two Kagay professional water rafting guides.

Near the end of the course, we all got the chance to take a dip into the Cagayan De Oro River

After about two hours of non-stop excitement, we reached the 14th and final rapid. And, finally, the disembarkation point. Everybody had fun and we all regretted that we did not chose the longer course.

All photographs were taken by a Kagay photographer who followed us from start to finish aboard a kayak just like the one on the photograph below. At the disembarkation point, you'd be handed a CD containing all the photographs of the entire white water rafting adventure at the price of 300 pesos for 1 CD.

There is also a restaurant at the disembarkation area where you could order set lunch with prices ranging from 150 to 200 pesos per person. There are other professional water rafting outfits in Cagayan, Kagay is just one of them. You can also use Rafting Adventure Philippines. Visit their website for details.

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