whitewater rafting, Cagayan de Oro

More than the famous Oro Ham, More than the sunshiny friendly people, Cagayan de Oro’s become renowned throughout the country as the premiere whitewater rafting destination in the Philippines.

Boracay getaway

"Stroke him!" our captain commanded as he hoisted a flapping, slimy stingray towards me, its cartoonish mouth hungrily sucking up fish from his hand.

Around us, maple-leaf-shaped stingray slithered across the sand and stubby reef sharks cruised by in the emerald water of Bora Bora's lagoon. I was sitting on a little boat with a tentative toe in the water, working up the courage to jump in and watching my mother squeal as a school of stingrays ballet-danced around her. I was on a cruise of the Society Islands, the most romantic destination on Earth, with my mum and some hungry fish.

The South Pacific islands of French Polynesia are a paradox — they attract honeymooners but hold a natural beauty that men will merrily leave their wives for.

In love with simplicity

French artist Paul Gauguin did this in 1891 when he left his young family to sail to the South Seas to escape debt and discover a simpler life in Mataiea, Tahiti. He fell in love with the islands and made them his home. He died in the Marquesas Islands in 1903. Gauguin would certainly have approved of his namesake cruise ship MS Paul Gauguin and the attractive Tahitian hostesses, "Les Gauguines", who, clad in brightly coloured pareos (sarongs), treat passengers to tales of island life and demonstrate the traditional ote'a dances.

MS Paul Gauguin was specially designed to sail the South Pacific's shallow lagoons. She is built for romance but was also ideal for a relaxing mother-daughter cruise. My mum and I went for Tahitian-style massages in the spa; tried, and failed, at water sports; and talked to some of the 332 guests at dinner in L'Etoile every night.

This is not a ship for dieters — the food was mouth-watering and included local fish such as wahoo or mahi mahi. We would do extra laps at the pool to work off the creamy coconut beverages or cakes served at afternoon tea.

The ship has a water-sports marina, where we collected snorkels, kayaks, water-skis and windsurfers.

Subtle yet notable

After leaving Tahiti, our first stop was Raiatea, where we took a bus trip to see the interior. French influences are seen in unexpected places; among the orange hibiscus, ripe bananas and papayas, and there were long, thin metal boxes by each house, where fresh baguettes are delivered daily.

The air was heady with the sweet smell of the islands' official flower, the tiare (gardenia), found all over French Polynesia. A strange energy hummed through Raiatea, once the religious centre of the islands and home to Taputapuatea, the most important marae (temple) in Eastern Polynesia. Rounded volcanic rocks formed an open-air sacred place with tiki figures standing guard.

We swapped tikis for our bathing suits the next day at Motu Mahana, a sand islet adjacent to Taha'a, where we tried snorkelling and saw brightly coloured fish and the coral reef. At Bora Bora there was another excursion to a private beach, with awesome views of the aquamarine lagoon and the famous craggy basalt giant of Mount Otemanu that rises out of Bora Bora.

We also had two days in Moorea and whiled away one relaxing on a catamaran cruise that took us to Cook's Bay, round the corner from where Captain James Cook landed in 1777 at Opunohu Bay. The Bounty anchored there 12 years after Cook.


I had fallen in love with the beautiful tropical paradise.


mayet

Jetski, white island , Camiguin Philippines

Jet Ski is the brand name of personal watercraft (PWC) manufactured by Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The name is sometimes mistakenly used by those unfamiliar with the personal watercraft industry to refer to any type of personal watercraft; however, the name is a valid trademark registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and in many other countries.[1] Jet Ski (or JetSki, often shortened to "Ski"[2]) originally referred to PWCs with pivoting handlepoles manipulated by a standing rider; these are now known as "stand-up PWC's." Today the term "Jet Ski" is often used when referring to WaveRunners, but WaveRunner is actually the name of the Yamaha line of sit-down PWC's, whereas Jet Ski refers to the Kawasaki line.[3][4] Recently, a third type has also appeared, where the driver sits in the seiza position. This type has been pioneered by Silveira Customs with their "Samba".

The "Jet Ski" was preceeded in 1929 by a one-man standing unit called the "Skiboard" which was guided by the operator standing and shifting his weight while holding on to a rope on the front, similar to a powered surfboard.[5] While somewhat popular when it was first introduced in the late 1920s, the Great Depression sent it into oblivion.[citation needed]

What the world now knows at the "Jet Ski" was first invented by Matt Bradley in 1968 while trying to invent a "Bus for the sea". He ran out of money in 1970 and was forced to give up on his plans, and in 1971 an unknown person managed to get the design and sold it to Kawasaki. In 1973 Kawasaki produced a limited number of Bradley's designed stand-up models, though at the time they did not know it was Bradley who had invented it. The 2 original models included the 1973 WSAA Jet Ski 400, and the WSAB Jet Ski 400. The WSAA featured a flat bottom design that stayed with the JS hull until 1994. The WSAB featured a V-hull which carves turns better, but is much less stable and harder to ride. Therefore only 500 of these WSAB Jet Skis were produced. Also, 1973-1974 models were made of hand-laid fiberglass. In 1975, Kawasaki began mass production of the JS400-A. The mass production JS was made of an SMC hull. JS400s came with 400 cc two-stroke engines and hulls based upon the previous limited release models. It became the harbinger of the success Jet Skis would see in the PWC market through the 1990s. In 1978, the Jet Ski 440 was introduced. It came with a new jet pump, handlebar mounted ignition controls, and a 440cc 2 stroke engine. The 440 engine was almost the same as the old 400, but had a bigger cylinder bore.

In 1982, the Jet Ski 550 became available for purchase. Not only did this new 550 have an engine that made more power than a 440, but the engine was identical to the 440, had a bigger cylinder bore, and had a new exhaust pipe for added power. The 550 also has a unique "mixed flow" pump which provides better low end thrust to get out of the hole quicker. The 1982 JS 550 was available in yellow paint with red decals. The 1983-1985 550s have red hulls with a left front exhaust exit. The 550s from 1986-1989 are red with a lower right front exhaust exit. The 1990-1994 JS 550sx models are white and have a rear exit exhaust. This line of JS watercrafts maintained very similar designs throughout their production from 1973-1994, and it is still the only watercraft to have remained in production for so long.

In 1986, Kawasaki broadened the world of Jet Skis by introducing a one person model with lean-in "sport" style handling and a 650 cc engine, dubbed the X-2. Then in 1989, they introduced their first two passenger "sit-down" model, the Tandem Sport/Dual-Jetters (TS/DJ) with a step-through seating area. Kawasaki began using four-stroke engines in 2003. Combining this with the use of other technologies such as superchargers has allowed some engines to be able to produce up to 260 horsepower (190 kW), as seen in the newly released Kawasaki Ultra 260X and Sea-Doo RXP, RXT and RXP-X.

Yamaha entered the PWC market in 1987. Bombardier entered the market in 1988. Arctic and Polaris entered the market in the early 1990s. As the riding of personal watercraft evolved through the 1990s, other companies such as Yamaha, Bombardier and Polaris, elevated the use of personal watercraft to worldwide sport in both racing and freestyle.

Amanpulo, Palawan Philippines

Amanpulo is situated in one of the world’s most idyllic island locations on the staggeringly beautiful Pamalican Island in the Philippines. It is a private island, gifted with nature’s paradisiacal treats: powder white beaches, clear turquoise-azure-indigo seas, cirrus-streaked cerulean skies, and a polychromatic coral reef only 300m from the shore.

Amanpulo is an escape from the markings of mankind and is a dive into island life where nature has been unashamedly boastful. The island is secluded, being private, and offers a variety of sea, sand and tropical island-retreat–pleasures, in exclusive comfort and in traditionally styled accommodation. Amanpulo or, ‘peaceful island’, honours its island host, respecting the natural elements with a profoundly ‘South Seas’ interpretation. The 40 Beach, Hillside and Treetop Casitas are modelled on authentic bahay kubo dwellings, each with its own golf cart for island exploration.

This romantically remote island caters for those who wish to ‘hammock’ and beach comb their days in paradise, and for those who seek an active agenda, involving a myriad of maritime adventures as well as tennis, a high-tec air-conditioned gym, and taking languid lengths in the resort’s 30m serene pool. The open-air Garden and Beach Salas are discreetly secluded for pleasurable holistic body treatments.

pics: from regine velasquez page.

Patapat Viaduc-North Cordillera Philippines

The Patapat Viaduct Is a viaduct at the municipality of Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. elevated 31 meters over sea level, is 1.3 km concrete coastal bridge that connects the Maharlika Highway from Laoag, Ilocos Norte to the Cagayan Valley Region. It rises along the town's coastal mountains, which is the starting point of the Cordillera Mountain Range that snakes through Northern Luzon. It is the 4th longest bridge in the Philippines. is geographically located at latitude (18.5733 degrees) 18° 34' 23" North of the Equator and longitude (120.896 degrees) 120° 53' 45" East of the Prime Meridian on the Map of the world.

locos Norte (Filipino:Hilagang Ilokos;Ilokano:Amianan nga Ilocos) is a province of the Philippines located in the Ilocos Region in Luzon. Its capital is Laoag City and is located at the northwest corner of Luzon Island, bordering Cagayan and Apayao to the east, and Abra and Ilocos Sur to the south. Ilocos Norte faces the South China Sea to the west and the Luzon Strait to the north.

Ilocos Norte is noted for being the birthplace of former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, who led an authoritarian rule over the country during the latter half of his incumbency. The Marcoses enjoy a modicum of popularity in the province. Ilocos Norte is also known as a northern tourist destination, being the location of Fort Ilocandia, an upper class beach resort famous among expatriates, and Pagudpud.

n the 330-page The Ilocos Heritage (the 27th book written by Visitacion de la Torre), the Ilocano legacy and the life of the Ilocano – are described as - "the browbeaten, industrious, cheerful, simple soul who has shown a remarkable strain of bravery and a bit of wanderlust." The Ilocano history reveals his struggles and victories – in battles for colonial independence from Spain and America, to Philippine leadership. The new Ilocano searched for greener pastures towards new lands local and foreign - Palawan, Mindanao, Hawaii, the United States and Greece. The Ilocano material culture and spirituality can be seen in the past - images of Spanish santo (saints), antique but intricate wooden furniture and quality local fiber. The native Ilocano is a weaver, wood carver and pottery expert. The Ilocano cuisine – ranges from the exotic "abu-os" (ant eggs) to vegetable broth "dinengdeng," and "pinakbet" the sticky "tinubong" to the "poqui-poqui" (eggplant salad). Ilocandia is filled with colonial churches, the legacy of Spanish Catholicism.[1]

" Little NiAgArA " of the Philippines TINUY AN FALLS

Tinuy-an Falls is a waterfall in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao.[1] It is the main tourist attraction in Bislig, a city known as the Booming city by the bay.

The falls is approximately 55 metres (180 ft) high, touted as the Niagara Falls of the Philippines, Tinuy-an is a white water curtain that flows in three levels. It is one of the best waterfalls in the entire Philippines because of its majestic and unique natural formation. Its colorful picture was once appeared in the International Travel Magazine.

Its magnificent cascades are found in Borboanan, Bislig City, a one hour ride from Mangagoy, center of trade and commerce in Bislig City. About 55 meters high and a breathtaking width of 95 meters, it is said to be the widest in the country. Centuries old amazing giant trees, ferns and vines in a thick rainforest envelop your ride through thick forested hills that enclose the falls. Islets are on the swimming ground, with slippery logs where you can cross for a good view, plus multi-layered stones as pathways. Every morning, the area is blessed with a sprinkle of a rainbow that appears between 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Enchanted River, Hinatuan , Surigao Del Sur PHILIPPINES

he Province of Surigao del Sur is indeed full of surprises and the Enchanted River is the best of them.

Hidden in Barangay Cambatong, 30-45 minutes away from the town proper is the Enchanted River with color like the pepsi-blue..very deep and very clear. VERY MAGICAL ",)


Locals talk about the river being watched by spirits that is why no one swims there by 6 pm. In 1935, there were sightings of two strange women with long blonde hair and a man in green, who walked on the waters and disappeared. Occasionally, they appear before strangers or unwary locals and tongues would wag in quiet disbelief. (thanks SunStar :)

It was said that once an American diver tried to dive the depths but never reach rock bottom.

What was amazing also, and this even the locals cannot fathom why, was that although you can see many many big fishes in different varieties because of the clear waters, NO ONE has ever catch one - not by hand, by spear, or even by dynamite, or so they say.

Well, it would be up to us to believe in the stories. What's sure (and I know this for a fact having been to the place many times in the past) is that you wil truly be enchanted with the beauty of the river..

Another great thing about it is that the enhchanted river is actually very near the Hinatuan sea - which will explain its pepsi-blue color.

The Municipality of Hinatuan is 8 hours from Davao City and 4 hours from Butuan City passing thru Municipalities of San Francisco, Bagobo and Tagbina.

For those visiting the river and Surigao del Sur, never miss other wonderful places the province can offer also like Tinuy-an Falls in Bislig (the widest falls in the country), the surfing sites and beautiful places in Lanuza, cold springs in Cantilan, and the sooo delicious seafoods in the floating restaurant of Carrascal...

Surigao (whether the north or the south part) is one of the best places to visit in the country. :)