First Time and (Mis)adventures in Mindanao

Finally, I get to share one of my unforgettable and exciting trips last year which was visiting Mindanao for the first time. We experienced a series of misadventures but Northern Mindanao gave us loads of fun, surprises and adventures that we don't mind coming back again.

Exploring Northern Mindanao

Just to give you a short background, we initially planned for a trip to Camiguin only but eventually discovered that Northern Mindanao has a lot more to offer. We've learned that Cagayan de Oro is not only a gateway to Camiguin and other provinces but is an attraction itself. CDO is popular for the whitewater rafting activity while its neighboring provinces and cities such as Bukidnon and Iligan City are famous for the dual zipline and gorgeous waterfalls, respectively. So aside from the usual sightseeing, we thought this was gonna be an adventure-filled and exciting trip.

Lumbia Airport, Cagayan de Oro City

In fact, this became one of my most adventurous trips last year (both in a good and bad way) and a trip of many "firsts". This was my first time to set foot in Mindanao, my first time to try whitewater rafting, my first time to experience zipline (yes, I'm acrophobic!) and my first time to celebrate my birthday by taking a trip (and the most adventurous one, that is).

Dual zipline at Dahilayan Adventure Park, Bukidnon

We only had five days to explore Northern Mindanao so we made sure to cover as many places as possible. We're glad that we had a flexible itinerary because some things didn't turn out as planned. On our first day in Cagayan de Oro City, we had plans of going to Iligan City (which wasn't definite yet due to our arrival time) to see its famous waterfalls such as the Maria Cristina and Tinago Falls. Sure enough the trip didn't push through.

White Island, Camiguin

When we arrived at Budgetel (will do a separate post about this hotel), I found out that my untrusty laptop wouldn't turn on. Talk about being unlucky. Thank God, a friend in CDO was able to meet me and help me find a repair shop. So the rest of the day was spent fixing my ancient laptop and staying at the hotel. Despite the cancellation of Iligan trip, we managed to readjust our itinerary and placed it on our fourth day, meaning we're pushing through with it. The question is, did it really push through? :)

Actually, what happened on the first day was only the beginning of a series of unfortunate events that took place in our entire trip.

Whitewater rafting, Cagayan de Oro

Watch out for my next post. :)


Read more about my Northern Mindanao trip:

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15 comments:

Claire said...

Camiguin! i really want to go there and witness its gorgeous white sand beaches! :D i've been to cagayan and iligan but i wasn't able to visit those famous places

Pinoy Travel Freak said...

Hi Claire, I hope you can visit it too. I can see that you're from Davao City which means mas malapit ka lang. :)

fifi leigh said...

interesting adventure of picnic beach, whitewater rafting, and zipline flying through the air on a wire.

Jonas Ignatius Labagala said...

I'm glad that you had fun in the island of Mindanao. Visit the Davao Region next time especially Davao City, Samal Island and Camp Sabros in Digos. It's 10X better! :D

Ellen Bernardino said...

I haven't been to those places yet and I hope to visit them in the near future. I love beaches and Camiguin's white sand beach and the clear waters excites me.

escapemanila said...

Oh, I wanna go back to Camiguin. A lot of places to visit - waterfalls, beach, volcanoes, etc. The pastel is also to die for :)

Franc Ramon said...

From land to water to air, it really looked that you had a great (mis) adventure in Mindanao.

Ron Leyba said...

Nice! Now we see the good things of Mindanao. Great shots sir!

jsncruz said...

Never been here but since that zip-line looks pretty sick (I LOVE zip-lining), that's quite the incentive to go! :D

Donald Pagulong said...

Sad that you missed Maria Christina Falls. Napakaganda raw nyun. Misfortunes on your first day, kaya pala nasundan pa ng iba. Eager to read your next post. Ilan pa bang misfortunes ang ma-experience mo.

Journey Ni Ikoy said...

Hmmmmm . . . . this is interesting. Can't wait for your next post to see how you managed to have fun inspite of the " unfortunate" circumstances that you went through =)

GilCamporazo said...

Unfortunate it is because you're expectation is not reached. Anyway, you've at least learned something from your (mis)adventure. Charge it to experience.

mark pogi said...

Good thing you were able to enjoy Mindanao first hand. Hope to visit them soon.

Francis Balgos said...

Think we wasted a day because of the sudden change in our iti..

and with the laptop cranking and all that..
It went well though, still considered an adventured and a great trip

Paula O said...

I am waiting for the day that I get to finally explore the beauty of Mindanao! Though I have been to CDO not for travel but to visit a friend's wake :-(....

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