dolphin watching, bohol

11 august 2011, bohol

we woke up early on our second day, because our boat man will fetch us at around 6:30am for our island hopping tour. our first stop -  we are gonna watch dolphins!

it was a 40minute travel before we arrived at the dolphin spots. there were other boats also waiting for the dolphins to show. it was hard to see them up close, because when boats come near them, they hide. but it was really nice to see them swim synchronously. i wonder how they do that. really cute!

can you see them?

it was a really fun experience - chase and watch! my louie and lexine enjoyed it :)

lexine is happy :)

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enchanted kingdom

sta rosa city, laguna

enchanted kingdom is a theme park in the philippines. it is located in santa rosa city, laguna, about 29 kilometers (16.1 miles) from manila. it has a land area of 17 hectares (41 acres). The park is managed and operated by enchanted kingdom inc., formerly named amtrust leisure corporation.

enchanted kingdom is a member of the international association of amusement parks and attractions.

entrance to the theme park

*******page is under construction. these are wiki stuff (temporary content)

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trekking taal volcano

26 july 2009, talisay, batangas

unlike mayon, taal volcano is a complex one. it is not just a standing conical volcano, but has formed its compound parts because of the changes of its eruptive activities throughout time. it is known to be the smallest active volcano in the world. it is more than 50km south of manila, and being famously viewed from tagaytay city.

the whole taal volcano island lies within the province of batangas. it is being shared by the town of talisay and san nicolas.

the trek
we were at club balai isabel during our company outing, and before checking out at noon, we wanted to trek taal volcano first. so we woke up early and have ourselves prepared.

balai has a trek package so we needed not to find a boat to hire ourselves. if i remember it correctly we paid P3,000 for the group, and we're good to go. we have to pass through taal lake to reach the volcano.

taal lake is a freshwater lake, considered as the third largest lake in the philippines. it is home to the endemic species tawilis (peborit daw ni rizal), to trevally, and to the world's most rare sea snake - hydrophis semperi (ano daw?? ;p). the lake also has a sulfur content.

upon reaching the volcano island, we were greeted by some locals, offering us services to guide us on our way up. but we already have one from balai. they will also offer you for a horse ride, they said it will be very hard to trek up. it will be more convenient if you'll just be riding a horse, for P350. you trek for adventure, so why ride a horse? the trail is very easy to follow. and there were others who also trek and you will all be following the same path. the scent of the surroundings is very uninviting (because of the horses' poops), but you will eventually get used to it. entrance fee is P50, but in our case, it was included in our package.

the main crater of the volcano is actually not in the little cone-shaped mountain which we always see in photographs. it is on the other part of the whole thing. while trekking i was wondering how can we get to that little mountain, we seemed walking to the opposite direction. oh well, hndi pala kasi doon.

and finally, we reach the crater! the climb is all worth it, it was so beautiful. the crater lake is greenish in color - a lake within a lake. there are sulfur smoke in some areas of the lake. a really breathtaking view. perfect photo opportunity.

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ziplining at zip city, hill top davao

9 october 2010, davao city

it was already dark when we headed to zip city. we just hired a cab when we were at the crocodile park. tired from our rafting activity, go padin for the next adventure! actually sila lang, i really didn't want to try it. i have fear in heights. but they are teasing me so they have convinced me. i almost died. haha. zipline at zipcity is 320 meters long, around 120 feet above the ground. quite high! since it is on a hill, the city can be viewed while you're on.

we're ready!

look at the background. it's the city!

zip city 
hill top davao, barangay langub, diversion road, ma-a, davao city
zip line fee: P200contact numbers:
+6382-2822339,
+6382-2861055
+639236586049
email: davaowildwater@yahoo.com.

whew! natapos din

back  to davao main blog                                          next blog: jack's ridge

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davao wild water rafting

 9 october 2010, davao city

we woke up early to catch our call time with davao wildwater adventure, 8:00 in the morning. we just had a quick breakfast and set off to crocodile park, the meet up place. all were excited because it's gonna be a fun-filled day.

we just took a cab from the hotel to crocodile park. there we met our fellow rafters, our river guides and the staff of WW. we were given a short orientation on what to expect, and even showed us some videos of what's gonna happen while we are on the river. parang nanakot nga lang e. hehe... it is indeed an extreme sport.

fun!

after all the talks, sumakay na kami ng jeep with all the rafting equipments - padels, helmets, lifevests and the rafts were put on top of the vehicle. all of our belongings were left safe in the lockers. you won't be needing a camera since the package includes photos and videos. it was a 30-minute travel (or more) to reach the river rafting start off point. with our gears on, we were taught about defensive swimming in case our raft will capsize. then it's on! start of our extreme wild water adventure! 

our rafts on top

we're ready!

with the other rafters

davao wildwater adventure inc.
they are the ones to be contacted if you want to book for a wildwater adventure. i managed to have us reserved a month before our trip. our contact person that time was poloy, he just called me after texting him and gave me instructions on how we can get reserved. we just needed to deposit 500 each (50%, because our rafting fee was P1000) to Metrobank, and email/fax them the deposit slip. at this time that i am writing this blog, i visited their site and saw that the rafting fee is already P2000, minimum of 5! omg, that was just 8 months ago.

our package (P1000) includes:
    * Transportation (From Crocodile Park to Rafting Area and back)
    * Packed Lunch & Bottled Water
    * Use of Gears & Equipment
    * Raft guide
    * Souvenir Shirt
    * Documentation (2 Disc per group of 6)
    * Ticket to butterfly house
    * Ticket to ZIP CITY

the group

quick briefing

defensive swimming
you need not to be a swimmer to go water rafting. because even the best swimmer in the world can do nothing with the rapids. the very first thing that a rafting participant should know is the defensive swimming when something goes wrong (mag capsize ang raft, o kaya mabutas. haha!).

how is this being done? simple. get on your back with your feet pointing downstream. in this position you can see what is coming your way, and also will prevent your head from hitting the rocks as the rapids bring you.

soak!

the cave - dropping spring water

the river
davao river is rated class 3 (few rapids are of class 4). the rafting experience covers a 13-kilometer stretch of the river.

class 3 rapids - you will get wet! rapids with moderate, irregular waves which may be difficult to avoid and which can swamp an open canoe. Complex maneuvers in fast current are needed. awts!

class 4 rapids - you will get soaked! intense, powerful but predictable rapids requiring precise boat handling in turbulent water. it may feature large, unavoidable waves and constricted passages demanding fast maneuvers under pressure. lagot!

mild water

wilder!

our adventure
chicken! - this is what we yell whenever we surpass wild rapids. cool! thanks to kuya lloyd, our river guide. :)

after the adventure

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