With our marriage comes the promise of exploring the world and doing exciting things together. Going to Cebu and signing up for canyoneering is a part of that promise.
I personally was hesitant to say yes to the activity, but it looked so fun on YouTube, and my husband started getting pumped, and so did I. So, on our last day in Cebu, instead of going to Oslob to look for whale sharks, we went to Badian to canyoneer.
Badian was a 30-min drive away from our hotel. I wasn’t speaking the entire time, I was just nervous. I’ve seen people jumping and being pushed from a cliff, and that’s something my mom and dad would yell at me for when I was young. “That’s too dangerous. Do you want to die?” is a dialogue I heard all too well.
There I was, almost 30, with her legs shaking. I can see the glee on my husband’s face. I’m glad to know that he’s excited. One of us is, at least.
We changed into our swimming outfits. The 300 peso aqua shoes were worth it!
The activity started with a zipline to go from one part of the mountain to the other. The staff mentioned it would take you an hour to go to the other side on foot, the fastest way is through the zipline, and so we did.
The entire trip only took a minute, but it felt longer. You get to appreciate more what Earth has from a bird’s eye view.
I let out a scream before and after the zipline.
Then, we started walking up the mountain. We were stepping on rocks, and we tried balancing ourselves so as not to slip over and fall off the cliff. Which, I realised, was a recurring fear of mine.
Almost half an hour later, our knees are shaking from the height and stones we’ve stepped on.
Our tour guide, being an expert, is just chill. Being introverts, we signed up for the private tour. It was probably the best decision we’ve made. We enjoyed every minute of the 4-hour activity.
My legs are still shaking from all the walking, and my heart is about to jump out of my chest. We started seeing people jumping from a cliff. I almost backed out. But I saw my husband so excited to do it, and so I did too. I mean, we already walked this long.
He jumped so enthusiastically, and I followed after a few seconds of deep breaths and shaking my hands. This is not the type of adrenaline I’m used to.
It didn’t occur to me to cover my nose, so I went in the water, inhaled what Kawasan has to offer, and violently exhaled water.
My husband was happy to see me in the water. “I was pretty sure you were gonna back out.” He said, smiling, holding our action camera.
We walked some more, and jumped some more, my husband, more than I did. We both jumped from 2 and 3 metres. He jumped from 5 and 7 metres.
We both slid from the rock, which I absolutely loved. I think it was my favourite out of everything we did.
My husband also did the Tarzan swing, which I skipped. There were a lot of people in the queue, and I was deeply petrified of the notion of letting go of a rope to be in water. I’ve never done it, but I promised my husband I’ll do it on our next canyoneering activity.
Between our tour stops, we stopped by a series of stalls in the middle of the mountain that sell extremely expensive drinks. I understand, though. It is not easy to transport goods in the middle of the forest. Also, they need the finances to keep the place running.
After the stop, we kept walking. We walked behind tourists from Japan. One of them is yelping whenever he puts a step down. Our tour guide asked what had happened. Apparently, the guy, probably in his early 20s, is not used to walking on rocky roads and has a low tolerance for pain. As you can imagine, the entire thing was almost torture to him.
Our tour ended on the 1st level of Kawasan Falls, where we enjoyed swimming! It was tranquil, very peaceful. No more jumping, and sliding, and just pure enjoyment.
It was the perfect way to end our vacation in Cebu and in Visayas!
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