“Face your Fear! Get Ready! Now forward, hard forward, harder! “. Everybody listens to Danny Bravo – the head rafter as everybody gets wilder than the river itself. This is a challenge of endurance and ability for those who like to attack the edge. If your attitude leans toward extreme sports then this 225 kilometer stretch of adrenaline-pumping whitewater is for you! But although it is ranked among the extreme sports, it doesn’t mean you can’t take the family to enjoy it and get them “Wild over Water”. Anyone who enjoys the outdoors and is looking for adventure will be delighted by whitewater rafting. People of all ages and athletic abilities, with no previous experience raft the rivers can challenge the rapids and enjoy the wilderness fun. The Chico River is for those seeking untamed whitewater thrills offering potentially terrifying drops, ledges, rapids and the most exciting sightseeing trip.

The Kalinga Trip

The adventure actually begins last christmas , when Roger Alcantara – a Manila Times photojournalist and myself had to take an almost 12 hours bus ride from the bus terminal in Espana, Manila to get to Tabuk in Kalinga Province. Our bus departure time was 10:15pm and we finally reached Tabuk at around 9:45am with about three stopovers in between, more than enough to urinate and to take a long dreamed coffee break. The best thing about taking long trips at night is you normally fall asleep because you hardly see anything interesting along the road.

When we arrived at the Davidson Hotel, a surprising twenty excited rafters are also there having their breakfast. After unloading our things in our room, had enough time to freshen up and came down to enjoy a local breakfast, we waited for Naty Sugguiayao – our host for this trip of never ending adventure. After loading up, we went to lawagan resort to fetch some other rafters headed by Lito Beltran, a popular photography instructor of the Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation.

The Rafting Adventure

It was not a sunny day; imagine a kalinga mountain trekking with a freezing temperature is maybe not everybody’s adventure, but a worthy experience though. Along the rough roads leading to Lubuagan, a breathtaking view of the rice terraces, waterfalls and kalingans greeting you “Umali Kayo” a native tongue of saying “Welcome” will definitely make your day. As we reached Lubuagan – the “start-off point”, a rafting safety seminar was given. Lead rafter Danny Bravo gave us the tips on how to read the river, the paddling moves and the most important survival guide. “If anybody falls from the raft, just go with the flow, never let go the paddle if you are not in a shallow rapid; use your feet to push against the rocks, until the guides throw you a safety rope and bang! You’re back to adventure” – a line remembered by the author.

Vital to every rafting, the basic paddle commands to be remembered are, “forward”, “backward”, “left back” and “right back”. Finally, after life jackets were checked, the head gears are buckled, the grip on the paddles are tightened, each foot are in proper positioning and cameras are safe in a dry sealed pelican boxes, the river raft were pushed of the mooring to negotiate Class III and IV rapids. It doesn’t take long after you’ve gotten into a raft to realize this is an exciting fun filled way to spend a day. The first rapid, is just the start of a heart stopping several mile series of rapids that intensifies in its strength and power until you find yourself enjoying every second of the ride. But that is far from the end of the trip. No, there is still more white water to come along with calm sections where you can get out of the raft and frolic in the river.

Along with both of us are four raft guides conquering the wild river with a raft named “Allasiw” meaning an exchange of four peace tokens – a gesture of the historic head-hunter tribes of Kalinga. Our fear was totally gone as the ride went on and each time we conquered a rapid, or skirted a rock formation, we laugh out loud and then branded each victory with a rousing rafters “High Five” gesture.

In between moments of sheer adrenaline, the head rafter lectured us on the names given to a popular Chico River spots such as Angel’s Nightmare, Gods Playground, Dead Carabao, Piggybank, Danny’s Drop (where Danny Bravo slammed into a rock and broke his tooth) and Dragons Tail. Each site gives us a different taste of adventure no one can ever forget. Sometimes it is tricky finding time to enjoy the scenery because you are so focused on the awesome wild river exploration.

It took us almost three hours for that ride, we stopped over to a flat river where we enjoy our break beneath a breathtaking waterfalls while having a snack and of course a feast for the smoking dragons. Our raft moves ahead for the second half for us to take advantage of the much awaited wild rapids and perhaps to have our photo shoot. Although drenched by the cool waters and freezing temperature, the rafters were still excited and exhilarated when they finally get back to the dry. Upon reaching “Malaking Bato” – the drop-off point, we enjoyed a bountiful lunch by the river with a perfect aroma of locally grown Robusta coffee. This trip creates the perfect blend of natural exercise, exhilaration and serenity that will have you coming back year after year!

History in the Making

Whitewater rafting is the newest sports adventure to invade the local shore. While high-adventure travelers craving for more whitewater rafting spots beyond Central America and Africa flocked for decades to the rivers of Brazil and Borneo, the Philippines remained in the quiet depths, all but overlooked. It was in 1995 when initial kayaking was done in Cagayan de Oro with the goal of introducing Whitewater rafting in the Philippines. Long before 1995, adventure driven group however have been involved in river expeditions, studying its characteristic for more than 10 years and honing their skills in paddling the rapids. Those activities have prompted the discovery of one of the word’s most exciting rapids of Kalinga’s Chico River.

Ned Sickles together with other Oregon natives Gary Fondren and Dr. Bob Anderson were the first to discover the sports-tourism potentials of the Chico River as a world-class whitewater rafting destination when they spot it in 1997 via satellite mapping, after which the group traveled all the way from the United States to visit the Cordillera’s. Joining them on their first exploratory run were Tita Naty’s eldest daughter Mae Shiu who was with the UP Mountaineers then and Elmer Cabotaje who is now a boar of trustee of the Philippine Airlines Mountaineering Club.

The exploration lasted for four days; needless to say, they were impressed with awesome natural scenery, the diversity of rapid levels, and the rivers cultural, historical and political contributions. From then on, Ned and company returned every year to train native kalingans to become a professional river guides. Ned Sickles was considered the father of Chico River Whitewater rafting. He brought all the international standard rafting equipments including the latest named after the native name of Naty Sugguiyao called “Lagunawa” – meaning a beautiful lady. The months of July to January are primetime months and have historically offered the most rainfall, highest water and most exciting whitewater rapids. So if you are planning to challenge the rapids and party in between, you have the months of February to June to plan your trip.

Chico River Quest Inc. is the biggest Whitewater rafting tour operator in Kalinga, being managed and operated by Kalinga natives headed by Naty Sugguiyao. CRQI operates in partnership with Kalinga Raft Guides Association, these enthusiast know the river well and received their training from professional whitewater guides from the USA.

Contacts:

Web: http://www.chicoriverquest.com

http://www.lakbaypilipinas.com

Getting There:

By Air:

Philippine Airlines flies from Manila to Tuguegarao thrice weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

From Tuguegarao, it’s an hour by Bus or Jeep to Tabuk.

PAL Reservations: (02) 855-8888

By Land:

Autobus Lines – Tel# (02)743-6870

Victory Liner – Tel # (02) 920-7396

These Buses offers daily trip to Tabuk. Reservation is a must to get a secured seat.

The Chico River Rafters Creed:

The Chico River is never to be conquered,

But to be respected and protected.

Back to Manila:

It was indeed a great year ender trip for the rest of the rafters; everybody was baptized as the newest river warriors and left a promise of coming back.

Face your Fear and see you in the rapids:)