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Day 2: The Adventure Continues
by Rika Lazo
We woke up that morning with some excitement. A new day, a new experience. Our host had us picked up at around 8 am and we were brought to her house where she fed us a sumptuous breakfast. In her backyard lay the equipment that we would need for the day, already packed and just waiting to be transported. After eating, we rested only a few minutes, then we were off once again.
Getting There
We rode the sometimes rough, sometimes smooth road to the "practice" site, one that they called the "swimming pool" of the chico river. It is at this point that the chico river widens and the waters are calmer, hence resembling a swimming pool. Upon reaching our destination, the guides went to work. They unloaded the vehicle, and begun to assemble and inflate the boats. There were two inflatable kayaks (also known as duckies), one hard kayak, and an oar boat. It took a while to get the equipment ready, but there were several guides (about 5 in all) helping each other out.
The Demonstration
When everything was ready, they began to instruct us on the different gadgets in the kayak. There wasn't a lot really, we just had to insert our legs under a strap on the inner sides of the duckies which would serve as an anchor for each leg, giving us more control over the boat. The oar had two paddles, one on each end, and so one paddled alternately to move forward. Prior to letting us use the kayaks, the guides provided a demonstration. It didn't look easy, but ofcourse they were maneuvering the kayaks upstream,and against the flow. We found a cove-like spot that was perfect for practicing. A rock formation up the stream provided some protection from the downstream flow of the river. Kayaking 
Cha Cha was first out on the red ducky. Mang Moises provided a helping hand to hold the ducky steady and to keep Cha Cha from being pulled away. Then Marko went off on the yellow ducky. One of the guides, Roger, was in the hard kayak, and he stayed by Marko's side, helping him out. Thank goodness for that, too, because soon enough, Marko got caught by the current, and before long, was already way downstream and on the opposite river bank at that. He ended up getting out and carrying his ducky upstream from us. Then he attempted to cross the river, Roger following close behind.
After a few minutes Cha Cha tired out, and then it was my turn. It was a good work out for the upper body, and it was a matter of knowing how the current was going to carry the boat, so that one could react to it. After a few runs, I let Jona try. Jona seemed to get the hang of it right away (naks naman). The only thing that remained confusing was determining on which side to do the back paddle when the nose of the kayak got caught in the stream and turned. "Paano nga ulit, iyon? Left back or right back? Hay, nalilito pa ako." Actually, it turns out that if you do it often enough it becomes second nature.
As you might have noticed, no one was willing to try the oar boat. It seemed huge as far as we were concerned. Just watching Mang Moises maneuver it was already a tiring experience. And if Mang Moises, with all his rafting experience was already having a hard time, what more we. No way! Nevertheless, Cha Cha decided to brave it. She rode while Mang Moises rowed. Okay ka Cha Cha, ah.
Finally, Marko got back to where we were, and so did Roger with the hard kayak. Alright! Now who wants to try the hard kayak??? Me!!! As it turns out, only Cha Cha and I could fit into it, anyway. But since Cha Cha was already tired, I was the only one who got to try it out. It was a different feel from the ducky. It seemed to be more sensitive to the flow of the river, responding more easily to the current. It required less force to turn just as long as there was no counteracting flow. It also seemed to be less stable, threatening to flip over everytime I rowed hard on either side. I was definitely getting more of a workout, and could feel it in my legs, my hips, my arms, and my upper back. They had tried to teach us how to flip over and back (Roger demonstrated several times), but I wasn't too keen on trying it. At one point, there was too much traffic in the cove, and while avoiding collision with a ducky and the oar boat, I ended up getting caught by the current. Though I tried to pull myself upstream, my strokes were not fast and strong enough. Besides, I was already tired. It's a good thing I somehow managed to steer myself to the shallow bank. Then Mang Moises came to the rescue and helped push me and the kayak back upstream. Wow! What an experience!
When we all seemed to have had a good workout, we took a break. Syempre naman diba? This was also our chance to take pictures of the whole group (and eat syempre! Pwede bang hindi?). Let's see, in addition to two of our guides from yesterday's rafting venture (Mang Moises and Roger), there was Lapid, Ryan, and Armand. Ofcourse, Mang Edgar remained our ever loyal driver. After the break, it was time to ride downstream. Cha Cha and Jona, Ryan and Lapid, rode with Mang Moises on the oar boat. Roger took the lead in the hard kayak. Marko was alone in the yellow ducky, and I was accompanied by Armand in the red one. Armand was so afraid that we would flip over, so much so, he kept taking over the paddling, particularly as we came to rapids which he thought would be too much for me to handle. He had also asked me to unstrap my legs so that I wouldn't have to worry about it in case we already flipped. That, however, made it more difficult for me to control the ducky. Oh well, it was at least fun trying to change places with him several times during the ride. Cha Cha and Jona, also enjoying the ride in the oar boat, decided at one point to jump into the river and ride the waters. They got quite refreshed. Sarap daw!
When we got to our pick-up place, Mang Edgar was already there, waiting. The adventure done and the equipment repacked, we headed back to our hostel to freshen up. As we were set to depart for Manila the next day still, we decided to treat our guides to a good time that night. After another late but filling lunch, we set out to get things ready for the night.