New Year Hiking and River Rafting Adventure
- viggohanssonphoto
- Jan 24, 2019
- 2 min read
I have been in the Philippines for just over 6 months now. When I told people back in Iceland that I was going to be staying here for some time I bet most of them thought of white sand beaches and clear blue oceans, but the fact is I've spent most of my time in Quezon City.
Therefore it was a welcome change of pace to start the new year with a weekend trip to Cordillera with my girlfriend Mica and Mensa Philippines. After a night of travelling by car, we stopped for breakfast at a little restaurant overlooking the Banaue Rice Terraces, where we took in the sunrise over the valley. Seeing rice terraces is one of the things I can check off my list after this trip.
Our next destination was Mount Kupapey for a hike. I hadn't hiked in a very long time so I was a bit nervous it would be difficult and painful, but it went much smoother than I had feared. The fresh air, the comfortable temperature and some of the scenery even reminded me a bit of Iceland, but the rice terraces and the carabao (water buffalos) quickly shattered that illusion.
After a night's rest at a hotel in Tabuk, Kalinga, we went river rafting down Chico River. I don't have a camera fit for that sort of action photography, so I don't have any of my own photos from the trip. I didn't really care since I just wanted to enjoy floating down the river and not worry about getting photos. Just for fun, here are a few I borrowed from some of the other members of the group:
Overall it was a pretty good trip. I met some lovely people, saw some beautiful places and got a few nice photos. I don't know exactly how long I'll be here, but I hope that in 2019 I can travel more within the country. Before I know it I may be back in Iceland, scraping ice of the windscreen of a car on a freezing, pitch black morning, wondering why the hell I left the warmth of the Philippines.
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