Notice: traveleanorism.wordpress.com evolves as a category of eleanornewmedia.com. The site takes on WordPress’ LightBright theme, one of WP’s elegant themes. The beta test of eleanornewmedia.com was undertaken two days prior to its casual launch on June 18. The author, Maria Eleanor, is very grateful you have been following her the past six months. She invites you for a chat on eleanornewmedia.com on your plans regarding extreme adventure destinations here in Cebu like canyoning, hiking/trekking, rock climbing.###
In Rupture
caption: This former print media practitioner on assignment in Sitio Kumayot, Inabanga, Bohol as “fault-finder” takes the time of her life to pose at the new earth formation deemed perfect for the next geological tourism spot here.
BOHOL, PHILIPPINES — Forty-year-old Roland Suerte held on to a house post when the ground shook on the morning of October 15, 2013. But the moment he saw cracks on the yard, he referred to as “slice marks,” an edgy Roland shouted at his wife, heavy with their sixth child due by October 20, and at their children ordering them to run for their lives.
“I thought that was the last of us. It was like a scene from a doomsday movie,” Suerte shared in Binisayang Bol-anon dialect.
Mariana Añasco, 59 years old, a widow, was tending her farm, 50 meters away from her house, on an early morning. She earlier had coffee and pieces of local bread called “pan kinamot” (mixed and kneaded manually) and was set to go home for breakfast proper when the earth trembled. She said she was almost through clearing withered leaves of a few banana shrubs when she noticed the earth move beneath her weight. At first, she held on to the banana trunk thinking she had an episode of nausea, but later on the world around her vibrated in such a horrible rhythm, she dropped on her knees and mumbled a prayer.
Emily Pisol, 24, saw how an earthen wall arose on a lot a stone’s throw from her house. She had a vantage view of the location, and when the temblor struck, the ground cracked! She described the ground rupture to seemingly gobble them up, while smokes of dust billowed, as though it was a clip of an apocalypse film.
“Pagtuyatuya sa akong gibarogan abi lang nako ba og ‘malikmata’ kay pagkurog dungan man miulbo-ulbo ang yuta. Atbang man gud kaayo ang luna sa among pultahan. Mikurog akong baba ug tuhod, uy (Swaying where I stood, I thought it was just a mirage because along with the tremors, the earth open before my eyes. Our main door was directly across the shaken lot. My lips and knees were shaking, uy!)” she narrated in tears. “Kusog kaayo nisaka ang yuta (The earth rose so quickly). Matter of seconds ra gyud. Abi nako gani matabunan mi (I thought we would be covered).”
* * *
Mamerto Bautista Torregosa, 53, former barangay chairman of Anonang, saw it happened right on a patch of land owned by his family. The fault line missed his and his sister’s houses by a hairline. “This used to be a flat ground,” he pointed to the earthen wall, “level man ni siya, as shown by a rice paddy. But now part of the rice paddy is higher than this one we are stepping on. And look at these crops,” referring to the sweet potatoes, “we have already removed them as these [the tubers] were already sticking out,” he detailed.
More than the eagerness to receive aid in food and shelter, 1000 affected residents in Sitio Kumayot demand reassurance they are safe near the “face” of a reverse fault line. They are just so distraught about the current situation, that Nang Mariana describes it to be “makabuang” (maddening).
As I was listening to harrowing experiences told and retold during my five-hour stay – in Sitio Kumayot, the only assurance I shared with residents frenetic about a new natural formation is the very information I gathered that morning of October 23: the fault line stretches along 100 kilometers, according to experts, manifesting well in Inabanga and on upland portions of Sagbayan and Catigbian. Only five kilometers have been surveyed initially, led by Dr. Teresito Bacolcol of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum recommends that “…no structures should be built on top of a fault and within the five-meter buffer zone on both sides of the fault.”
He called on Bohol leaders to “revise land use policy around the fault.” And that it will take years, even centuries, for pressure to build up again before a fault line can once more create a quake of such strength.
However, it has already jolted a new promise. Bohol is now a geosciences/geological tourism destination. Proof that opportunity is antithesis to crisis, and one has the choice and the power to use a predicament to one’s advantage.
A signage in white paint on recycled galvanized iron sheet, erected a kilometer away from the earth wall, warms us up to a new facet in touring: THIS WAY TO FAULT LINE!###
Cantabaco crag
by Maria Eleanor E. Valeros, #CebuBloggingCommunity
caption: Presumably a million-year-old gift to a community. The Cantabaco natural limestone formation is not only breeding ground/playground of rock climbers, it is also a reservoir that ensures water supply even in the weak El Nino phenomenon experienced here these days, putting the maximum heat index in Cebu at 39 degrees Celsius.
CANTABACO, CEBU, PHILIPPINES (June 4, 2015) — Rock climbing newbies Cedie Ong and Raymund “Digoy” Acojedo Rodrigo meet local guide Enie Yonson today for the consummation of their “lime lust” at the renowned natural rock formations here.
As assessed by Climb Philippines, an authority in the Philippines when it comes to rock climbing and the accompanying bolting and spotting projects, it was learned that Cantabaco is considered to be the best crag to date in the country.
Offering five areas, with all route possibilities graded 5.11 to 5.13 in the level of technical difficulty, Cantabaco natural wall offers promising rock trips to enthusiasts. The bolted part has reached to some 12 meters or nearly 40 feet. The highest point of the wall is placed at 160 feet, says Climb Philippines in its webpage.
True enough, Cedie and Digoy have their fill here today of adrenaline rush, rock romance, swearing they will be back to finish the fifth area that offers a cliff overhang which to them is not so hard but very technical to tackle for neophytes yet.
Enie, himself, who has rock climbing experience since 1994 said that climbing is not really proving you have the mastery over routes and can do climbathons. “It’s important that you enjoy what you are doing. You may finish half of the route today, complete half tomorrow. One guest even said in jest that’s already equivalent to one route, and that he is happy about his achievement. That’s the spirit. Enjoy what you are doing. You will master endurance later.”
Enie also shared that some climbers come and get frustrated at not arriving at their expectations. “Some swear. Thump on the wall. Some even punch the wall. How could you embrace a sport like this with an attitude like that? Come with a mirthful spirit, completing the routes will come easiest.”
This writer lives in Cantabaco’s adjacent barangay and has her fill of glee upon touching the walls – again – (call it déjà vu!) after decades of being literally detached from what used to be a childhood playground.
In the 80s to the 90s, near these natural limestone formations rush out refreshing waters. An area was developed as a public laundry site where neighbors converge on weekends. This was “social media” then; a wet platform for socialization, back when neighbors know each other so well and immersed in camaraderie.
Today it still is a source for potable water. In fact, the Toledo Water District taps service water in here. However, the number of springs has dwindled. Some crevices where water used to drain have in fact already dried up. Locals have it that detrimental activities such as small-scale to big mining operations may have angered the “elements” that guard the springwells, since mining involves chopping down of trees and blasting of boulders.
Moreover, Enie announced of a convergence come October of rock climbing enthusiasts all over the world to mark an anniversary of the official creation of a federation. This will be a busy time for the area to be used exclusively by fed members.
For companionship services and rates to this crag venerated by the “hardcore rock-ers,” email eleanor.newmedia@gmail.com or message FB: Eleanor NewMedia. ###
Canlaob canyoning
by Maria Eleanor E. Valeros, #CebuBloggingCommunity
Caption: Outdoorsy chums on a drift after seven leaps at Canlaob in Alegria. Photo by guide Cris Comendador.
ALEGRIA, CEBU, PHILIPPINES (May 31, 2015) — Fear is a very beautiful emotion. It makes you think twice, thrice. It assures you’re just too human to let go of your precious life any minute. But the power to control that fear is the most beautiful function of your brain. You engage in seven leaps even though you understand how great, sweet things can go wrong at some twists.
Canlaob River in the town of Alegria, over a hundred kilometers away from Cebu City, pumps up adrenaline rush via canyoning, which some outdoor adventure enthusiasts prefer to call “canyoneering” presumably to fuse canyoning and mountaineering which are two great outdoor activities.
Canlaob is around seven kilometers long, but the tackling requires from around three to four hours before one exits at the Kawasan Falls in adjacent Badian town (or near the major water source rushing out of holes on the ground).
There are varying heights to deal with – 10 to 15 feet, 30 feet to serve as “graduation jump” in capping the adventure; and another an optional 50-footer drop of which celebrity, travel show host Drew Arellano, is the only one so far among thousands of guests here, who was crazy enough to dare take the challenge.
With the prevalent dry spell, say extended El Nino phenomenon according to state meteorologists, the waters offered enough reason for us to enjoy the scenery, the greens, the boulders, the crystal-like formations, a loooong stretch of astounding, gorgeous gorge!
I am a Cebuana. A literally restless Cebuana. And I have almost been around town, nook and cranny. I made my share of leaps at Kawasan too, which is the most popular of all Cebu waterfalls, to date. But today I discovered Canlaob and is just sooo glad to be in perfect company — people who are out to chill even in the most challenging of territories; people who are “photophiliacs”: who will try every pose possible to make the situation worthy of the capture, cheese and freeze. LOL!
Seven jumps. Amazingly, the rocky promontories have ledges carved by raging waters. Nature definitely understands our playful ways. The last of these ledges is the perfect one, or it wouldn’t be tagged site for a “graduation leap.” It was a note on fear with a splash of sheer will. “I will die anyway, so why not do it now?” the nerves in my hippocampus compounded by a blow on my tummy, by some force of whatever, pushed me off my limits. And there – that most beautiful, daredevil, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious side of me – comes in union with the river, drifting to the rhythm of turquoise waters.
For companionship services so you won’t waste time and money haggling and figuring out who to ask what, email me @ eleanor.newmedia@gmail.com. Tag along outdoorsy chums only, those keen on jumping. This is a high-risk engagement, but local guides are already trained on swift water guiding management, search/rescue/retrieval. In PhP, the entrance fee is 20, the safety gears are up for 140 (set of safety floating device and helmet); while the exit fee in Kawasan is another 20. ###
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