Maitum White Water Tubing

Travels are really made more fun when done with friends. So on this cold January day, I and my friends for more than a decade (since high school) embarked on this random trip to Maitum to enjoy their water tubing adventure (with countless side trips along the way!).

Known as White Water Tubing, the adventure traverses part of the Pangi River in La Union, Maitum, Sarangani Province which had been recognized as one of the cleanest rivers in the country back in 2003. Before the activity, a short seminar is done at the base where retail (for soaps, shampoos, etc) and specialty (for souvenirs) stores are found. It was a fun seminar for us as my buddies kept bombarding our guides with crazy questions (which they also answered funnily).

After the seminar, habal-habal motors took us upstream over steep and zigzagging roads. Thankfully, most of the roads are concreted so the ride went fast and well.  After that, we walked a little further and we finally came to our starting point. Photo-op first.

And then the adventure began. We positioned ourselves on our individual inflated tires and one by one, we were pushed into the raging tide. Each of us had a guide so it was worry-free (LOL). For 20-30 minutes (I lost track of time), we rode through the strong current of the river, over white waves and large boulders. It was kind of terrifying when you fall into high eddies or bumped into monstrous rocks. We initially had planned a sequence on who would lead and who would trail behind. But plans failed when we went into the water. Our guides randomly took the lead during the adventure, and sometimes, we bumped into each other or squeezed through narrow openings. As it turned out, it was more fun than we had planned.

Finally, the ride ended but not the fun. At the end point, we lingered and swam in the strong current, chit-chatting and sharing jokes and made fun of each other (LOL).

After a while, we left the river and changed for our next destination with huge smiles on our face. It was truly a fun experience, worthy of the fee of only P200 per head.