Three years ago, just few months before graduating from college, my friends (my Mass Communicator peers) and I had a near-death-experience in the mountains of Valencia, Negros Oriental. I swear I would never forget that experience up until today. It scares me to wander in the mountains after that experience. But last weekend was another encounter. If I survived the mountains then the water is another story.
Arriane, my daughter, who got to go through the same experience with me in the mountains three years ago had to share the same fate with me last Saturday. We (my TN family) decided to have a summer outing/reunion in Antulang resort in Siaton, Negros Oriental. We were all first timers in the place and part of the package we paid for is kayaking. So off we went to kayaking around 3:00 in the afternoon. Unfortunately the sea was rough at that time. The wind was quite strong and the waves are big enough to match the deep ocean of the resort. There was only one kayak so we have to go on pair. My daughter and I decided to go kayaking together after two of our colleagues were done with their turn. Mind you, both of us don’t know how to swim. To top it all, it creeps me out when it comes to deep waters.
We were so confident on the kayak that the next thing we knew we were already far away from shore. Not to mention the color of the sea—it was dark blue. The color itself tells the depth of the ocean. Waves were banging on us and no matter how hard we try to paddle we always end up with one direction—forward! The more we try to struggle the more we sail forward. We were both scared yet we try not to panic or else we’ll get capsize and God knows what’s in the sea. It was so creepy. None of us had tried kayaking before and none of us know how to paddle or maneuver the kayak to the direction we want it to. We struggle for quite a while in the open sea trying to shout for direction on our friends back on shore which were already tiny from our point of view.
The rush to survive was bitter-sweet. It was like going back to the mountains three years ago. All you can do is focus and try to survive from the situation. To tell you honestly, I don’t even remember how we have managed to turn the kayak back. Maybe it was just the water current or maybe we just exerted too much effort. It was really a head ache to exert more force than you have done your entire life. But thank God, we survived! We may not have dock on the shores of Antulang resort itself but at least we made it on the nearest area.
We were both happy to have made it and survived. Indeed, it was not our time yet but the adrenaline rush, the experience itself, and the struggle made it all worth reminiscing and laughing. I know we’re not suppose to laugh in moments like this but knowing you’ll live for another day or month or maybe year or more (who knows) is just worth thanking God for and smiling for. Not to forget, it added more color to our summer escapade.
This is definitely another experience that I will never forget in my life. That might even be the first and the last time I will get on a kayak, but who knows? If I’m with an expert then maybe I might try to do it again someday….hahaha! But surely May 14, 2011 is my best weekend so far for 2011 and of course my most unforgettable summer escapade! =)
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