with a name synonymous to adventure, davao is a city that likes to “live on the edge,” so to speak. there they have numerous facilities that cater to the daredevil in you — ziplining, wakeboarding, zorbing, tightrope walking while eating fire and then diving down to freefall into a lake surrounded by hungry crocodiles. trust me, it couldn’t get any more thrilling than that.

the beauty of still photos. you couldn’t see my knees shake.

because the tightrope walking adventure left my uber-adventurous spirit yawning with boredom, i opted for the even more boring kind of thrill — the zipline. definitely safer than being eaten by the crocodiles. and with a harness on that is connected to two independent cables, that’s like a double protection against the unknown. unless that unknown is lightning and it strikes me right where those two cables are. if i survive, then that would make me doubly lucky. that is, if i don’t end up double dead.

of course i’m wearing shorts.

thankfully, i made it in one piece. it was exhilarating!

it’s official. i ♥ ziplines. i especially love the moment you let go of the strap in your harness and you open your arms and your mind to the view below you. feel the cool wind on your face; your smile hardened by the cold air but there you are beaming nonetheless. that must be what the eagles feel like. total freedom. (except when you have to fight for air space with somebody else, like my sister and i did on our first zipline together.)

although i wonder why they call that zipline position “the penitent.” it’s way too much fun to suggest some form of penitence or something.

bummer!

oh yeah, i almost forgot. right before it was my turn, it rained. the kind that really has the potential to drench you, carrying strong winds with it. the guides told me it was okay but i didn’t wanna risk it. i was scared of getting stranded in the middle; my weight not strong enough to push me against the wind and i would end up ziplining all the way back to where i started. (now that would have been funny!) ram and i had to wait about ten minutes for the passing rainclouds to clear out of our way. before we knew it, it was all sunny again and we were ready for the next leg.

ready for part 2

yep, with the price you pay, you get to zipline twice: 600 meters on the first leg and another 500 meters on the second that would take you back to their main headquarter. (we had to ride a van to get to the mountain that was the starting point.) adrenaline rush all over again!

but the bestest, bestest part of all? rushing to meet aeva who waited for us below. (i’m a mushy, doting aunt. shoot me.)

i wish i could brag and say that the outland adventure xcelerator zipline is the tallest, longest, and fastest zip line in asia. well, it was. but as of this writing, it’s not anymore.

but hey, at least i can say i was there!