Caliraya

May 22, 2010
I slept at my aunt's house so that we could start our trip early. I couldn't sleep due to too much excitement. I slept at around 11:00.


May 23, 2010
I woke up at around 12:00 to see that my six-year-old cousin wasn't beside me anymore. She transferred to my aunt's room because she, too, couldn't sleep. Luckily, I was able to go back to sleep after that. Although, at around 3:00, I woke up again to see that the airbed we were sleeping in lost air and I could already feel the floor. It was hard to sleep after that but fortunately, I was able to. I woke up again at around 4:00. So did my sister. I couldn't go back to sleep because she constantly moved. I then decided to go downstairs to drink some water. I was able to go back to sleep at around 4:30. I woke up again at around 5:15 and read my book while I waited for my aunt to go to our room and tell us to dress up.

My aunt entered the room at around 5:30 and I woke up my sister and we started dressing up. I fixed my stuff and started to bring them downstairs to the car. At around 6:00, we left the house and passed by my grandparents' house to pick up the other car for all the other people who are going with us. We then picked up the driver of that car and went on our way.

We stopped by Petron to grab some breakfast at McDonald's. I got 2-pc. Pancakes with Sausage and Hash Brown and Hot Chocolate. My 1-year-old cousin ate french fries which resulted to my ketchup-stained shirt. My other cousin got a Puss in Boots hat and bought a Pez dispenser. After this, we began our nonstop 3-hour trip to Caliraya in Laguna.

I was sitting at the very back of the car with my sister and my cousins. It was very crowded and noisy. After a while, everyone went to sleep except my aunt and uncle. My cousin laid her head on my lap and was sweating on me but I couldn't wake her up so I just had to deal with it. I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to see where we were going. I was able to do this but I finally gave up and went to sleep after an hour and a half of the trip. When I woke up, we were about a kilometer away so my excitement rose up again and I was at the edge of my seat. When we reached the dock, I woke up my cousin and jumped out of the car. We took our stuff from the car and waited for the little boat which took us to an island across the dock where the resort is.

When we reached the island, we instantly noticed the zipline. My sister and I wanted to ride it so badly but we had to wait. We waited for a jeepney to take us to the front office because it was really far. While waiting, we looked at the map and planned what we could do during our time there and my excitement level went higher and higher. Finally, the jeepney arrived and we rode up the hill to the front office. Upon reaching the front office, we found out that the duplex that we were supposed to be staying in wasn't evacuated yet so we had to wait until 2:00. It was only 10:30 so we left our things there and my aunt told everyone to tour around and be back at around 12:00 for the lunch buffet. My sister, two cousins, three nannies/helpers and I went around. We first went to the hanging bridge above the fishpond which we played with by swinging it side to side as the other people we came with walked on it. We then went up and saw the swimming pools, wall climbing area, rappelling area, zipline, basketball court, volleyball court, soccer field, tennis court, mini zipline, snack shack/arcade, horseback riding area, bungee jump, cottages, duplex and the Caliraya lake itself. We tried the mini zipline which was a line with one end on an elevated area and the other below. There was a thick rope with a piece of a tire on the end which you pull going to the elevated part. When you reach the end, you ride on the tire and push yourself and you zipline going down. It was addicting. We went again and again. After that, my sister and I went bungee jumping. Then, due to exhaustion, we went to the snack shack and grabbed a drink while my cousins and nannies/helpers stayed in the arcade. We eventually joined them until it was time for lunch. We were very lucky to have been the first few to arrive at the buffet area because there were a lot of people. By the time we were eating, the line was endless already. After eating, my sister and I went to the registration place to pay for the things we were gonna do. Unfortunately, rappelling, xorb ball, water roller and two others were unavailable. We then went back to the snack shack to grab dessert and play in the arcade while waiting for the duplex.

FINALLY, the duplex was ready so we went back to the front office, got our bags and rode the jeepney back down. When we reached the duplex, we immediately dressed up and my sister and I went to the wall climbing area. Wall climbing is harder than I thought. It was easy at first but when I reached the top, my sister got me to look down which was a terrible idea. The ones in-charge then told us to let go of the wall and hold the rope so they could put us down. We were like "NO! I won't let go of the rope!". We did let go eventually and going down was much more fun than going up. After thirty minutes of climbing and letting go, we went up to the ziplining area but there were plenty of people so my sister and I decided to go horseback riding first because it had a schedule. This was the highlight of my day.

I rode on a white, female (the only female) horse named Sephora who was the mother of an adorable 32-month-old baby horse named Stephanie. My sister rode the father, a light brown, male horse named Rocky. An old man guided me through my ride while my sister was guided by another guy. They brought us near the lake where they thought us how to ride the horses on our own. Sephora was very good and tame. She was a good follower. Stephanie was so cute because she followed her mom everywhere so I had a bonus. At the times that we stopped, Stephanie kept on smelling and licking my shoe. We reached the soccer field where the people we went with were. They took pictures and videos. I was getting the hang of riding Sephora and I was so proud. The old man was an awesome guide. He was very gentle and kind. I learned very easily from him. Too bad it only lasted for 30 minutes. Although, I don't think that we had only 30 minutes. I think that our guides extended our rides which was very nice of them.

After the horseback ride, we went back to the soccer field to let our aunt sign the consent form and then we went back to the zipline area to wait for our turn. After about eight people, it was finally our turn. I strapped on and went first. It was amazing! I could feel the adrenaline rushing through my veins. The wind felt refreshing and it was totally worth it.

After that, we went to the mud slide with my cousins and the nannies/helpers. The mud slide was basically like a long flat slide which went down from the hill to the bottom. The man in-charge would stay on top and wet you with a hose as you get ready then he'd pour soap water on you so that you could go. The soap water makes it really really fast. It's called a MUD slide because at the end, there's a large puddle of mud where you land. It might sound disgusting but it was actually really fun.

After a few repeats and rinsing off, my sister and I went to the pool and took a quick relaxing dip. After that, we dried off a bit and went back to the soccer field where the others were still playing sports. We just watched them play basketball. But after basketball, we became referees to their next game which was a water gun fight. After that, we went back to the mud slide but now with our aunt. After rinsing, we went back to the duplex and took a bath to get ready for dinner.

At around 7:00, we went to the buffet area and since it was nighttime, there were only a few people left because majority of them already went home. It was a chilly night and it was very relaxing. After eating dinner, the little ones went back to the duplex to get ready to sleep while we went to the snack shack/arcade again for dessert. Well, my sister, aunt and I ate nachos and drank juice. My sister and I then went to the arcade and played Play Station 2. We were supposed to play Tekken but the screen went blank and fuzzy so I just pressed Start again and again and we ended up playing Ben 10. Finally, we got tired so we walked back to the duplex and went to sleep. I didn't go directly to sleep though. I stayed up until 9:00 to finish the replay of Glee.


May 24, 2010
I woke up at around 6:30 because breakfast was at 7:00. I dressed up when I saw my aunt wake up. Everybody then woke up after each other. We all then rode a jeepney up the buffet area and ate breakfast. At around 7:45, we paid for the things we're gonna do again for the morning. We were supposed to go biking at 8:00-8:30 but the bikes were unavailable so, instead, at around 8:15, my aunt, sister, four-year-old cousin and I went canoeing. After 30 minutes of that, my sister and I went kayaking. And yes, I got really wet. If I weren't wearing a life jacket, my shirt would've also been wet. After kayaking, we went horseback riding again.

This time, my sister rode with my one-year-old cousin while I rode with my four-year-old cousin. My sister rode on Rocky again while I rode on another horse, a male one too. His name was Black but he was dark brown. The only black part he had was his tail, mane and a line on his back. This ride was less fun because we weren't let go on our own. Maybe because we were with minors, but still.

After our horseback ride, we went in line again for the zipline. There was a batch of 30 people in front of us and it took them forever. After a LONG time of waiting, we went one by one. There were eight of us in total and I was the last one. My sister's, aunt's and my rides were a challenge: we were supposed to let go. We did. Although my sister was the only one who let go throughout the whole ride. We planned to go the mud slide after the zipline but they closed before we got there so we took a bath instead and packed our stuff. We planned to go bungee jumping after but they were also closed so we just relaxed. Although, we couldn't stop moving. We ended up riding the mini zipline again. When my aunt returned, they got a final pictorial and we went back to the dock and headed straight home.

Our trip was nonstop. I tried not to sleep again but it still didn't work. I slept to fight the hunger and my cousin slept on my lap again. I woke up when we were near already and when we reached my aunt's house we ate lunch. That was about 2:30 or 3:00 already. We went directly home after that.

Over-all, our trip to Caliraya has been the highlight of my summer and one of the best trips I've ever been on! THANK YOU! :)