Manolo Fortich is one giant pineapple plantation and this remains pretty much evident as you hang on at the back of a motorbike bringing you uphill to Baranggay Dahilayan, where the adventure park bearing the same name is located. Coming from Cagayan de Oro, you have two choices: a bus going to Valencia from Agora Terminal; or a jeep going to Libona from Gusa Terminal. I took the second option. The jeepney ride takes more than an hour and costs 40 pesos. Ask the driver to drop you off at Camp Phillips where you take the Habal-Habal going up. You have to agree on a price before heading for the road because transportation going down might be problematic. I negotiated a 300-peso round trip ride with the driver, him having to wait an hour for me to finish the ziplines.
Ziplines aside, Dahilayan also has a ropes course, a zorb facility somewhere, ATV rides, and a wall for climbing, among others. The ropes course and the wall climbing facility were temporarily unavailable that day. The park has three ziplines. You start with the 320m zip, and then continue with 150m. You have to go back up to the viewing deck and wait for the mini open van to bring you all the way uphill to the launch tower of the 840m zipline, which is said to be the longest in Asia. The trip up is an adventure in itself; one of the passengers kept on screaming as if she was riding a roller coaster. I could not blame her though. You better hold onto something if you do not want to find yourself hanging on for dear life at the nearest ravine. You pay 600 pesos for the three ziplines, by the way.
I still prefer the Lake Sebu's zipline, perhaps because it was my first superman experience and I just loved the view? Dahilayan also offers a magnificent view sans any body of water, but somehow it was the speed that disappointed me. Given the length of the zipline, I thought it would be a real Superman experience. Somehow, the speed felt a bit regulated, maybe because of the drogues. I enjoyed it anyway. I was just puzzled as to why the woman that was launched with me was going faster despite her weight. Maybe because I was taking a video? Who knows!
My trip to Bukidnon was rather short and only took the whole morning. Nonetheless, I loved the Habal-Habal ride in spite of the rocky terrain. Seeing all those pineapples lining the dirt path was surreal! Look left, pineapples. Look right, more pineapples. Look ahead, an awesome panorama of Bukidnon’s mountains. The sun was brightly shining but the breeze kept me cool. Awesome.
You can take a van from Camp Phillips, the route of which ends at Limketkai. 60 pesos is not that much for an air-conditioned vehicle with less stops compared to the 40-peso ride by jeep. Shell out an extra 20 for comfort. If you still want more of Bukidnon, you could go to Malaybalay for the Monastery of Transfiguration or try to find where they serve the 1,000-peso steak with bottomless pineapple juice. As for me, I decided to call it a day. I had my adventure and that was enough for me. Thanks a lot, beautiful Bukidnon.
[MANOLO FORTICH] The Real Superman Experience?
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