I JUST turned a year short of being a septuagenarian less than two weeks ago, and in a lot of those years,I have been both a sportswriter and travel writer for more than four decades.

But when I went with my family to Dingalan in Aurora last Holy Week for a family break and a belated birthday celebration, I experienced something that was stilla first time for me.

Going to and seeing natural attractions in far away out of town trips is a natural experience for me, though in this case, it was how I got to the place that made the difference.

So many pounds and black hair ago, yes, years too, I have done white water rafting in both ends of the Philippines, one in Cagayan North and the other in Cagayan de Oro, including Pinoy rafting using big tires lashed together, and even did it once in Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.

Even white water kayaking I have tried in Cagayan North with kayaking pioneers here, Val and Didi Camara who also brought me to Subic for open water kayaking.

Last Friday though, I did what I would describe as white water riding, simply because before we reached Laktas Falls in Brgy Ibuna in Dingalan, we had to use a farm tractor-pulled passenger cart that actually passed over Lipit River , or at times, right there on the river itself.

Locally, this mode of transport is called Tora Tora though one has the choice of taking a 4×4 vehicle that can also pass through above the knee deep river waters .

For a family of 7, we paid P2K including barangay entrance fees and environmental fees with the local tourism office in Ibuna, but that fee also included a side visit to the nearby picnic grounds located at the riverside.

In both instances, the water was too cold for senior people like me and my wife abd we contented ourselves enjoying the sights and sounds of so many visiting tourists frolicking in the river, that included our apo Livi who was thoroughly into the experience.

What could have been a real adventure for us in Lipit River was what happened in Gabaldon, the municipality before Dingalan, the place features similar riverside picnic grounds with native cottages for rent on both sides of the river.

On that same day that we were in Lipit, after lunch, the picnickers were forced to evacuate after the Dupingan River water rose and the current became stronger as rainwater from the nearby mountains cascaded into the river.

Actually , i will not be surprised if the same thing happened in Lipit, fortunately, we left the place earlier and did not go through the experience of running away from waters.

But I have to say we all enjoyed that trip, including our stay at Gina’s Guest House where stayed in a room that gave us a view of the mountains and the seas, the Pacific Ocean actually, everytime we woke up.

The friendly staff more than made up for some small disappointments I had, and I still would recommend the place for anyone going to Dingalan.

And now I know why for some, this place is considered the Batanes of the East, and I agree.

Now it is back to the rat race, but honestly, I am enjoying my stint at the Philippins Sports Commission where I work with my long-time friend and best man in my wedding, Commissioner Fritz Gaston, one of the former athletes presently in the PSC Board together with Chairman Dickie Bachmann, bowler Bong Coo, and fencer Walter Torres.

The other Commissioner is Ed Hayco who headed for a long time tge Cebu Sports Commission.

Both Fritz and I agreed that now in the twilight of our working careers, we end up again in the world of sports and in a position to be able to do something for our athletes.

Meeting athletes anew in different sports and not just in basketball , road running, and triathlons, and being able to do on line stories about them, at the same time getting materials for my sports columns, I really look forward to going to PSC practically every day.

It is not work for me, definitely.

And this week, I will finally get the chance to watch men’s volleyball at the Ynares gym in Pasig.I hope I enjoy watching it the same way I enjoy going to women’s volleyball games, but of course, the female players in the PVL, and a lot of them are very pretty, hold the bigger attraction for me.

Well, I guess I am back to ny nornal world already.

Holy Week vacation time is over and done.