It took a great deal of brainstorming, months of careful planning, and a whole bunch of passion to make it happen.  All those week upon week of meetings, throwing emails back and forth, and following up all communications sent and received, boiled down to this: 5 long days of exploring and discovering Iligan, giving the invited bloggers from all over the country reasons to like and love Iligan as much as we do.

Photo Credit: Diyandi Festival fan page

The prepared itinerary was somewhat ambitious, especially for me who has lived a sedentary lifestyle for quite a while now. In all honesty, the last "mountaineering" activity I had prior to this event (other than the unexpected Hindang Cave [mis]adventure) was way back in college when I did my undergraduate thesis. That was about 8 years and *coughs* 30 lbs *coughs* ago. 

Seven waterfalls in Iligan City visited during Waterfalling Adventure Tour 1.0

We knew it wasn't going to be easy, and we don't really know if the organizers and our guests can endure waking up early and going home rather late for 5 straight days. If we ourselves don't die out of exhaustion... well, we feared our invited guests might kill us -- online and/or offline. So yes, we had a really flexible itinerary, adjustable according to everyone's pace and state of mind and well-being. :)

Luckily, we all survived! And surprisingly, the itinerary was stretched and extended in unimaginable ways. We promised six waterfalls, and we ended up with seven! We even added an extra day to include a visit to the neighboring Marawi City. We often have coffee nightcaps and head home close to midnight under the guise of having to sleep early for an early day ahead. BUT we still had time to "you know, make kulitan online pa."  All thanks to the unbelievable enthusiasm and fast-charging energy of this very clingy group. 

• (Malabon City) Christian:  http://www.lakadpilipinas.com/
• (Bukidnon) Sandre:  http://www.pagduaw.com/
• (Bukidnon) Shugah:  http://www.wandershugah.com/
• (South Cot) Nanardx: http://nanardxz.southcotabato.org/
• (GenSan)  Doc Remo:  http://www.hikersitch.com/
• (CDO) Ding:  http://www.traveltabai.com/
• (Cebu)  Michy: http://memoiresofalice.com/
• (Iligan) Francis:  http://www.simplyfrancis.com
• (Iligan) Gab:  http://neoticviews.blogspot.com/
• (Iligan) Kathleen:  http://www.dasocialclimber.com/
• (Finland)  Petri https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=510635835613980&set=o.199976960015228&type=1&theater&notif_t=like

Waterfalling Adventure Tour 1.0 happened last year. Despite the "ambitiousness" of the plan, we pulled through, thanks to our very generous sponsors and the adventurous participants. Five days, seven waterfalls, and thirteen destinations after, the clingy WAT1.0 family formed a priceless bond with each other, centered around our common love for Iligan -- not only for the waterfalls, but for its food, culture, and people as well. 

And their love manifests in their posts when they share their stories of the beauty of Iligan to their networks, and the stories are shared further and further through the world wide web. Slowly, we'll making our mark as a tourist destination -- far from the war-torn image commonly pictured of us, leaving digital footprints that our city truly has a beauty that's unforgettable.

This year, as Iligan Bloggers Society, Inc. starts preparing for an even more ambitious Waterfalling Adventure Tour 2.0, we're putting all our hearts and minds in this project. This time, we're involving more people -- the Iliganon netizens! Because who else knows a city better than its locals, right? Together, as a city, we will make more and more people experience and fall madly in love with our Iligan. 

To borrow the words of Toni Morrison, 

“[And] When they fall in love with a city it is forever, and it is like forever. As though there never was a time when they didn’t love it."