Into the
blue yonder
by rick olivares
When you’ve studied abroad, traveled to
over two dozen countries where you’ve wined, dined, partied hard like a frat
boy, basically lived the life, there’s a certain point where you ask yourself,
“What am I doing with my life?”
Paul Cuenca asked himself that one too
many times. But on the north face of Mount Kinabalu, Cuenca asked himself that
rather angrily. Baking under the hot sun, basically not feeling too good during
the ascent, he was in the process of reciting a litany of his gripes and woes.
He had lived in Malaysia for several
years where he worked in one of his father’s overseas ventures. Cuenca moved
back to the Philippines where he “did the restaurant thing” and other
businesses. In dire need of a vacation one time, he reconnected with his
Malaysian friends for a vacation to revisit “the outdoor stuff” he did a lot as
a kid.
When he was a child, while others were
off to Hong Kong, Singapore, or the United States for summer vacations, or even
the beaches, Paul was brought along by his father to farms, mining sites, and
underdeveloped lands off the beaten track. His first love was football but he
soon found himself spending more time fishing, mountain climbing, and trekking.
“My father was off working and he left me there to figure things out,” recalled
Cuenca.
Years later and much older, while
hanging some 12,000 feet high up on his descent of Mount Kinabalu, Paul had an
epiphany. Looking around with the clouds below him, the cobwebs in his mind were
suddenly cleared away. The Political Science major (Claremont Colleges) surveyed
the majesty around him and thought to himself, “This is what I want to do.”
Upon returning to Manila, he quickly
set about forming a new company (a one-man show that he runs out of his home in
Urdaneta Village) that would promote adventure tourism. “Most Filipinos do the
shopping and food tours when they travel,” said Cuenca. “If you look at the
Americans or the Europeans, they prefer to do the adventure tours. I am not
saying that going to Boracay is bad. What I am saying is that there is
definitely more to see and experience than beaches.”
At first, Cuenca’s “Intrepid
Adventures” specialized on tour packages in his old stomping grounds of Mount
Kinabalu where he offered mountain climbing, scuba diving, trekking, and
wildlife photography. He eventually branched out his adventure tours to
Indonesia, Indochina, Taiwan, and Mongolia.
Paul takes great pride in having
personally done all the adventure tours. “When people make inquiries about the
tours, there are a lot of questions asked,” revealed Cuenca. “In my experience,
if you are unable to answer them using first hand knowledge, that puts off
people. You have to be able to answer anything and everything that is related
to gear, the trail, safety, the lot, and questions like – ‘what to do when you
get altitude sickness’ and ‘what if I don’t finish it?’ That is why my pre-trip
briefings are very exhaustive. I show clients maps, pictures, and video of what
I do.”
Cuenca doesn’t believe in organizing
tours for large groups. “Large groups lose the sense of intimacy,” he
clarified. “I prefer small groups of 12 and below. But the ideal number is
anywhere from six to eight. Not only is it more manageable but it is more fun.”
Intrepid Adventures is into
sustainable adventure. He prefers to take “adventurers,” as he calls his
clients, to places like Sipadan Island, the Spratly Islands (Malaysia), Mt.
Guiting Guiting (Romblon), biking tours in Lukban Quezon, Jogjakarta
(Indonesia), and far flung countries like Mongolia. “You don’t want to be going
where everyone else is, right? And many of these adventurers prefer the quiet
and solitude and the fact that the places we go to are not packed like a mall.”
Cuenca related a story when he was
applying for a visa to go to Mongolia (it turns out that you don’t need one for
short stays), the Consul asked him if he was going there to work. “No, I’m a
tourist,” replied Paul.
Contemplating life in Mongolia.
The Consul raised a questioning eyebrow
and asked once more, “A tourist? Are you sure you want to tour Mongolia?”
For Mongolia, the inaugural tour was
for a clientele of 50-year olds (with a few twentysomethings joining in) to
experience a nomadic lifestyle. “When they found out that there was no signal
for their mobile phones in the outdoors, they were distraught,” laughed Cuenca
at the ‘predicament.’ “People feel so dependent on technology. But after a day,
they were all right.”
“When you lie in bed at night, you
heard the hum of the air conditioner, a car passing by, the sound of neighbors
partying… in Mongolia, the silence was deafening. You only hear the rustling
sound of the wind. One of our adventurers brought his iPad where he had this
celestial map application. We had a blast looking at all the stars. It was a
communion with nature.”
Nowadays, Cuenca is building his local
tours – on mountain bikes – from Quezon to Tagaytay to Sorsogon and elsewhere.
Along rice paddies and carabao trails and jungle paths.
“In all my travels and tours, what I
have tried to do give people a chance to see things and places in their
pristine and natural state. I don’t think we should be building hotels in these
places that will eventually spoil the natural beauty of the place. I believe
that adventure tourism is perfect not only for the provinces but for the whole
Philippines. Now when I am on that rock face, I think back to my childhood when
my father let me to figure things out for myself. And now I ask, ‘What took me
so long to do this?’”
Paul was my classmate and football teammate in the Ateneo Grade School (he played keeper and I was fullback). I remember how difficult it was for me to attend football practice under Bro. Jess Oscariz. I didn't have the means to get to Ateneo nor the spikes to use for practice and play but Paul came through one day and gave me a pair of boots. I never forgot that and when we reconnected on Facebook last year, I wasted no time in thanking him once more (even if it was decades later). I am so happy to have reconnected with my old classmate and I hope to join him in Mongolia and some of his other adventure tours next year (I have to get in shape first).
For more information on Paul Cuenca and his Intrepid Adventures packages check out intrepid.ph.
For more information on Paul Cuenca and his Intrepid Adventures packages check out intrepid.ph.
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