Corregidor = history + adventure

At this point in history, it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone with access to a television set has watched some kind of game show or reality TV program at least once. And for every game show and reality TV program, there are thousands of people who believe that they can do better than the show’s contestants.

I’m one of those people. I yell at the people on the TV, screaming things like “No! Don’t go in there, you’ll waste time!” or “You retard! The answer is chlorophyll!” as if they can actually hear me. For me a quiz show like Jeopardy! would be more challenging than doing something physical. Sometimes I imagine myself as a contestant on The Amazing Race and how I would dominate. It would be so easy to win  all you have to do is spike the other contestants’ water bottles with really strong laxatives. But even without underhanded techniques, I still believe I can be a part of a winning team.

Teamwork is key: Team members must use their powers of communication to be able to work as a single unit. Tempers may be tested!

That feeling of mine was put to the test as a participant during the opening of Corregidor Island’s Adventour Challenge by Sun Cruises. This is a fun outdoor activity not sensitive to age or gender that will test one’s ingenuity, powers of observation, planning skills, and ability to manage time, resources and stamina. The activity is confined to the island and can be completed in just under a couple of hours, making the pace of this challenge more intense as mistakes become more costly. One little slip can spell the difference between failure and victory.

The Corregidor Adventour Challenge couldn’t be set in a more picturesque location. Providing the weather is good and the day is clear, the island is the best place to have such a race. The ruins from WWII make for a stunning backdrop as you race around the island in search for clues. But in the heat of the moment, these structures won’t really be noticed because things are sure to become heated between rival teams.

It’s not just running around, you have to solve puzzles and riddles before you can advance to the next challenge.

The Adventour Challenge, though, is one of the best ways to experience Corregidor in a quick and concentrated dose. Because the route of the race includes many historical areas around the island, participants cannot help but appreciate the quiet beauty of Corregidor. See the ruins of old American buildings, crawl through tunnels that are more than half a century old, and get back in touch with nature as Corregidor is still a very lush and verdant island.

Sometimes it takes more than just an individual effort to overcome challenges, and this one of the lessons that the Adventour Challenge hopes to impart. Winning the race and setting an island record does bring glory and prizes (like an overnight stay at the Corregidor Inn inclusive of meals, tours, and zipline rides for best time set), but this can only happen with teamwork. The Adventour Challenge is great for company team building exercises as well as for barkadas who want to take part in an entirely different contest.

Emerging out of caves is just one of the many things you will do if you take part in the Adventour Challenge.

And since the challenge won’t take all day, there is still time to leisurely check out the rest of the island, to soak in the history. This can be the downtime for teams as they enjoy one another’s company in a very calm and relaxing atmosphere.

I will not say outright whose team won the inaugural edition of the Corregidor Adventour Challenge. But I will say this: my confidence level for joining another reality TV-based race has just skyrocketed.

For more information on the Corregidor Adventour Challenge, visit www.corregidorphilippines.com or contact Sun Cruises at 527-5555.

E-mail me at enricomiguelsubido@gmail.com.