By DYAN CASTILLEJO GARCIA

Sports Unlimited has never bonded this way before.

But Outland Adventure in Davao made us reply on one another, support one another, encourage one another, even, carry and step on each other.

If you want to put your team through an honest to goodness test of trust and togetherness, Outland Adventure in Davao is what you need to look for.

Alright Sports Unlimited, ready or not… it's time to bond!

Alright, alright. We know what you’re thinking. It's just a simple log. What's so hard about getting on it?

You are exactly right. It's not hard at all to get on this log if you’re the only one getting on it.

Try five people getting on it at one time, suddenly it ain't so simple anymore. Suddenly.. you realize the hard way, why this activity is called the "Swinging Log."

Being five on the log already makes it so difficult to keep the log from swinging. Add to that having a comedian like gene on your team and then gigglers like Gene Rose and Jackie as the other two on the log, it just makes it impossible to stay on

Remember this is all about team work and equally relying on each team member for the overall success of the team.

One member falls off the whole team looses. There's just too much laughing gong on and not enough focus from everyone That’s why we fell short of the 19-second record.

Let's try this again. Our second try was even worst than the first.

Now our bonding was turning into fighting. Alright, everyone had to calm down and realize that fighting with each other will not help us achieve our goal we needed to help each other out instead.

Let's do this one last time… and this time, let's do it for the team, 23 seconds on the Swinging Log! We did it! We beat the 19-second record and all it took was each member making a commitment to focus and wanting to succeed.

For the team!

It was one of those great surprises.

My partner Marc decides to join his first novice 4x4 competition that was also going on during the first "Davao Great Outdoor Week."

This time my partner did not only impress the girls with his body and looks, he also impressed the guys with his 4x4 skills.

My partner Marc admits to not being the competitive type at all but when he gets behind the wheel, some strange force comes over him.

Marc's decision to join this competition was a spur of the moment thing and lots of times… it’s the spur of the moment stuff that makes your day.

Marc always has a good time when it comes to 4x4 action but it did not take him long to agree that yes...having a good time is what counts.

But being able to say, "I was the best of all," is a feeling like no other.

You know how they say, "Actions speak louder than words." Well... that applies exactly to this situation, when our team was asked to conquer this 12-foot wall with absolutely no support except each other.

The way we looked doing this challenge says it all.

Watch our actions speak about how determined we were to achieve our goal of everyone getting over the wall by hook or by crook.

The swinging log was about three feet above the ground. The wall was 12 feet high that’s why my team could afford to laugh and even crack a few jokes.

But the catwalk was a different story.

Nothing new for Marc and I we've been higher and we've jumped from a lot taller so we just enjoyed the challenge.

We just refuse to fall off we had to make it across. No ifs or buts about it.

But for Gene, who has never been this high all by himself and who's only experience of a jump was a " jumping jack," this catwalk was just a little too much too soon.

As for Jackie we could not believe how easy she made crossing the catwalk look.

Maybe she has finally gotten over her fear of heights. Then again maybe she brought her "imaginary friend" to help her out.

It was Gene Rose turn and to be honest, we were very surprised she even agreed to be part of our team let alone be on this catwalk she never thought she would find herself in this predicament.

This definitely was a tall order even for Gene Rose. Gene Rose did not make it all the way across the catwalk but just seeing her trusting completely and jumping off the catwalk was a big big step.

The catwalk was a perfect example of fear turning into fun once you conquer it

At Outland Adventure they call this activity zipwire.

We are more familiar with it being called "slide for life."

How cool is this to get to the jump off point of the zipwire you have to cross the lake on a bamboo raft and then there's a short trek through a thick forest.

Imagine how much fun your group would have doing this all together in such beautiful surroundings.

At this point of our team building experience we are now feeling a lot closer to each other and have so much more confidence in each other.

So doing the zipwire was a lot less scary and so much more enjoyable.

The cable here in Outland Adventure is longer than what we are used to about 100 meters we are told.

So we have more time to say “Weeeeeeee!”

Sliding above a lake made it feel even more like we were in a scene from "Indiana Jones.”

Excellent fun! Everybody passed this activity with "flying" colors or should I say "sliding" colors.

This body-building contest also held during the 1st Davao Great Outdoor Week was a nice treat for everyone watching, judging as well as competing Marc may know a thing or two about having a six-pack.. but with all due respect to my partner, these guys had six-packs all over their bodies.

Anyone who knows anything about working out and lifting weights will agree that win or loose, having a body good enough to even compete in this kind of a competition already has set themselves apart from the rest when it comes to discipline and dedication to fitness and health.

Admiration and Congratulations to the winners and hats off to everyone else who competed.

Big big salutes are in order for everyone who had anything to do with putting together this 1st Davao great outdoor week.

What a successful event it was and what an enjoyable time it was for everyone participating and watching over 22 activities going on at the same time all over Davao.

This will only make you conclude how diverse Davao is and how Davaoeños from the islands to the highlands, love to be outdoors.

As far as Sports Unlimited is concerned, we can say only this about the 1st Davao Great Outdoor Week: " We can't wait for the second!"