http://samar.lgu-ph.com/tourism.htm
I decided I go caving in the Sohoton National Park in Basey, Western Samar! My plan is to wake up 7 AM, arrive in Basey around 8:30 AM aaand begin my adventure!
Woke up at 10:45 AM. Fail.
I called up the tourism office in Basey to ask for details regarding the tour and found out that their earliest tour schedule is around 8-9AM while their latest schedule is at 1PM.
Damn! I have to make it before 1PM!
I rode the shuttle (Duptours terminal in Tacloban city) going to Borongan and told the driver to drop me in Basey. A ride costs P120.00. He dropped me in the habal-habal terminal (motorcycles with seat extensions) that dropped me in Basey town proper. Charged me P100.
Arrived in the Basey tourism office at 1:15PM and thank God they still allowed me to go on tour. The reason why they set the last schedule at 1PM is to give you time to come back early enough. Boat trip going there lasts for 1.5 hours, another 1.5 hours going back that makes it 3, and another 1 hour for the tour itself which means I'll be returning at around 5PM. Sounds a bit rushed but that's my consequence of waking up late.
Being last also means I wouldn't be part of any tour groups (unless someone as punctual as me also suddenly shows up) - thus I have to pay the full P2000.00. Since I'm already here, I might as well pay for it. My tip for you guys is to bring along your friends, families or go here early. The P2000 package could accommodate as much as 12 people.
Got a postcard from the tourism office, then I'm off!
Leaving the river port of Basey. I felt a little nervous at first as this would be my longest boat ride ever.
Nipa palms and mangroves welcomed me as our boat cruised down the river's opening.
Don't you just love how calm and pristine the water in the river is? You don't get that everyday in Manila. I guess this is how Pasig River would have looked like more than a century ago.
The river seemed endless especially since it has been more than an hour since we left port.
Then gradually, the nipas and the mangroves started to disappear and in their places are awesome limestone formations - this has got to be it!
One word: Breathtaking. I felt like I've been transported into a different world. I've never seen such beautiful formations.
We docked our boat near the cave entrance - in the picture are small boats the locals use.
Before entering the cave, I looked around the place a bit
Define awesome! If only I've gotten up earlier I would have stayed in this place longer. Btw, even if you take the first schedule, you can opt to stay until around afternoon so long as you can come back early enough.
Sohoton National Park has 2 main cave systems. One is Sohoton the one where I am headed while the other one is Rawis cave which is a little hike further, and further up the mountain. The tour guide told me Rawis cave is really for the adventure seekers - you've got to be properly dressed for that. You have to contour yourselves through really small holes, crawl and befriend creepy crawlers (big hairy spiders) and some snakes. Sohoton is more of the kinder version. It's really just a walking tour where you can bring your family along. No need for some hardcore get-up. They'll provide you a hard hat with light and another tour guide specifically for the cave.
I kind of rested for a moment before entering the caves. They've cottages stationed all over where people can have lunch. The tour guides are also the local community here and they use the funds they collect for the park's maintenance and for theirs as well. They've been operational since the 60s (or was it the 80s?) - well, for quite a long time! According to them during the summer, around 50-60 people flock the caves simultaneously (mostly Europeans and Koreans) - felt more like a market place than a cave!
This is the entrance to the cave. Sorry for the blurry and dark image but that's how it really was. The cave's really really dark as in bedroom dark with no windows and all, so be prepared for some serious flash. The entrance used to be the burial grounds of our ancestors hundreds of years past. The bones are no longer here and are kept in some safe place. Hope they don't curse us for doing that!
The formations are mainly made by water running down from the cave's ceiling, slowly eroding the limestones and arriving at this figure - took thousands of years to form this one right here.
This is what my tour guide referred to me as the "Grotto" and with some imagination, it's easy to tell why.
I asked the tour guide if there are any ghosts here. And he answered, "Before there could have been, but I guess the ghosts got tired ghosting around for the past hundreds of years. There's none now." Good point! Hope I was relieved by that.
And there, the shining, shimmering splendid kind of thing
Powdery white crystals called Calcium lactate (or some similar sounding compound) rest all over the limestones which gives it a cake-like appearance.
Here's another one
Aaand another one
Really amazed with this kind of thing! A word of caution though. Touch it, and it gets brown and it would take another thousands of years before it returns to white again. Enjoy it, but don't touch. Some people are a bit hard-headed though.
This one's interesting. He called this one the "Bamboo Organ." Not that it is made out of bamboo, but because it makes some organ sounds when tapped. Bamboo? Well this is to refer to the famous and only Bamboo Organ in the Philippines located in Las Pinas city.
This one he called the "Waterfalls."
Now, there's some serious stalagmite - almost three times my height!
The "Statue of Liberty" - found it hard to imagine at first, but after a few tries well, it's possible!
Now this one kind of looks like Zeus.
This one he named as the "Archangel Gabriel." This used to be totally white, but after a few molestations, it morphed to brown.
Again another of those shiny white stuff.
This one is the "Chandelier." See the tiny droplets of water at the stalactite's tip?
And very prominently displayed near the end of the cave is the "Fang."
Shedding a little light on the floor and one could view the magnificent "Rice Terraces." They look like worms from afar but again, a little imagination.
This one's my favorite! The "Volcano" as my guide calls it but it looks like a big cake loaded with icing. Really looks delicious.
And yes, it's true that the dark could really let your imagination run wild (remember Snow White's crazy forest scene?) This one's a crocodile.
Now, let's test your imagination. What do you think this is?
Well, it's subject to lots of interpretations so I'll leave it open. This one kind of looks like corals, except that they're dull. Reminds me of Ursula's cave ornaments.
Aand finally, the "Feeding Station." See the droplets of water again?
This ends our Sohoton cave trip. Here's a stalactite pointing to the exit. No kidding. It's funny.
Tada! The light!
"Exit"
Finally back the real world. Another 1.5 hours going back. And when I got back in the tourism office, the OIC there asked me, "So how's the cave?" Amazing. "How is the white sand beach?" What? White sand beach? "Yeah, just walk a little further beyond the cave entrance and you'll see it." Damn. Why did I arrive late? I was so much in a hurry to get back on time and forgot to really look around the place. And yeah, why do they always say "early enough?" Because the shuttle that would transport you back to Tacloban city leaves at around 5pm and only costs P25, unless you have a car.
