Another day has been set for my wanderlust and this time,
the municipality of Cavinti in Laguna is the set destination. I joined Sanggala
this time, yet another travel group I found on Facebook.
Skipping the reservation part and quickly jumping to D-Day,
we left Guadalupe aboard a rented jeep around 4AM and found ourselves grabbing
our bags and getting ready for the trek a little past 6AM.
Upon reaching the starting point where we will receive an orientation about the cave, we were greeted by this carefree animal. :)
After breakfast and orientation, we pushed through our journey to the cave. The trek was good-graciously easy with wide and grass-hewn terrain under our feet. The only challenge was the scorching sun above us that required us to perform nothing less than quick steps to our destination.
I think half an hour or so passed when the terrain started changing from land and rocks to lush greens and cool air. Not long after, we heard the soothing sound of water flowing. With renewed purpose, we marched towards the origin of the sound and we found this.
Of course I wouldn't miss the chance for a photo like this. Hehe.
The first destination was the Cavinti Cave. Another orientation, this time with the local guide, took place, reminding us of what we should and should not do while inside the cave. I would love to tell you about them but I'm afraid I've forgotten because it's been a year. :P
The general thought would be, to leave nothing but foot prints, take nothing but pictures and memories. Hehe. (My travel motto). :P
As this is my first visit to a cave, I am excited and giddy when we started strapping the helmet then secured it with the forehead lamp.
Yup! We got to ride that "balsa" to cross the mini river and get through to the cave. :)
Now we are inside! Woot! I won't say sorry for the low quality pictures and limited lighting. :P
I got entertained by the extent Sir Victor would go just to take pictures. (He's the one lying on his back, if that's not so obvious). Hehe.
More photos of stalactites. :)
Deep within. Wooo!
And stalagmites. :)
Damn, I forgot what it's called when the stalactites and stalagmites grow and meet. Our guide told us about it but I obviously forgot. Google it!
They're beautiful!
Here are some really interesting rock formations inside. :)
The sole plant I get to see inside. It's marvelous. :D
Interesting, right? We were allowed to drink from this. The water doesn't taste any different from the usual drinking water but it's naturally cold and the thought that you're drinking it from the cave made it kewl-er! Hehehehe.
Before we move on to the next phase of the trip and leave the cave behind, I just wanna talk about how is it inside the cave.
1. It's cold inside. Not the chilling type, more like comfortable kind of cold. It's great.
2. It's also dark inside. (Obviously!) That's why each of us are required to have headlights before coming in.
3. The stench of bats definitely smelled like urine. Or is that their urine that we're smelling?
4. There are also pools of water inside the cave and our guide allowed us to bathe in it. I did. And it's soooooo cold! But feels so good because it's also soooooooo clean! :)
Now here is the view right outside the cave. Isn't nature so wonderful? After the enclosed space of rocks, water, darkness, and damp atmosphere, here we are in the open with the sun shining brightly above us, the wind blowing coolly, the trees and plants all around us. It's just magnificent!
Past the canopy of trees and fresh, cool air, we retrace our steps to where our service jeep is waiting. This means walking under the scorching sun again. This is the part of the trip that I don't like so much.
Another almost an hour ride aboard the jeep and we are now set towards the infamous Pagsanjan Falls. Now here's a little trivia: Although most of us know it as Pagsanjan Falls, the locals call it Cavinti Falls because it rests on the municipality of Cavinti. So there, Cavinti Falls or Pagsanjan Falls, here we come!
The walk to the falls is easy because all we have to do is descend. We had to rappel at one point and then had to walk down this steel bridge all the way down. For acrophobics, the stairs would surely scare the soul out of you. It's too steep and too narrow, I would never call you brave if you tackle it without your full attention to your every step. You'd be stupid then.
I hope these photos help to show you just how steep these stairs are.
These stairs made our and everybody else's trip to the falls a lot easier. Thank you! :)
My photos end here because I don't have a waterproof camera and honestly, after strapping my life vest and seeing the falls, the only thoughts I have in my head are getting into the water and having fun! Haha!
But here, let me share you how it's like to be in the Pagsanjan Falls.
For one, the water is soooo cool and refreshing. We boarded yet another "balsa" to get close to the falls. You can swim since life vests are so easily available for everyone. If I remembered it correctly, the guide said that the pool of water beneath the falls is at least 70 feet deep. This thought was running in my head while I was lying on the water, life vest on, staring at the clouds framed by the trees on the mountains bordering the falls. 70 feet deep, what if I got sucked in by something? Or a monster suddenly emerged from deep within the water? Hehe. Despite these scary thoughts in my head, I still remained there, floating in the water alone. Isolated from everyone else. :) I love it. :)
But that solitary musings came after we had a great time under the falls itself -- my co-travelers and I. The trip of the balsa ends behind the falls where a cave-like rock formation can accommodate people where they can watch the falls from behind. Some of my travelmates have waterproof cameras, so we were able to take pictures from there.
The fun thing you can experience in Pagsanjan falls is getting a massage duly taken cared of the falls itself. It's soooo good! All you have to do is lie on your stomach on the bamboo raft (I'll start using this than balsa, hehehehehe), lay straight so others can do the same, then cover your head with the back of your hands. The attack of the falls is brutal on the head with the bamboo on your forehead. But on the back and the thigh area, it was heaven! Thinking about all those walking we did the entire day, we really needed that massage in courtesy of Mother Nature. Awesome!
It's almost dark now. We were told that usually, tourists are not allowed to be in the Falls past 5 because the trek back up would be dangerous. Remember those steep stairs? Yep. Dangerous, indeed.
So, out of the water (bye bye Pagsanjan Falls) we go!
As I expected while we were descending those never-ending steep stairs, it would be supercalifragilisticexpialidoscious to climb them all on our way back. And it doesn't end there. Since we also rappelled on our way down, we had to climb that length up. I see this as a challenge and yes, I was happy to surpass it. Hoorah!
It's the climb! Haha! (Photo c/o Cherish Liane D. Bolaños)
Past that climb, we are to walk on the part of the mountain where more trees are present. By this time, since we're all tired, all we have in mind is getting to the end of the trek, wash up, change clothes, and retire in the jeep while waiting for everyone to get ready. We are heading back to Manila.
I'd say a one day trip is really exhausting since the group is bent on accomplishing tasks and covering destinations in a day. But I'd also say that it's a day very well spent! I love it!
No comments:
Post a Comment