For
the record, this was my first official caving adventure. And thinking back
about that four-hour psychedelic tour on depths of stunning labyrinths, effortlessly
re-furnishes my thirst for more deadly quests, hopefully in the very near
future. The
mouth of the Lumiang Cave is creepy but a sight to behold in itself with those
piles of coffins encasing the remains of their ancestors who passed away due to
old age, for the past couple of hundred years.
Lamps’
on, hearts out, and we were all ready to jumpstart with the traverse. The
dizzying descent of the Lumiang Cave welcomed us via an initial taste of
adventure through those intrepid spelunkers ahead of us who descended and
disappeared in no time among and behind the rocks. We eventually crept into those very
same tight gaps until the natural light eventually turned into a thing in the past.
In no time, the cave took us on hands and knees through network passageways
depths further into the earth.
Descending
from the Lumiang caves’ narrow trails is a dispute to reckon as each passage
requires squeezing into tight rock formations, getting through and sliding
through and drop down those steep crevices. There were certain stunts which
were difficult to execute in the absence the tour guides’ legs and shoulders that
literally served as our feet’s landing spots and ladders to cross and avoid
dropping off those jagged rocks.
Being the egoistic traveler that I am most of the time, I refused to accept much assistance and rather opted to
figure things out on my own for the rest of the course, but of course making sure to obey
and respect the guides still. Waterfalls
and streams of underground waters as well as arduous hill-y rocks are abundant
later on with the spelunking jaunt, to which I honestly lost count. Wading
through and passing across those waist-high cold waters, climbing a storey-high
rock formations, getting through those slick rocks and downward slopes, while hanging
on to ropes strategically tied along the shallow roads, were all part of this
orchestrated obstacle course. The adventure is obviously for the relatively fit
ones with huge determination and heart for extreme adventures at that.
Hours
later, we reached the second half of the cave course: the Sumaguing Cave where
we marveled at awesome rock formations including those that resembles a mermaid,
an umbrella, king’s curtains, animals such as an alligator, a frog, a
turtle and some pincers, as well as some naughty and pervy sights. It was joy beholding those high-ceilinged, echoey cathedral-like
caverns prepped with those precious stalagmites and stalactites.
At the
end of the Sumaguing Cave, we went for a side track to indulge on those glassy, limpid, underground pools and bone-chilling
crystal clear rivers before going up. At the end of it all, we
climbed back up approaching that illuminating light, and was welcomed back by
that signature sweet earthly smells and high-pitches squeaks of bats, until we
completely made it to that final 120-step assault.
And things
couldn’t get more surreal at that time, definitely one for the books.
