Sige pa, Todo na, Sagada! (Lumiang-Sumilang-Sumaguing Caves)

After twelve long hours (!!!) of travel, we finally made it to Sagada. Before the adventure commenced, we first settled to our abode for the next two days. We stayed in a place called "Ligaya's House and Cottages for Tourists". What I liked with the accommodation, aside from the gracious owner Ate Ligaya, was the cottage designed after a traditional Ifugao house. 

Quick description of the place: it had a receiving area with high-back, low-seat chairs and a fireplace, three sleeping areas, and three bathrooms. Here are the photos for more information:

You may choose to stay inside a cottage or a concrete house.

This is our view in the backyard of Ligaya's Cottage and Houses for Tourists.

The house mimics the traditional Ifugao dwelling place.

Here are the fireplace and chairs at the receiving area.

Even the door had intricate wood carvings.

We then proceeded to the first adventure of the trip: spelunking at the Lumiang-Sumilang-Sumaguing Caves. 

Point of clarification: Our guide mentioned the difference between caving and spelunking. While both involve caves, the former is done only by professionals in unexplored caves while the latter is done by ordinary people who enter caves that were formerly explored by professionals.

I've entered a small cave before, which doesn't really count for much because the Lumiang-Sumilang-Sumaging Caves are the deepest of their kind in the entire country (with the longest one in Palawan). I didn't really know what to expect inside the cave; all I had was a strong sense of adventure and a craving for climbing. Mind, that there were 18 of us who went spelunking, with little to no experience, along with six guides. 

We didn't know what was coming.

Pro-tip: Expect to hike, climb, and swim inside the cave. Make sure to wear comfortable footwear and waterproof all gadgets. Do not expect to wear helmets or use harnesses inside the cave.

There are many coffins at the opening of Lumiang Cave-the place where we started our adventure of the day. I won't give spoilers about the story behind those coffins, but it would help if one had an inquisitive mind and asked the guides about them.

The little "logs" that you see are actually coffins.

We then commenced with our hike to the cave. I did say that most of us barely had experience with outdoor activities, right? At the point where we asked if we were close to the exit of the cave, the guides answered that we haven't really started yet; it was just a warm-up hike. Yikes!

"Are we there yet?" --nope.

Pro-tip: This activity is NOT for the following people: with claustrophobia, with heart condition, with morbid obesity, with severe asthma (aside from the nature of the activity, the guides also smoked a lot) and with joint and bone problems (except if with precautionary measures, like my batchmate Roanne who spelunked despite her chondromalasia of the knee). It also helps to ask the guides on what to expect beforehand.

I cannot narrate every step of this adventure but there were highlights along the way:

• There were narrow passageways where we had to squeeze in to get through. When we asked the guides on what happened in case a larger-than-average person needed to pass, they answered that the passage somehow expanded. I don't know the accuracy of the statement but everyone in our group did pass all the narrow passageways, thin and not-so-thin alike.

Still smiling in spite of the squeezing in!

• At times, we had to step on the body parts of the guides (e.g. feet, hands, shoulders, and thighs) to facilitate climbing. I won't even begin to imagine what it would be like to enter the cave without the guides' assistance.

"The Elevator"
The guide used his shoulders to carry us up.
All EIGHTEEN of us, with our full weights on his shoulders!

• We were able to swim in ice cold water in some parts of the cave. Ah, the sense of relief and the shivering that followed!

Just keep swimming.

• One must expect passing through slippery slopes and huge rocks with sandpaper-texture. It helped to walk barefoot on those and to just. keep. moving. forward.
• We saw many rock formations inside the cave such as the old man's face, the rice granary formation, the vulva, two penises (haha, yeah, shrunken ones because of the cold waters-this, according to the guides!) There were many stalagmites and stalactites also.

Yup. It looks like something... #somature haha

The rice granary rock formation is the first of its kind inside the cave.

Did you know? The stalagmites "grow" from the cave floor and the stalactites "fall" from the cave ceiling. They take billions of years of reaching and falling to finally form a column in each other's arms. Sounds like love, eh?

After four hours, we finally made our way out of the cave. It was earlier than the guides' expected time of more than six hours (from 2:30 to 9:00 P.M.). Our exit was at the Sumaguing Cave. Each of us paid Php 450 for the spelunking and it was totally worth it.

These were our only sources of light inside the caves.

Over-all, the spelunking was an unforgettable experience for me and for the rest of us, I'm sure. It was a good thing to discover another outdoor activity. I couldn't be more thankful for the strength of my musculoskeletal system (among all other organ systems) in this spelunking!

We did it!!!

Until the next adventure,

Dena