'Renewed environmental campaigns to protect, love and appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature ... Samar has a lot to offer as regards spelunking in hundreds of caves here that could be explored to an adventurer’s heart’s content.'
SULAT, Eastern Samar — Wonders of nature are almost always found by accident.
It was along this line, this writer stumbled on enchanting marketing materials ushering spelunking as wondrous, challenging adventure in the Island of Samar.
Renewed environmental campaigns to protect, love and appreciate the beauty of Mother Nature may have spurred local eco-tourism never before experienced in this side of the country.
Samar has a lot to offer as regards spelunking in hundreds of caves here that could be explored to an adventurer’s heart’s content.
The Cave Master
Accidentally seen in a modest poster at the wall of a roadside eatery, renowned cave master Joni Abesamis Bonifacio offers arrange adventures to the many caves of Samar.
Joni originally pursued a career in medicine but, instead, followed his “Boy Scout dream” to become an eco-tourist guide who has mastered exploring the local wonders of nature.
In 2001, after Joni completed his pre-med biology course in Cebu City, he went back to hometown, Catbalogan City.
About 12 kilometer away is Calbiga town where the enchanting and most popular of caves, Langun-Gobingob, is located. Here, the “Boy Scout explorer” in him resurfaced with his spelunking passion. Joni then thought of creating an eco-tourism firm to officially lead adventurers.
His own blogsite, Trexplore, captured his adventurous, nature-tripping experiences (www.trexplore.ph ).
Joni never looked back nor regretted his professional shift as he projected himself as "a protector of the environment".
Destination Of Choice
Samar caves, underground rivers and enchanting waterfalls are very awesome and wondrous creations of nature, says Joni who is acquainted with and mastered every nook and cranny of the caves like the back of his hand.
His eco-tourism venture does not only cater to locals but to international eco-tourists as well.
Many celebrities have visited and tried the grueling but enjoyable trails.
International explorers from Australia, United States, Germany, and from other parts of the globe have had also tried Samar’s best.
While the popularity of Samar soars into being a destination choice for cave adventurers, this provide small businesses to thrive.
Cave master Joni is promoting Samar worldwide without help from the Philippines’ Department of Tourism.
Lobo Cave
Joni has posted in his website the founding of the Lobo Cave located in Jiabong town, the mussel capital of Samar. The Lobo Cave is comprised of two main parts: a lower river level and an upper level.
Here, Joni asserts, mesmerizing formations of stalactites and stalagmites are among enchanting views, with the famed underground river and waterfalls and other natural formations and vertical passage.
“It is a perfect one-day trip for the adventurous eco-tourist and beyond the cave includes jungle trekking, river trekking and a boat ride,” Joni adds.
From the main entrance in the maze series, the lower level can be reached via a vertical diamond passage for which a rope is needed,” Joni said.
Joni, however, warns that visitors should not progress past the waterfalls in high waters or in case of flooding. “Backtracking to the upper level, the rest of the cave can be easily navigated and exited through E6 (one of a few codes by which guests will be initiated).”
Officially recorded, Joni discovered the Lobo Cave on August 15, 2005. Spanning about 3.2-km long, Lobo Cave is located in Barangay Tagbayaon and was later mapped by an Italian speleologist in April 2006.
Langun-Gobingob Cave
Known as the Mother of All Chambers, Langun-Gobingob Cave, known as the second biggest cave in Southeast Asia and the biggest cave in the Philippines, is located in Barangay Panayuran, Calbiga town. Measuring about 270 meters long and 160 meters wide, the cave can accommodate three football fields.
Langun-Gibongob is known for speleothems or mineral deposits or cave formations.
It is houses bats, cave crickets (troglobionts), the eyeless fish (Caecogobius cryptophthalmus), cave spiders (tarantula), birds, snakes, and white and red crabs.
Other Caves
Mentioning only known caves, there is also Sulpan Cave which entrance is hidden by a curtain of Pinipisakan Falls, a unique work of nature. This is known as the most beautiful cave entrances in the Philippines. Located at Barangay Bai-ang in San Jorge town, it is some five-km long discovered by French Speleologist Paul Marcel in 1991.
The Megalodon Cave was jointly found on March 28, 2015 by speleologists Italian Guido Rossi and French Marcel Paul, together with Joni. This was named so when they also discovered what seemed like a huge fossilized tooth of a Megalodon, an extinct species of shark, inside the cave.
In Eastern Samar, its known surfing site, Guiuan, also boasts of Linao Cave which means “clear” as crystal clear freshwater is found inside the cave.
Smaller caves like Saya in Sulat where stone formations show examples of Mother Nature’s incredible work of art, among many still to be discovered but not exploited.
#WeTakeAStand #OpinYon #EnchantingCavesofSamar