Friday, April 29, 2011

Eastern Visayas Transprovincial Saga (Samar)

sogod-calbiga-tacloban-ormoc
5th solo-backpacking journey
november 11-14, 2010


objective:
to visit the best tourist spots that fits my taste and budget accordingly.
additional tasks: to experience bungee jumping at the philippines'highest bridge and spelunk the philippines' biggest karst formation

eastern visayas transprovincial saga (southern leyte)

continued...

important note (samar):
Western Samar, formerly Samar, is a province in the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. Its capital is Catbalogan City and covers the western portion of Samar island as well as several islands in the Samar Sea located to the west of the mainland. Samar is connected to Leyte via the San Juanico Bridge, which spans the San Juanico Strait, the narrowest strait in the country.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samar

trail to calbiga cave

calbiga cave, calbiga, samar (philippines' biggest karst formation and second largest in Southeast Asia)

calbiga cave, calbiga, samar (philippines' biggest karst formation and second largest in Southeast Asia)

calbiga cave, calbiga, samar (philippines' biggest karst formation and second largest in Southeast Asia)

DAY TWO:
CALBIGA, SAMAR


im going to this place to experience spelunking in gobinob cave, philippines' biggest karst formation and second largest in Southeast Asia.

woke-up at 0430H to be able to meet the earliest public vehicle departure but the time was killed again by the long quieing of the assumption of the passenger arrivals. at 0545H, i finally bid farewell to this town with not so much regrets and arrived in tacloban bus terminal at 0800H. then terminal for samar province is also found on this area so after 30 minutes i'm aboard again. all of the vehicles bound to samar will surely crossed the famous san juanico bridge. i grabbed this opportunity and the advantage of riding an ordinary bus for a clear photo-ops aboard. dropped-off to calbiga town waiting shed, rode a habal-habal bike going to the cave's jump-off point. this cave was not fully supported yet by the local government, you have to bring your own flashlights and helmet for he spelunking adventure. i always bring my flashlight with me but that time, it was lowbat, completely useless. on this scenario, i did not enjoyed my stay and the fun. but before entering the cave, myself and the local guide (requirement) trekked first 3 kilometer savage trail, very tiring and it was under he scorching heat of the sun.

calbiga cave, calbiga, samar (philippines' biggest karst formation and second largest in Southeast Asia)

calbiga cave, calbiga, samar (philippines' biggest karst formation and second largest in Southeast Asia)

calbiga cave, calbiga, samar (philippines' biggest karst formation and second largest in Southeast Asia)

my stay was not worth it due to the poor illumination inside, difficult to navigate and zero visibility for the stalagmites and stalactites. 99% pitch black, but that was my 1st time entering that kind of adventure in a cave. i can not compare how was this compare to other caves but i think karst formation was ok.

around 1330H i went back to jump-off point. my next destination would be another cave spelunking again, sohoton national park in basey, samar. this town is just right after the san juanico bridge so my means to go there is to rode a bus bound to tacloban. upon arrival and visiting the basey tourism office i was surprised on what i learned. this is the most expensive spelunking adventure i have ever encountered worth php2,000 for solo due we have to crossed a river so we need a boat and also i will be equipped with complete caving stuffs. upon knowing that, i did not pursure that plan anymore, went back to tacloban city at 1700H. upon arriving in the terminal, i immediately grabbed the last trip bound to ormoc city which has 2 hours travel time.

calbiga cave, calbiga, samar (philippines' biggest karst formation and second largest in Southeast Asia)

nachural bridge above basey river

basey river

at 2030H, i'm in ormoc city downtown, look for cheapest hostel, bath then went for some night stroll.


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