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Published: April 13th 2011
“O MY GOD O MY GOD O MY GOD!!!” I screamed like a girl and then all three of us turned back and scurried out of the cave faster than I could say “there’s a bat near my head and its making threatening noises and I think it’s going to attack me!”
I just got back from trekking in Rizal province today. It was just a 45 minute trek but one of the most challenging and most fun treks I’ve ever done! The river was squeaky clean and we refilled our water bottles from one of the streams that contributes water to the big river. There were no impurities of any sort and I don’t feel my stomach grumbling until now! I loved the huge boulders in this river, and how clear the water on the river is. It was like being in a yoga meditation video. All I could hear was the river and the various animal noises. The birds were not the common sparrows that I see in the city. I saw a huge blue one that flew away and left its baby when we got near her nest. Bad parenting!
The trek was short but near the end
it got pretty difficult with the steep drops. We had to do a lot of rock climbing which made me feel like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. We climbed rocks holding on only to the precarious tree roots that were strong enough to carry our weight for a few seconds. There was a part where the only way was to slide down the rock and hope that you don’t land face first on the ground. It felt a bit like being on a roller coaster. One of the most scary part was crossing a “bridge that was actually just a random tree branch that’s just as thick as a mans biceps with no handles! We were dumbfounded and couldn’t figure out how to cross it. But it was the only way! Dulce noticed the other branch and figured out that we were supposed to use that for balance. You stick it to the ground and use it like a cane (see picture). Marq and I laughed an hysterical laugh of relief when we got to the other side. Sometimes it takes a woman to figure things out like that. We swam in the river for about half an hour. That
was all we could manage because rivers are cold. Especially because the river is between two mountains. There were some small fishes but they were grey and not exciting to watch. I tried to impress Marq and Dulce with my swimming skills. Dulce commented “Harold I can swim just as fast just by floating because you’re just swimming with the current!” And she was right. It was fun to swim that fast nonetheless! There were no other people in the river. This is not a very popular destination yet. Although every now and again there are film crews here shooting movies and TV series. With plots like elves and fairies I imagine.
We tried the caves after swimming. We saw two caves halfway up the mountain but it was too steep. We didn’t have any tools and if we had we wouldn’t know how to use them. So we entered the two caves at the foot of the mountain. It was a small cave so we had to duck walk. The walls were glistening! There were small crystals on the wall that glistened when our penlights hit them. Twas like the gateway to hell where Cher is the chief devil.
I was taking the lead then I heard something. I knew it was a bat. It was making strange noises and I remembered a scene from a movie. I imagined that the bat would turn into Dracula and bite me in the neck! So I panicked and screamed “OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!!!” Then we quickly turned back and never saw the rest of the cave. Why can’t they just live on trees like regular birds! Anyhoo we proceeded to our next cave which was more like an underground river. We only got as far as the main entrance. All three of us are in our mid 20’s. Brave men are we. Had there been a guide to lead us and reassure us that bats don't bite people (what about vampire bats?) or turn into vampires, we wouldn't have been scared. Oh well theres always next time!
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