If you are one of my followers since 2009, you would think after traveling all this time, I already
experienced everything. Perhaps, not until my recent trip to a town named after
the late Senator Ninoy Aquino or also known as Kulaman in Sultan Kudarat.
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| Sticking out at the tight mouth of Lagbasan Cave in Brgy. Kuden, SNA, Sultan Kudarat |
I’ve been to several white –sand-beaches,
different waterfalls, met both big and size creatures. But haven’t been to any
cave yet. And my first caving experience
was in Kulaman. I am very thankful to DTI- Tacurong headed by Ma’am Nelly Dillera and staff of DOT-Sultan Kudarat especially Sir Noel Insular up to now for a memorable
experience.
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| Manong Charito Santiago, the one who discovered Lagbasan Cave in Senator Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat last 2005. Sen. Ninoy Aquino is a 4th class municipality in the province of Sultan Kudarat. The town is named after the late Senator |
My co-bloggers and I woke up so early,
prepared ourselves for spelunking. After we ate our breakfast, we boarded on a
dump truck, and then we headed to Brgy. Kuden, wherein the Lagbasan cave was
located. There’s a huge of constructions in this area, including the road going to other barangays. It took us a couple hours
before we reached the area. But it didn’t
take us long to find the barangay hall. We parked for a while and listened to
some orientation by brgy.officials and the discoverer itself Manong Charito Santiago.. Then we traveled again for an hour
going to Siokong.
On the road, the sight of
different trees made me smile. SNA was
lucky enough to have a mountain covered with trees. Government should really take care of this.
No to illegal logging, should say.
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| What you can see inside Lagbasan Cave |
Then suddenly, the truck stopped.
We are instructed to hike. Due to heavy rains for almost week, the trekking
became more challenging.
“Do you think I can survive here?”
“How many kilometers do we need
to walk?”
“Can I survive?”
These questions are really hard
to answer now.
Um. Maybe I can. Then I am
thinking to go back now.
Because I have no idea of what
caving is, I came unprepared. No Helmet. No Flashlight. My clothes were not
good for spelunking. Even my pair of sandals. Gosh! What I am doing here. Still, I went inside, walked slowly, extra caution
was applied. Took some photos, walked,
called a friend to light up my way. Took some photos again.
Lagbasan cave has two chambers, different cave formation scattered everywhere.. Sorry, I'm not familiar with them. But I know they're amazing. Really amazing. So I took the photo again. I can't help but to constantly pressed the button of my camera. Our wows and amazement echoed in every corner of the cave.
Barangay officials padlocked the entrance of this cave, to preserve it. That's why, you need to coordinate with Dept. of Tourism -Sultan Kudarat, Barangay Captain or Manong Charito if you're planning to explore Lagbasan Cave. Of course, don't forget to bring lights for caving, helmet to protect your head from stalactite.
My Lagbasan Cave experience
is really different. It’s a new adventure that I only savored here in Sen. Ninoy Aquino, Sultan Kudarat. Actually I left one of my heart
there… see the photo below to know why.
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| One heart of my sandal is missing |
