Sagad sa Sagada: All about facing your fears

Afraid of the dark?  Yep.  Terrified of heights?  Oh, yeah.  Claustrophobic?  You have no idea.  OC?  Definitely.  Control freak?  Absolutely.  So why in the world did I even sign up for cave connection?  Well, I'd like to believe my love for traveling and thirst for adventure are greater than my fears.  Or I don't know, maybe I'm just crazy and a certified kaladkarin.  Go lang ng go!

Caving vs Spelunking.  According to Kuya Gareth (Kuya G from now on just because it's easier to type) aka our resident Kuya Kim, both terms refer to exploring caves but the difference is: caving is done by professionals while spelunking is more like a hobby which is done by amateurs.  Like us.

Sagada Challenge #1: Cave Connection (Lumiang and Sumaging Caves)

May the odds be ever in our favor!  Fun fact: Several coffins have lizards engraved on them which symbolize long life and good fortune.

For cave connection, the starting point would be at Lumiang Cave and the exit point will be at Sumaging Cave.  The whole activity usually takes 4-6 hours depending on how many times you stop for photo ops.  Chos!  Seriously though, photo ops did take a lot of our time.  The usual ratio of guides to spelunkers is 1:4.  Since there are 12 of us in the group, I expected us to have 3-4 guides.  We were all surprised when we had 6 guides with us so that's 1:2.

For the entire activity, the guides will also be your photographers, human lamp posts, human ladders, medics (for unexpected cramps), personal assistants (they'll offer to carry your stuff for you so don't bring too much), cheerleaders/motivators, lifesavers, name whatever you need and they'll be it for you.  At least while you're inside the cave.  Define spoiled!  So whatever you do, listen to them and be nice to them.  And don't forget to tip them!

Kuya Gareth.  Our main tour guide, photographer, big brother, Kuya Kim, etc.

One of the guides led us down the rocky steps that you need to go through before reaching the entrance to Lumiang Cave.  Being excited as always, I was in front of the line but I couldn't keep up with our guide's pace so I kept telling my travel buddies to hurry up and the guide to wait for us.  May lakad si kuya??  Our guide seemed to be lost in his own thoughts while chewing on a betel nut that sometimes, I wonder if he's there to guide us or if he's just walking around to get some air.

In fairness, the rocky steps had a railing that we could hold on to.  Vanie was amazed by this and blurted out, "Ang galing ng steps, may railing!" to which our guide responded with "Buti pa yung steps, magaling."  Aba, maramdamin si kuya!

Since this is my first time to go spelunking, I relied heavily on our guide and religiously followed whatever he's doing.  Mabel noticed that I kept stepping on the earth instead of the rocks and asked what I was doing.  Being defensive, I reasoned out, "Sinusundan ko lang kung saan dumadaan yung guide no!" and suddenly, the guide started walking sideways on the narrow path above the rocky steps on purpose.  Of course, I went with the easy option and we all started laughing.  That's Kuya Kirky for ya.  From then on, I knew this trip was going to be interesting.

Tip #6: Always be camera ready!  Even in difficult situations.

Before we started, Kuya G gave a short but really interesting talk about the coffins in the burial cave.  I won't spoil the fun for those who haven't been to Sagada but I'm telling you, these guides really know their stuff.  I learned so much, I felt like I was in a field trip during our entire stay.  Kuya G then introduced the other guides: Kuya Kirky, Kuya Kelvin, Kuya Loyd, Kuya Eddie and Kuya Manuel.  After that, he briefed us on the different walking styles used in spelunking (monkey walk, butt walk and crab walk) and what we should and shouldn't do while inside the cave.  And then I braced myself for the challenges are about to start!

Cool rock formations.  Tip #7: Know what rock formation you're standing next to before posing for a photo. HAHA  Everyone posed next to the "Princess" and I only realized what it was after the picture was taken.

Overcoming my fear of closed spaces

The thought of being inside a cave for 4-6 hours is enough to make me feel uneasy.  I hate closed spaces!  It makes it difficult for me to breathe.  But I do love a good challenge and that's what got me through.  Spelunking gives me the same feeling I get when solving puzzles.  It kept me on my feet so I had no time to think about being trapped while I work my way out.  I won't be able to do it though if not for the guides who were always there to help us and give out directions.  Lumiang Cave has a lot of small tunnels that you have to squeeze yourself into (sometimes, feet-first) which would give me panic attacks in normal situations but knowing that someone will be waiting for me at the end of those tunnels comforted me and made me realize there's really nothing to fear.

Notice how everyone's listening attentively to Kuya Kirky aka the human ladder.  These are just some of the stunts you'd have to go through with the assistance of the guides.

Overcoming my fear of heights

Initially, I thought exploring caves meant crawling all the time.  I was dead wrong.  The caves were huge and there were a lot of high rock formations which required rope-assisted descents/ascents.  So how did I get over my fear of heights?  Believe it or not, the cave's darkness is what got me through.  Since I couldn't see how high some rock formations actually are, it lessened my fear.  Plus, the guides were always there to lend a hand/shoulder/thigh to help you out.  They became human fences so we won't fall off cliffs, human ladders so we can go down high rock formations, and photographers to document everything.  In short, it's either I was too preoccupied feeling sorry for stepping on them or too busy posing for pictures that I forgot about my fear of heights.  Tip #8: Watch out for low ceilings!  I bumped my head during one ascent because I was too busy chit-chatting with the guide.

Proud of our boys who did some stunts on their own while the girls had to use a human ladder who in this case was Kuya Gareth.

Overcoming my fear of the dark

There is no other source of light inside the cave aside from the gas lamps carried by the guides.  Not only am I scared of total darkness (and the unknown), I also have difficulty seeing in the dark so I always stayed close to one of the guides.  Vanie has this problem as well so we decided to stay in front of the pack, closest to the leading guide.  Tip #9: If you need light, just call on one of the guides to shine their lamp on your path or just scream out "Meralco" and they'll know what to do.

The gas lamps are the only source of light inside the cave.  Look how pretty they are.  Fun fact: If there's water inside the cave, it means the cave's pretty young.

Surprisingly, I only panicked twice (because of darkness) while inside the cave.  The first was during one of our feet-first descents.  Since the guides have to assist our descent, they had to go ahead of us.  When I noticed them disappearing into the hole one by one, I panicked and screamed at the guide nearest me, "Kuya, wag mo kami iwan!!!" in fear of being left in the dark.  How needy!  Kuya Loyd just smiled at me and offered to carry my bag before I go down the hole.  It turns out, one of the guides will stay behind to provide us light.  DUH.  How silly of me! HAHA  No reason to get scared and be clingy.

A game of shadows.  Human centipede, anyone?

The second time was during another descent which required us to wrap our body around a rock to go through a tiny hole where the guide will be waiting as a human ladder to get you down.  As Kuya Kelvin went ahead of us, he brought the gas lamp with him and we were left in the dark for a couple of minutes.  But that short period of time was enough to make me panic and tears started to well up in my eyes.  Good thing, I got a hold of myself before it was too late.  I hate crying in front of other people.  This little panic attack caused me to snap at Kuya Kelvin though.  Sorry. :(  Bottom line is, the guides will never leave you so learn to trust them.

Obligatory jump shots.

No room for skeptics and control freaks

Not only am I a skeptic but I'm also a control freak.  Imagine the shock on my face every time a guide tells us to go down a hole feet-first, cross the rope with nothing to hold onto but another rope, step on their shoulders/thigh/legs, cross the dark waters without anything to hold onto, etc.  If I'm not saying "OHMYGAAAAHD" / "WHAT THE EFF?!" / "GRABEHAN!" / "WHAAAAAT!" / "OHSHITSHITSHITSHIT", I'm probably asking the guides, "Ha?" / "Totoo?" / "For real?!" / "Trulyyyy?" / "Seriously??" / "Weh??" / "Seryoso ka, kuya?" from time to time.  Annoying right?  But the guides didn't lose their cool.  Unlike me. :))

Sure, I had my doubts but only because I'm not used to relying on someone for everything.  I'm used to being independent and I hate feeling helpless.  But inside the cave, I had no choice.  I had to put my trust on these people whom I've met only a couple of hours ago.  Heck, I couldn't even remember their names and faces during the first hour.*  Aside from Kuya Gareth and Kuya Kirky, I called everyone else Kuya and recognized them by what they're wearing (i.e. Kuyang naka-Nike na may Panagbenga-themed pedicure, Kuyang naka-sweater vest, Kuyang naka-Top-sider, Kuyang kamukha nung naka-Top-sider).  Sorry, but not only can I not see clearly in the dark, I'm really not good in remembering faces and names.  So naturally, I had trust issues.  Which led to my near-death experience.

Reaping the rewards of our hardships by basking ourselves in the cool pools.

My near-death experience

We have finally reached the end of Lumiang and we were on our way to Sumaging.  We were so excited because Sumaging has a lot of cool pools in it and we can't wait to soak ourselves after all our hard work.  After we passed by "The Queen", we had to go down a seemingly slippery smooth-looking slab of stone.  Kuya G told us not to be fooled though because it was actually not slippery at all.  He didn't even have to crab walk or butt walk.  He went down the slope standing upright.  Amazing.

Vanie went ahead of me but she didn't do what Kuya G did.  She did it via our favorite butt walk.  I decided to do the same because I was scared to stand up as my feet didn't have any kind of grip at all.  Well, that was my mistake.  My board shorts were slippery and before I knew it, I was screaming my head off as I was sliding off the ledge FAST!  Weird how everything happened so fast but I had time to think about everything like it was in slow motion.  I saw the group of students waiting below and all I could think of was I didn't want to fall in front of them and be embarrassed.  I was panicking and prayed to God to save me!  Suddenly, I saw Kuya Kelvin's legs in front of me and I thought of grabbing them to break my fall.  But I didn't.  'Cause I didn't want him to fall along with me so I just accepted the fact that yep, I'm all on my own.  But before I reached the bottom, someone grabbed me by the wrist and stopped my fall.  Before I knew it, I was standing on the ground again.  Shaking, yes, but what's important is that I'm safe now.  Thank God for Kuya Kelvin!  He caught me at the right time and since then, I've learned to let my trust issues go.

These guides can indeed be trusted with our lives.  I was still in shock and I kept on holding Kuya Kelvin's hand because I couldn't stand straight as my knees were wobbly from the trauma.  My friends and Kuya G rushed to me to check if I'm okay.  Of course I'm not but I'm just happy to be alive and in one piece.  As usual, I kept on laughing afterwards.  It's my weird reaction to traumatic events.  Tip #10: Trust your instincts but more importantly, trust the guides.  Your safety literally depends on them.

On our way out of Sumaging Cave.  Who says the challenges end there?

After enjoying the pools and the numerous photo ops with the cool rock formations in Sumaging, we started to make our way out.  If entering the cave is challenging enough, getting out of it was even more challenging!  We had to climb a wall with the use of a rope, baby crawl our way out of a tiny tunnel, and walk up a rocky trail.  But the challenges didn't end there!

Faced with yet another challenge: going through 200+ steps to get out of Sumaguing Cave.  Kuya Manuel had an alternative though that doesn't require going through that.  You've got to see for yourself and you'll probably choose the 200+ steps too.

We had to climb up an additional 200+ steps just to get out of the cave!!  We were all exhausted by that time and we were desperate for an alternative so we inevitably fell for Kuya Manuel's prank.  Well, at least all the girls did.  So in the end, we decided to take on the 200+ steps challenge but not without having a photo op with our amazing guides.

We made it out alive!  And dripping wet.  After 5 grueling hours.  HAHA

I'm so happy to be able to experience my first spelunking adventure with my travel buddies, new friends and these cool guides.  Honestly, 5 hours didn't seem that long if you have this crazy bunch as your spelunking buddies.

Our super duper cool guides!  From L-R: Kuya Eddie, Kuya Kelvin, Kuya Loyd, Yunan (not our guide but he's responsible for making sure everyone gets out of the cave before leaving his post), Kuya Gareth, Kuya Manuel.  Sitting down: Kuya Kirky

Tip #11: If you become really exhausted and think you won't make it out alive, just tell the guides.  You can opt for a voluntary exit and they will accompany you out of the cave.

With Kuya Kirky.  He had to leave early to accompany those who decided to go out after exploring Lumiang Cave.

After freshening up for a bit, we headed out to probably the only restaurant that was still open at that late hour.  We decided to try Sagada's specialty, the Pinikpikan.  After learning about how the dish is prepared, I didn't want to try it but I decided to give it a go so I could at least try it once.  It was okay, not really exceptional.  It actually reminded me of Tinola.  I think I would've appreciated the dish more if I wasn't so tired.  I could barely keep my eyes open!  Tip #12: If you think you're going to finish spelunking late, ask the guides where you can have dinner.  They have contacts so they can ask the restaurant to wait up for you.

Pinikpikan at Pinikpikan House.

After dinner, we walked back to our place and got ready for bed.  All I wanted to do was lie down and rest but we couldn't help but talk about the day's adventures.  Chismosa forever!  Also, Vanie and I couldn't resist not washing the mud off our Tribu sandals so we had to clean it before going to bed.  Define OC!  After everything is finally set, we decided to retire for the night because tomorrow, new adventures and challenges await us!

*Who would have thought that we'll become so attached to our guides?  By the end of the day, we knew all their names.  We even learned some of their native names and complete names.  We knew bits and pieces from their lives.  Tip #13: Talk with your guides.  They wouldn't start a conversation unless you do.  Trust me, you'll be more at ease when you start cracking jokes with them.  Plus, what better way to learn about a culture than hearing it first-hand from the locals?


Travel date: 5 May 2012 [Day 1]
Photo credits: Faye and Vanie (but technically, all pictures inside the cave were taken by Kuya Gareth, Kuya Kirky, Kuya Kelvin and Kuya Loyd)

Want to visit Sagada?  Head over to the SaGGAs website to better familiarize yourself with what's in store for you.  You can also choose a trusty tour guide in advance from their catalog as long as they're available during your trip.  For more information on Cave Connection, click here.