Exploring Philippines 90 - Norzagaray, Bulacan (Post 5 - Pinagrealan Cave)

After covering some meters while soaked in muddy water, we reached a tapering part of the cave where we had to find our footing within the edges of the cave's floor.  The center of the cave's floor which is covered by water proved to be difficult to step on because of its funnel shape formation.  With the cave's floor edges that are only a foot wide, you've got to walk slowly and you'll have to walk sideways facing or against the cave's wall.

In another turn, we had to plunge again into the water. That time, the level of the water was higher and reached our navel or even higher.  We were already perspiring due to the warm temperature inside the cave.  But at that particular time where half of our body was soaked in water, it was a deliberate form of relief because of the coolness of the water. If it had been undisturbed and clear, we might be tempted perhaps for a nice and quick dip.  The narrow passage proved to be difficult for us because we had our backpacks and at the same time, some sharp stone formations are hanging within the walls just above our head and we need to be careful and cautious with each step we made.  With the water reaching our waist, we were forced to raise our back backs toward our head because the bottom of our bags were touching the surface of the water already.

The moment we hurdled the deep water on that part of the cave, another tougher challenge came into view.  We were given two options to choose from. One, we have to squeeze our body in a very narrow passage equivalent only to the body size of an average person and you have to pass sideways on bended knees.  Since we had our backpacks and the passage was not yet clear to us, we opted to take the second option.  Option number two seems like a high wall and you have to stretch your other leg higher in order to reach a safety ledge.  But prior to the idea of reaching that ledge, I tiptoed and looked at the other side of that wall.  The other side is tricky because one has to slide down but with all those sharp stone edges, one will end up hurting his ass.  I had my reservations regarding my ability to overcome this challenge.  But since the rest of them were able to get through it, so should I.  If I don't have a camera and a back pack to mind, definitely, I can hurdle this one easily.  But I had to live with my baggage since my main concern was to document this whole trip.

Before crossing that wall, I requested two of our companions to pose at the top of the wall in order to show the high rise wall.  From the pic, one need to fully stretch the reach of his foot in order to gain a strong footing on the upper part of the wall while holding firmly to a small protruding rock within the wall.  I had to pass my camera to Ron who crossed the wall ahead of me.  I found it hard to stretch my leg just to reach that ledge because my pants was somewhat tight, thereby restricting my movements.

My safe landing on that ledge was just the beginning.  It was good because the texture of the wall is smooth.  If the texture of the wall could have been rough and sharp, like the face of the wall on the other side, I will definitely end up with bruises. The next move will be to safely maneuver on the top of the wall and sit squarely on it.  The ledge was somewhat slippery and I really took my sweet time just to ensure my safety on that sitting position.  After sitting comfortably on top of that wall, my next concern will be to safely slide down due to the fact that the other side of the wall has uneven rough surface.  If it could have been smooth, it would be fun to simply slide down.  With the help of my colleagues, I was able to safely land on the other side.