STRESS RELIEVER
In this post, I will be writing about a particular time I visited the island with a close friend. We were both struggling with difficult experiences at that time and we decided we needed a vacation. Makes sense, right? We wanted to relax and unwind to help us cope with our problems.
As mentioned, I've been to Camotes Island a couple of times and I have discovered that the island is so full of different places that you can go to and activities that you can do. You only need a motorcycle and a whole day to go around the island.
Camotes is actually made up of 3 islands: Pacijan Island, Poro Island, and Ponson Island. It is located on the east side of the main island of Cebu around the center of the Philippine islands. It has 4 municipalities: San Francisco, Poro, Tudela, and Pilar. Legend has it that it got its name when Spaniards came to the island and asked the locals for its name. The locals didn't understand and thought the Spaniards asked about the root crop they were digging. So they answered, "Camote," which was sweet potato. Thus, the name Camotes.
Getting to Camotes Island is fairly easy. From Cebu City, you can take a bus to Danao City port and ride a ferry to the island. Another way is taking a boat from Lapu-Lapu City that takes you straight to Camotes. On this trip, we decided to go via Danao because it was cheaper.
We wanted to take the earliest ferry to the island so that we'd be able to make most of our time there. We were so early that we were able to witness the sunrise as we boarded the ferry.
When we arrived at the island, it was already quite hot but we were more than eager to start our adventures! The signage at the entrance of the island was very appropriate for our trip. No Worries Allowed!
CAVE HOPPING
The first thing we did was look for a guide to take us around the island. They're usually waiting for tourists outside the port. It's kind of disorienting when these guides come up to you and talk to you at the same time offering their services. We decided to pick the one who approached us first.
Our adventures started with Cave Hopping. We were supposed to go to Amazing Island Cave first because it was the closest but unfortunately, it was closed. So we decided to go to the next one. It was called Paraiso Cave.
We were so excited when we got there. The place was beautiful and well-kept. We were the first tourists to arrive that day and it looked like we were going to have the place to ourselves. We changed into caving-appropriate clothes and took in the beautiful garden for a few minutes before deciding to descend.
Our first cave! It was my first time going to that cave and I was not disappointed. The descent was not that hard. They've added stairs and artificial lights to make it easy to go down but it was still slippery. We had to lower our heads as we went further and at the bottom, there was an underground pool. The waters looked really clear and inviting. Of course, we went in right away.
The pool was not that big but the water was waist-deep so you could take a bit of a swim around it. It was so refreshing. You could tell that the water was coming from a spring and it was free-flowing because it was so clear. The water was not too cold either and we would have stayed a bit longer if we didn't have other caves to go to. Eventually, we had to come up to the surface and get back to our ride for our next cave.
The second cave we went to was called Heaven Cave. This one didn't have grand entrances or beautiful gardens at the surface. It was really simple. A small family was taking charge of collecting the entrance fee. It was like the cave happened to be in the family's front yard and they just decided to develop it to attract tourists.
We were already on our 'caving attires' so we descended right away. The cave was not that deep and similar to the first one, it had man-made stairs and had lights installed on the cave walls and ceilings. What greeted us were sharp stalactites on the ceiling.
The cave floor still had clear water but it was shallow. I marveled at the stalactites and the structure of the small cave. It was like a basement. The ceiling was not that low so I could stand straight. I avoided touching the stalactites because it was said that it would stop 'growing' if it was touched. I guess this has something to do with the acidity of our hands reacting with the salts in the dripping water.
My friend and I had the cave to ourselves because it was still early in the day. There was a part in the cave that looked like you could crawl inside to go deeper. It was a bit scary and we didn't feel like crawling into unlit places at that time. I think we went up to the surface because we were quite creeped out already. What a bunch of scaredy-cats!
I am going to continue sharing about the next caves that we went to although we went there on the following day after visiting other spots in Camotes. The next cave is my favorite and it's called Bukilat Cave. It's located on the east side of the island, in Tudela. It's my favorite because it's the most spacious and natural light could enter the cave through the holes at its ceiling.
The descent is pretty quick. You go down one flight of stairs and that's it. You could then enjoy the full glory of the cave. There were a few tourists that joined us but they only stayed for a couple of minutes. After they were gone, we had the whole place to ourselves!
I can compare the cave to a cathedral or a church. There were places on the cave that were elevated and looked like an altar or a stage. The ceiling had all sorts of colors. This cave was my favorite because there was so much light. You'd think that caves are usually dark but this one wasn't.
The lower parts of the cave had water but it was very shallow. I saw pictures online depicting the cave to have striking blue waters but sadly, I did not get to see that. We took our time staying in the cave and taking photos.
The last cave we went to was called Timubo Cave. This cave is my second most favorite. It had two underground pools with one that is neck-deep. You can really swim around and enjoy the fresh and cool water. It was my second visit to the cave and the water was much deeper because it was high-tide that time.
The descent to the cave was quite difficult because the stairs were slippery and the ceiling was quite low. Unlike the other caves we went to, this one had guides instructing us to be careful and lighting our way. The cave was full of tourists and we didn't really spend that much time inside. The deeper pool was situated to the farthest part of the cave and only a few tourists actually went in because it was dark and deep.
Unfortunately, we didn't bring our phones because of the height of the water, and my action camera was acting up on that day, so I had no photos of the cave.
SO MUCH MORE THAN CAVES (PART 2)
There were still a few caves in the island that we weren't able to go to because of time constraints. And there were other good spots in Camotes that we definitely had to visit as well. I will be writing a Part 2 to this and I will be sharing with you the other amazing places in Camotes that I went to, places that are even better than the caves. For now, let me end this post with an explanation on why there are so many caves in Camotes.
CAVE FORMATION
How are caves formed? Why are there so many in Camotes? Simply put, caves are formed when acidic rain dissolves limestone that is underground. The process can happen for hundreds of years and depending on certain conditions, different structures of caves can be formed. Another type of cave is a sea cave. This, on the other hand, is formed by erosion due to wave action.
Rain can become acidic when it absorbs enough CO2 from the atmosphere or being mixed with acidic solids on land. Water plus CO2 becomes carbonic acid. When there are fractures or cavities on the ground, the acidic water flows down toward the limestone layer. Limestone is calcium carbonate and it readily reacts with carbonic acid making it soluble in water.
The water will slowly carve through the limestone forming a channel as it trickles down to the water table. The channels will grow in size as more limestone is dissolved. The water table will lower down creating empty spaces. A cave system will then be formed and the size will continue to grow as the water carves more of the limestone.
Stalactites and stalagmites are formed when rainwater that is saturated with calcium carbonate drips to certain parts of the cave. The CO2 in the rain is released in the air inside the cave and the calcium carbonate precipitates forming into limestone again in the shape of spikes or mounds above (stalactites) or below (stalagmites) the cave.
Camotes Island is rich in limestone and its terrain allowed acidic water to easily flow down the ground and form the caves. This is probably the reason why there are so many caves in Camotes.
And that's it! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post and go through my photos. I hope I was able to highlight Camotes well. The caves really helped me forget my worries as I marveled at them. Watch out for the second part and find out if Camotes really did help me cope with my problems. Cheers!
