Every day's discovery of nature’s splendor and beauty is like eye candy. It captivates your attention, and like candy, you want to indulge it right away just by looking at its wrapper, and once you have the taste of it, it gives you that sweet unexplainable satisfaction. This is the very same feeling I had when we explored the Cave that my co-teacher had been talking and boasting about.
This cave, according to him is the hidden gem of their place. When he speaks about it I can see stalactites and stalagmites in his eyes. hehe! He is beaming with excitement telling us about the cave, which made me anticipate and raise my excitement as well to discover the cave's beauty!
At the back of my mind, I was wondering about the cave’s size, I had questions and doubts about its brilliance. Stalactites? Stalagmites? It's rare to find those sights in our hometown, and what if the cave was only beautiful to the eyes of a high school boy who skipped classes to stay at this cave instead? (My co-teacher was in his high school days when he used to visit the cave during class hours!)
I believe beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What if the cave is not beautful
at all? What ifs. Let's find out. But hey, when was nature ever disappointing? Having my doubts still, I found myself skipping and prancing going to our special destination, to nature’s mouth, the Somosa’s Cave.
Lezzz go!
The hike begins.
The sun was up when we started hiking going to our destination yet the walk was never tiring, indeed it was refreshing and the whole environment looked vibrant because of the radiant sunlight. We walked along fields of sugarcane and corn. Everything was glowing green!
After the fields, Sir K., my co-teacher, brought us the way to the Mahogany trees where he recalled the place where they ate lunch during his high school days. While guiding us the way, Sir K was also entertaining us with his funny and memorable moments way back then. So the walk was not only refreshing but a funny one.
We passed lush vegetation and some of the local's livelihood such as morning grazing and raising chickens and cows. As we were nearing the cave, we came across lush bushes and vines. Good thing Sir K was bringing Bolo with him to clean the way. Well, he didn't have a choice! He admitted that he forgot the path going there because it's been a long time since he last visited the cave. So he was not just our tour guide but also cleans the way for us. Sorry sir K. but we greatly appreciate it.
How about some wild guava for our sancks?
After Sir K. had cleared the trail and successfully traced the route through the terrain, we discovered the path going to the cave's entrance. Finally, we were closer to the paradise that we were looking for!
Lucky enough to have Sir K. in this adventure of ours! Hope he wouldn't regret that he came with us! Hehe.
Charaaaan!!! The Chambers of Wonder!
We were greeted by the Cave's narrow entrance. Only one person could get in at a time and needed to crawl. It was so dark and I felt uncertain about entering the cave. I was nervous yet my excitement to see what's inside was killing me. Sir K. entered the cave first and I bravely followed.
However, the moment I set foot in the cave, my uncertainty turned into sheer amazement. The interior of the cave was a breathtaking display of wonderful rock formations which I believe had been meticulously shaped over countless years! And I could only smell the earthy scent of the cave and felt its cold atmosphere. We were all silent, I knew we were all feeling the cave's embrace.
I saw stalactites and stalagmites in various sizes and shapes. They look like frozen ice-creams slowly melting from the ceiling. Each one is a work of art!
Can you guess how old the cave is? This made me wonder of astonishment because as far as I knew, it takes centuries for a stalactite and stalagmites to grow for an inch. Please correct me if I'm wrong and I'll correct my Science teacher too in my High School. Hehe!
The cave was dark yet the chamber appeared white and the rocks sparkled and glimmered as soon as our flashlight hit them. They are hidden gems!
I could also see the dripping water and the droplets that fell into the ground. There were also rock formations resembling a cascade of water. The whole beauty I saw was captivating and enchanting.
I was in awe of this natural wonder before my eyes. It is clear that the cave is untouched! Either the locals are ignoring the cave or not minding it at all, or preserving it. I'm happy that this paradise is left untouched and unspoiled by humans' hands.
I looked at Sir K. and saw the happiness in his eyes that finally he is back to the place where he used to enjoy being together with his childhood friends. I knew he is also proud and happy to see the cave in its virgin beauty.
"See?" I knew he wanted to tell me this.
On the other hand, he told us, there is another chamber below that will lead us to another exit but we refused to explore deeper as we knew we lack the pieces of equipment to fully explore the cave.
When we had enough of the cave, we decided to emerge from the cave. As soon as I got out, I carried with me a deep appreciation for nature's artistry and a thought that not all grand beauty is on the surface, some are hidden, glimmering, untouched, and lying beneath.
Once again, I had a deeper connection to the natural world and also had another opportunity to strengthen the bonds of friendship with my colleagues.
It was such a fulfilling adventure and full of discovery!
That's it for our adventurous hike and cave exploration. Thank you so much for reading guys. I wish you all safe and well always.
Don't forget to smile often! 🤗😍
And here's mine!
