Capisaan Cave (It's worth the distance)

     We have been planning to visit Capisaan Cave months ago but it was just this April that we were able to find the time.  Considering the distance and the effort to reach the secluded far-flung area was a major consideration.  It would have been suicidal to allocate a weekend only so this trip was scheduled with utmost detail.  We had a 4-day itinerary with a day of rest in Solano before the cave adventure and a day's rest in Diadi (Paraiso Tribu Vizcayano - this will be another story) before heading back to Manila.   What we can say is - it was worth the time and effort.  Capisaan is a true adventure and a sight to behold!

     We traveled to Solano, Nueva Vizcaya and decided to stay overnight.  The next day, we took the jeepney headed to Malabing - Kasibu and it was not easy to locate the jeepney bay.  In our initial research the jeeps can be found in a place called "Tarikan" but somehow on that day no one was familiar with the place but some tricycle drivers said they can be found at "MVAT".  True enough they were there.  The jeep leaves at 1pm and returns to Solano the next day at 4am.

     Off we go together with all the cargo that the driver and conductor could fit in any space available inside and on top of the jeep. It was a long winding mixture of paved and rough (as in mud during rainy days) road with mountains and a lot of citrus trees.  We were told that travel would be 2-3 hours considering the different stops but it took us more than 4 hours because the jeep moonlights as the local courier service with your package delivered personally right at your doorstep. Talk about customer service! Our driver and conductor were very accommodating, though, and they helped us locate a guide at our stop.

     We started our trek to the mouth of the cave a few minutes before twilight.  It was a 15 minute walk amongst trees and fallen decaying leaves until we reached the cave.  Our guide, Ferdinand, gave us a briefer about the cave as well as the typical rules.  What's something different is they offer a prayer before entering the cave which is not very common but should be appreciated.

     Capisaan is probably 90% water and majority would require wading through water from ankle to chest deep.  There would be instances that water would reach your chin because you would need to duck to enter to a new cavern.  Except for a certain area that's too deep you wouldn't even know how far down the floor is.  This would need you to execute your way by leaping though a 5-ish feet distance or, as in my case, used Rod as a human ladder and held on to rock formations to reach the other side.

     Of course there would be dry land that would require you to crawl, duck walk, leap, climb, and extend your extremities to its limit.

     Obviously, when you enter a cave you are expected to be in compromising physical challenges but the sight of the rock formations would leave you breathless and feel that this is worth the challenge.  There is life going on inside the cave, eons past and eons more to go.  That is, if we take care of Capisaan by following the rules when you enter a cave. Words could not best describe the cave so allow us to show you pictures and you judge Capisaan yourself.

     This was definitely an adventure.  A memorable experience with nature that will never be forgotten.

     Until the next adventure.....