Bohol Trip Day 1 - Sagbayan Peak and E.A.T Danao

My friends and I have been planning for this trip for ages but it happened just now due to schedule conflict. We flew to Cebu on a Friday night via Cebu Pacific airbus and boy! the trip is one hell of a bumpy ride since the plane is small. It's like a bus traveling in the sky, hence the name airbus.

After staying for one night at one of Cebu's budget hotels (Cebu R Hotel), we head to the port and boarded a ferry going to Tubigon Port. The ferry departed at 8:00 am instead of its scheduled time of departure which is 7:45 am. We arrived at the port of Tubigon after almost an hour and head to our first stop...

The Sagbayan Peak
The Sagbayan Peak, a viewing deck located on a 5-hectare mountain-top, allows people a 360-degree view of the famous Chocolate Hills. Once you see the breathtaking view on the deck, surely you will not regret paying Php 30 for the entrance fee. While there, you may also want to have fun in the water park, visit the butterfly dome, say hi to the world's famous tarsier or spend quiet time in the chapel. I highly recommend Sagbayan Peak if you really want to feed your eyes with the beauty of the nation's pride that is the Chocolate hills.

the viewing deck

view from the deck

way to and from the deck

After satiating our eyes with the view and of course with the obligatory photo ops, we headed to our next stop...

E.A.T Danao
Stands for Extreme/Eco/Educational Adventure Tour, E.A.T Danao is a concept setup with the Danao Adventure Park for the benefit of the people of Danao, Bohol. With the Local Government Unit running the park, guests are given the opportunity to explore and enjoy the huge area that is used to be the camp of Francisco Dagohoy, a Boholano hero who led the longest revolt in Philippine history.

Since we will be staying there for a night, we checked in to our respective rooms and got ready to satiate, this time our stomachs, with delicious Filipino dishes. They are only serving buffet during Saturdays so we have no choice but to stretch our intestines to make the most of what we have paid for.

After lunch, we got ready for our next activity - caving and other adventures the park offer. We all booked for caving but since we are 16 in the group and they only allow maximum of 10 persons per group to explore the cave, we decided to divide into two groups - eight of our friends during the 12:00 noon schedule while I, together with my seven other friends was schedule at 3:00 pm. The cave we visited is the Kamira which is rated moderate when it comes to difficulty (other caves in the park are rated extreme).

Since our schedule for caving is still a few hours away, we decided to try root climbing with rappelling. We trekked for like 30 minutes before reaching the root climbing/rappelling area. Going there is not easy since the path is not fully developed and they do not intend to develop it to preserve the area. We only have ropes to hold on to while going down the stony, slippery and steep pathway.

The root climbing/rappelling area is located in the river wherein the roots of a balete tree are protruding in the riverbank. The climb is quite easy though since there are lots of roots to hold. I think it is easier than the easy level wall climbing in Boracay. :D

Root climbing (taken by Rod)

The difficult part however is the rappelling. I never thought that rappelling is difficult since I enjoyed doing it in Guimaras Adventure Park. But this one is different! The riverbank is quite steep and there is a hollow area in the middle. But I survived; we all survived with smiles of fulfillment (and perhaps relief) in our faces.

Rappelling

After the activity, we trekked back to the area where the path to the river and to the cave intersects. We were met by who would-be our guides in caving. We were given instructions and geared up for this truly adventurous adventure. :D

The group
Getting in the cave is not as easy as we expected. We need to climb down a rocky and steep path that is otherwise impossible for us to get through if not for the expertise of our guides. After we passed through the entrance, one can see nothing if not for the light coming from our helmets. We were welcomed by stalactites and stalagmites that form a column when they meet. There is one part wherein we need to submerge under the cool water and another part wherein we need to crawl or duck-walk before we can get through. At the end of the cave, there is a pool of water that allows visitors to swim however, utmost care is needed since there are areas that are over five feet deep.

We walked backed to the same route since the cave has only one opening. Now I imagine what would have happened if Dagohoy was cornered by Spanish oppressors here. :(


cave's entrance/exit

After we got through the entrance, I almost want to back out but then my curious, adventurous side is more dominant that time so I proceeded with the trek. Good thing I did so! If not, I would have missed the experience that I now consider as one of my best nature trips so far.

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* Root climbing and caving pics are from Rod's camera. :)

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