My Spelunking Experience at Sumaguing Cave

CEBU, Philippines - Lola Bebot, Lenlen and I were resting in our hotel room in AIM Lodge Baguio when Lola Bebot started reflecting on our spelunking in the Sumaguing Cave. It really struck me when she said that going through that experience was like our life’s journey.

Going down the rocky path was really a big challenge for all of us, especially for cool Lola Bebot who is 65 years old. There were no clear steps and your judgment, with the help of the guides, would have to do as to which stone or path to take to be sure you were safe.

It was really a big struggle, so I asked, “Why am I doing this?” We just went on and on and on. I told myself: I could do it…I just had to see what was really inside that cave. It was so intriguing. But as my friends and I went farther down, the surroundings became cooler, lots of water flowed over the stones, then we started to see different formations of the rocks. Nonetheless, the highlight of the adventure were the hardships and challenges going through it all. As I viewed the pictures that we took, I realized it was well worth all the experience. The beauty in the dark caves was just too awesome and overwhelming.

After our spelunking adventure, I can truly say that it has made me a more determined and confident person. It is like going through the struggles and challenges in life. No matter how bad the situation is, I now tend to look at it as a learning experience. I do not dwell so much now on disappointments and I do not fear what is ahead. I know God will take care of it and we just have to enjoy the journey as we get to the destination.

I had a great weekend and it was surely one of the greatest trips in my lifetime. The experience made me write down my reflections. To be honest, writing articles is not my cup of tea, but this is one event I would like to share to anyone who will find the time to read it.

I do hope everyone will get to experience the trip to Sagada and Banaue at least once in their lifetime. It may be roughing up and the trip was quite long and hectic, but when you have good company and everyone is willing to do the same activities together, then it can surely be a memorable trip to experience. Call Destination Specialists if you want us to help you set it up.

I want to thank the following well-meaning friends:

-Fr. Tito my mentor and spiritual adviser who thought going on a vacation to Banaue and so I joined him.

-Joey my other mentor and life coach, after hearing about our plans started to say that Sagada is in his wish list. So we all said lets all go to Sagada. Unexpectedly the Sagada destination became the highlight and Banaue became an afterthought. Since we were already travelling to Sagada, we decided that we would just include Banaue in our itinerary.

-Our super cool Lola Bebot who inspired us all with her determination to do all the activities we had planned for this trip.

-The opportunity that Karla was able to join us. She is really a super pretty travelling companion.

-Of course my ever loyal, hard working and muy simpatica tour manager Lenlen. She had so many apprehensions travelling with me, as this was the first time we shared the room together. (O diba, I was a super cool travelling companion?)

-My travel agent from Baguio, Arnel who was so kind to drive us to Baguio and back to Manila. He is such an unassuming and humble person. Thank you so much for all the accommodations you made for us.

-Our driver Elmer, who was so patient with us, especially when we would start our trips late in the afternoon and get to our destinations very late at night or in the wee hours of the morning. We could not think much of the time as we just enjoyed every minute of it. He was a super driver.

We all enjoyed each other’s company and we all wished we had more time to do more activities in Sagada, Banaue, as well as in Baguio. We all agreed that there will always be some other time to do another adventure. And on our next trip, we can invite more friends to join, as we are now confident to organize and make it memorable for everyone.

But most of all, I would like to quote Lola Bebot when she said “God is so good to us; He made us enjoy our trip”. Thank you, thank you, Lord!