Sohoton Natural Bridge National Park – Natural Bridge (Basey, Western Samar)

Sohoton Natural Bridge

After about an hour and a half of exploration, we exited the cave and proceeded back to our boat for the trip to Sohoton Bridge.  After a short distance, shallow water grounded our boat to a stop and we were told to alight and walk the remaining distance.  There are 2 winding, moss and fern covered trails going to the bridge, one a longer but more scenic 700-m. hike and the other being half the distance.  We took the scenic route.  Pretty soon we came upon the huge, 15-m. high natural parabolic stone arch entrance (from which the park got its name) stretching across the valley and connecting two mountain ridges.  Underneath is the Sohoton River.

The Sohoton River

Based on my research on caves, I theorized that millions of years ago, the bridge was formerly part of a tunneled cave with the Sohoton River flowing underground through it.  The active river eventually enlarged the cave too much for roof stability, collapsing some parts to form cylindrical shafts leading above ground.  Further collapses reduced the cave roof to stretches of tunnel or arches, forming a gorge.  The process of unroofing ceased when the level of the river fell. The narrow Sohoton natural bridge is the one remaining arch of this cave.   That this bridge was once part of a cave is seen from the huge stalactites still hanging below the bridge.

We went no further than the natural bridge, returned back along the trail, clambered down to the riverbank and retraced our steps back to the boat which was moored near the river’s rapids.   Feeling hungry, we invited Sidong and the boatmen to join us for lunch and we feasted on the contents of our picnic basket – tipay (scallops baked with garlic), lechon manok, (roasted chicken), lechon de leche (roasted pig), rice; and then pushed it all down our systems with bottled water and canned soft drinks.  The river was inviting, so we were soon down to our trunks and tried to test our strength against the rapids.  After a one-hour refreshing swim, we got dressed, packed our stuff and made the 90-min. return trip along the river back to the town.  Upon arrival at Basey, we paid our guide and boatman and were soon on our way back to Tacloban, arriving in time for the Palm Sunday mass.

Sohoton Natural Bridge National Park – Sohoton Caves (Basey, Samar)

The “Guardian Angel”

On April 16, Palm Sunday, Jandy and I made plans to visit the 840-hectare Sohoton Natural Bridge National Parkin Basey, Samar, established as such by American Gov. Frank Murphy on July 19, 1935 by virtue of Proclamation No. 831.  Joining us as guide was Mr. Victor Macasera, a medical representative from Astra Zeneca.  We woke up early and I packed my camera, videocam and other essentials for this day trip. Victor soon arrived and joined us for a hearty breakfast.  We left Tacloban in Victor’s car by 9 AM, bringing with us a picnic basket with packed lunch prepared for us by my sister-in-law Paula.   The 26-km. trip from Tacloban City to Basey took us a mere 20 mins., passing through the 2.16-km. longSan Juanico Bridge, Southeast Asia’s longest bridge, which connects Leyte Island with Samar Island.  There was still a break in the bridge’s railing, where, on February 11, 6 drunk Army men, coming from a fiesta in V&G Subdivision, crashed their vehicle through the railing, into the San Juanico Strait, and all drowned.

San Juanico Bridge

Upon our arrival at Basey’s port, Victor parked his car at the pier and arranged for a small pumpboat, Petromax lamp, permit and guide, all for PhP600.  He chose a small boat for two reasons.  First, we were just a small party and second, its shallow draft will enable us to negotiate the shallow portion of the Basey River.  The guide assigned to us was Mr. Francisco “Sidong” Corales, a 45-year old park ranger and certified spelunker.  The trip up the winding Basey (or Cadacan) River was engrossing.  From the wharf, it is an 11-km. (1.5 hr.) boat ride up along the 50 to sometimes 200 m. wide, golden brown Basey River.

Basey River

The initial portion was along evergreen banks lined with coconut trees, swamp plants and nipa palm (Nypa fruticans).   We had an intimate glimpse of small villages with river dwellers going about heartwarming daily activities like washing clothes and bathing children.  We also passed a colorful assortment of small native outriggers loaded with produce and passengers.  As we went further down the river, it started to narrow dramatically and the scenery began to change to eerie jungle, with massive and very rugged limestone outcrops gradually towering on both sides of the river.  We also passed bizarre, weather-sculpted limestone rock formations.  Huge trees, with interlaced roots and thick branches, hug the river’s edge and large, ancient-looking boulders also jutted out the water.

Bizarre rock formations along river

Occasionally, there were shallow portions along the river and Sidong and the boatmen had to alight to push the boat.  Pretty soon, we reached a junction where the Basey River branches out into the Bugasan and Sohoton Rivers and just before that was the unprepossessing entrance to the Panhulugan I Cave, the largest (546 sq. m.) and most spectacular endogenic cave in the park.   Directly across is towering Panhulugan Cliff, a high and steep rock formation, and cutting into the face of this cliff is  the 3.5-m. high and 50-m. long scar of Panhulugan Cave II. During the Philippine-American War, Filipino insurgents dropped rocks and logs down on U.S. troops coming up the narrow curve of the river.

Panhulugan Cave I entrance

We moored our boat at the entrance of Panhulugan Cave I, climbed a series of steps, crossed a bridge and stopped at a resting area with concrete tables and benches.  Here, Sidong showed us a map of the park and briefed us on what to expect inside the cave.  Upon entering and squeezing our way through narrow and sometimes low openings, we were ushered into a mystical and magical world of beautiful, glittering and exotically shaped and patterned stone unseen except with our Petromax lamps.  There were some walls of sparkling, pure white crystal and chambers replete with stalactites and stalagmites.  Geologically active, water constantly drips from stalactites and there are also large accumulations of materials beneath the chimney holes.

With their wild and vivid imagination, locals have christened many of the beautiful and breathtaking formations after religious icons, animals, plants, parts of the human anatomy and domestic as well as foreign tourist destinations.  Only nature can create and preserve such wonders.  One formation resembled a “three-legged elephant” complete with trunk (above).  Others were appropriately named the “Chair of Alexander the Great,” the “Ice Cream Cone,” the “Guardian Angel,” “Anaconda,” “Statue of Liberty” and beside it, the “Holy Family.” A fenced off portion has a flow area similar to the famed “Banaue Rice Terraces”.  A miniature horizontal ribbon-like formation is aptly named the “Great Wall of China” and beside it the “Chocolate Hills” of Bohol.

The Breast Room

Sidong also tried his hand in music, tapping on some seemingly hollow formations like organ pipes to create musical notes. He also ushered us into the Love Room where the ceiling was covered with the so-called European, American and Filipino versions of the female breast as well as the male sex organ.  One chamber has 15-m. high ceiling which exudes the solemn atmosphere of a high-domed cathedral.  Its eerie silence sent a tingling feeling down my spine.  Before exiting, Sidong showed us what appeared to be ancient animal bone fragments embedded in one of the cave walls.