After lunch, Jandy and I took a jeepney to the Tacloban Bus Terminal, near the port, to get a Catbalogan-bound bus to Calbiga in the hope that we could still do some spelunking at Calbiga Caves.  The 59-km. bus trip took all of 1 hr., crossing the San Juanico Bridge, and on to the Maharlika Highway, passing the towns of Basey, Sta. Rita, Villareal and Pinabacdao before reaching Calbiga. Travel time would have been shorter where it not for the deplorable road conditions, with potholes everywhere and, in some places, half of the road had all but disappeared, creating one-way portions.  In Brgy. Lagayan, an alternate route has to be cleared to replace an irreparable portion of the highway.  Upon arrival at the town, we were informed at the municipal hall  that it was too late in the day to visit the caves.  Instead, we just had to console ourselves with a boat trip to Calbiga River’s Carewos Rapids.

Carewos Rapids

The 18-km. long and 10-m. deep Calbiga River, with some 60 challenging rapids, is reputed to be the country’s only navigable wild river suitable for white water rafting.  Docking near the rapids, we tried swimming but this was actually difficult as we had to battle the rapids.  A rope was thrown across both banks  of the river as a lifeline in case we do get swept away.

According to the International Scale of River Difficulty, these rapids are classified as Class III or Class IV, depending on weather conditions.   The river has long rapids with high waves and a lot of irregular rocks.  The Calbiga River requires mandatory scouting, a good quality boat (a smaller boat is recommended because of the width of the river) and equipment, an expert boatman and powerful and precise maneuvering.

Carewos Rapids: Brgy. San Mauricio, Calbiga, Western Samar