Panhulugan Caves

We decided to take a P-day and go with the Johnsons to the Sohotan Caves and Natural Bridge. That's a new name meaning to squeeze through. It was originally called Panhulagan, which means to throw from above. This was an area with tall limestone clifts that rebells would dwell on and throw rocks down on their enemies. We took a motor boat upriver to the cave. We had a guided tour looking at various stalactites and stalagmites, playing the "what does this look like" game. A set of stalactites were hollow inside so the guide could play music on them. There were lots of bats we saw and even a blind cricket that didn't have eyes. When the lights were turned off, you could not see nor hear anything. It was incredible and very isolating. After that we kayaked up river to the natural bridge and swam in the water hole beneath it for a while. Our three hour tour took closer to four hours but we were the only ones there so they really catered to us.

These are small bats that live in the cave. We saw some up close and the face reminded me of a racoon with big, dark circles around the eyes. They were very cute.

Stalagmites that looked like people gathering.

Kayaking to the natural bridge. While this is not THE natural bridge, it was much larger, it is similar to it. We kayaked under several such formations.

An awesome picture Jack took. The water was that clear in places and the sky that blue. It really is a bit of paradise here. The water temperature was awesomely cool, too.