BUSAY CAVE
KAPALONG, Davao del Norte
When entering Busay Cave, you have to be very quiet and should make the least of movements, for near its entrance hung a hornet’s nest. Wading against the flow of a cold stream, you have to stoop, lest you will bump your head against the stalactites hanging like white projectiles.
Unlike other caves that I have explored, Busay, a Cebuano word for waterfalls, features an all ascent terrain. Passing through its narrow corridors, we travel back in time. What was once a seabed is now actually a cave laying hundreds of feet above the sea, the result of the movement of the tectonic plates millions of years ago.
Estimates Busay to be at least 25 million years old, relatively young compared to other caves that have been explored in the country. Littered on its walls, numerous fossils of shells of unknown species are embedded indelibly. Corals and plant-like life forms have permanently carved its existence there. We were all made witness to the richness of this wonder. Geological folding also hung by the ceiling like pages of a swirled book, magnificent is too light a term to apply with what I saw.
Further more, pools of crystal clear water lie along the path. We all have to take a dip in the icy waters for no other way is available. And yes, there is the falls inside the cave. Gushing forth from its lips are torrents of water. Wow, a falls inside a cave! To manage it, we have to push our way up using a rope. No other safer way than this. Skills on rock climbing and bouldering surely help in negotiating this cave. It would be prudent to take extra care and not rush things out inside this wonderful cave. Cave formations are breathtaking. Soda straws are long and yet fragile. Even the slightest touch can ruin eons of nature’s artwork. The folding of the draperies and curtain cave formations, shimmering crystals of stalactites and stalagmites. You will be held in complete amazement just gazing at the cave formations. Nothing comes close to this subterranean experience.
At the end of the cave, we had all our lights snuffed out. Complete darkness. Not even a white board held inches from the eye can be seen. You will soon realize that for millions of years, no one had ever seen the beauty and the richness and learned the lessons that this cave has to offer. Exploring and understanding the cave and its place in nature is in fact a new experience. Of how finite we are in this universe. Someday another cave for my adventure!
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