Yungib: Moroboro, Dingle, Iloilo

Northern Entrance of Yungib

Northern Entrance of Yungib, another angle

The chico farm

St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Dingle, Iloilo

The sanctuary in the woods

January 12, 2008

I woke up 5:30 am on a straw map at the Daborbor’s residence at Moroboro, a small barrio of Dingle in Northern Iloilo. The small barrio is situated on a lone hill in the this northern Panay province. Downhill, a silent stream runs between Moroboro and the other towns and is connected by a concrete bridge. A dam downstream provides enough power to supply a number of towns in Dingle.

Moroboro is made famous of its National Park uphill where three immense yet perilous cave systems can be found. One of the cave systems, named Gisok, is the worst. As my relatives have described, the inside of the cave is an abyss. And the way to the cave, is but a nightmare to trek. I was reminded of the steps in Cirith Ungol from the Lord of the Rings flick. (Try to imagine that!!) Due to time constraints, I was not able to visit the National Park. Nevertheless, I was able to conquer, well, almost, one of its famous caves, aptly named Yungib. Yungib is situated far from the national park and was a bit tamed than the three caves combined. Though easy to trek inside, Yungib is found at the depths of the forest. You need at least an hour and a half of trek from the barrio to reach its southern entrance and two hours to reach the northern entrance (picture above).

Being a province, the morning air is fumed by the freshly-dewed forest that surrounds the little town. I was not surprised by the people rising early to do chores and start the day. People are rushing to go tend the farms at the top of the hill, some are feeding the animals in the poultry, while the rest are busy preparing for the wedding reception the next day. Yes, I came to Iloilo to attend a wedding because I’m one of the groomsmen. There are very few memories that I remember with the place. The roads, the houses, even the people. Maybe because of the fact that it was nineteen years ago since I came to Moroboro, along with the whole family.

Basically, this barrio in the home of my maternal clan. Not surprising, every home I passed by came relatives from the primary to the nth degree of consanguinity and affinity. I haven’t had the chance to memorize all their names and how these people are connected to my late mom. There goes the lolas, the aunties and uncles, the pinsans, the pamangkins and even an APO!!! I’m considered a grandfather already, but never will I be called as one. Hmpf!

The day started with a sumptuous meal of coffee, eggs and steamy pan de sal. I have to haste because there are a lot of itineraries for the day. Visits to the rest of the relatives, a bit of trekking, and preparing for the wedding. Clearly, I wasn’t aware that a 48-hour vacation will never be enough.

First stop is the small kubo uphill where the matriarchs of the clan stays. Lola Ising and Nita, sisters of my late Lola Carmen who is my mom’s mom, joyfully welcomes the Manileño with kisses and hugs. In native Illonggo, they asked me questions concerning the rest of the relatives back at Manila. With the help of my cousins who served as my translators (Wahahaha!!!), I updated the grannies with what’s happening. After a few monutes of strenuous talk, my cousins invited me for a trek to the caves. Go!!

The way to Yungib was harder than I imagined. There were no paved roads, and the terrain is slick with the shower the other night. I was only on slippers and my equilibrium as I trek through sharp stones and muddy steps and steep topography. There are three companions with me and I was placed third of the line to prevent the company from breaking. Definitely, I can’t be the last, or I’ll get lost in the wilderness. After an hour and a half, we were able to reach the southern entrance of Yungib. The odor from the mouth of the cave was irritating due to the waste products of the little bats that live inside. Being so adventurous, I lit up my cellphone, (Yes, I bought my cellphone for the light. Hahaha!) and entered the cave.

The entrance is about three and a half feet tall so we have to bow our heads as we enter. Lit by cellphone lights and some lighter penlights, we walked through Yungib. The first things that captured my attention are the stalactite and stalagmite formations throughout the cave. There are the sound of a few bats noisily flying every now and then. There are lots of forked pathways which either lead on dead ends or the other end of the cave. The terrain is moist, but not slick, uneven but not rocky. After a number of steps, we stopped on a cave spring and drank it with its naturally refreshing taste and coolness. After a few minutes, my cousin pointed the light down and something reflected the light. I was horrified to see that is was an earthworm as big as my middle finger. The company decided to go back from where we came because the lighting we brought may never suffice the trek in the dark. The cave system measures about 800 meters, and we only brought penlights and an 1112. What a shame!

Now returned to the mouth of the cave, my cousins caught a few snail to be cooked later on for lunch. The green snails were as big as a tennis ball. Guess that would pass for another ewwww. But then, this is provice, that’s their life. After catching a number of snails, we head back to the barrio.

January 13, 2008.

After the wedding reception, me, my big sis joined our uncle to trek the hills and visit the farms they are tending and see the northern entrance of Yungib. Just when I thought that the trekking would be easier, I was wrong. Though the terrain was drier than the other day, the land was steeper, rockier and unnoticeable. After an hour of trek from the barrio, we reached the chico farms. It was a clearing from the forest full of low-branching, fruit-bearing chico trees. It was a few hectares across. We came to pass also a few springs that my relatives were tending for water supplies. Indeed, those springs were a lot of help to the farming of the people. We were able to reach the northern entrance (pictured above) of Yungib after two hours of trekking. The view was magnificent. This place is better than the southern one. Indeed, the lengthy walk paid off. After a few shots and views, we head on to the rest of the farms. More chico and guyabano farms were there. We stopped for a while at the barong-barong in the midst of the forest where our uncle resided. There, we met our new Tita, (yes, he has a wife back in Manila with my four cousins) and their three children. We rested for a few minutes to drink and went back to the trekking. We reached the road and realized that we have gone to the other side of the hill! From there, e took a 20-minute tricycle ride back to Moroboro.