The Bat Caves

Now I’m going to tell you about the most terrible moment when I was in Boracay Islands. It was the time I explored the Bat Caves on the north east coast of Yapak.

Take a motorized pedicab from White Beach to Yapak.

Then a young man (unsightly !) took us a short hike through the forest to the mouth of Bat Caves.

It’s hard to walk on the jungle-paths with mud and decomposed plants and other organism (maybe!).

The mouth of the cave is littered with large boulders, and is extremely difficult to enter and walk down. There is no visible path, no handrail, and the stones are extremely slippery with slime and bat guano, as well as extremely dangerous, since the cave is at such an extreme angle.

Actually, I asked the guide not enter inside the caves anymore when I got halfway down the caves. But he convinced me that it would be very interesting to see nests of bats with my own eyes.

Furthermore, before beginning this trip, I got some information that many environmentalists, naturalists, photographers and brave souls willing to also come here. I am also an environmentalist (am I ?), then I must go inside to explore. That’s why I tried to continue although I was really really very scared and worried.

Here, you can see it through this pic. I entered the Bat Caves from the small hole over there.

I took this pic from the bottom of the cave.

The air inside the cave is very warm and humid, and in addition to the amount of guano, is very difficult to breath.

Come to nests of bats.

The ceiling of the cave with serried nests of bats made me flesh creep.

Down to bottom of the cave, it’s very dark. I heard the sound of water resource somewhere near the place I stood, so that I asked the guide show me where the water stream came from. He immediately let me take a look at the other mouth of caves, which go through the sea by his flashlight. I saw the current of water as well as a mass of sea snakes. At that moment, I shouted in dead scared feeling and hug the guide as an automatic reflex. My whole body was shaking with anger. It was really a terrible scene I have ever seen! Now think again, I wonder how I can hug a man really not handsome like him…hehe

He tried to calm down me and said that sea snakes would not bite us if we did not touch them. “Ma’am, they are just kids. The mother is over there!”, he said and turn the flash-light to the boulder near the way I entered inside the cave to show me an extremely big sea snake. Oh my god! I bursted into loud wails and hug him more closely. I strongly insisted him guide me the way breat out of this awful cave. He said that we must go up at the same way go down the cave, mean we must pass near by the boulder the big snake lies. Otherwise, we must cross the other mass of sea snake at the current water to the sea. No way! I must follow him to go up the old way we entered the cave. My heart was thumping, seem to go out of my thorax !!!

After go outside, my body was totally wet. I had just spent the most terrible moments in my life!!! Some of American people who stood at the mouth of cave, not enter the cave, must admire me a lot !

This is the second mouth of the Bat Caves, which goes through the sea. I took this pic at the time travelling around the Boracay Islands. The thousands of giant fruits bats with a wingspan of up to four feet will take their nocturnal flight for food at the sunset.

@ 13 May 2009