Canyoning Downstream the Blanca Aurora River in Samar

After visiting a place, the journey going back is usually pretty uneventful. Packing up your gear and heading home is usually not even worth writing about. But after visiting the stunning Pinipisakan Falls and spelunking in Sulpan Cave deep in the jungles of San Jorge, Samar, the journey going back was just as exciting. The third and last leg of our epic adventure involved riding the currents of the Blanca Aurora River downstream.

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The Cave Beyond a Waterfall: Sulpan Cave in San Jorge, Samar

Caves do not have mass appeal. Given a choice between a beach and a cave, most tourists I know would probably be packing their Instagram-worthy swimwear and flip-flops to bask on the sunny shores of a tropical island before you can even say “spelunking.”

I mean, why would anyone want to dangle hundreds of meters in the air to enter a hole in the ground leading to an unknown chamber, stumble around on slippery boulders in complete darkness, crawl through muddy passageways and swim through the frigid inky waters of underground canyons where who knows what could be lurking, waiting to reach up with their gigantic tentacles or venomous fangs to drag you down to the depths below?

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Pinipisakan Falls in San Jorge, Samar

Otherwordly. Ethereal, Magical. Like a scene from a children’s fairy-tale storybook, the two tiers of the waterfall cascade like a white curtain into a basin of clear blue water. From where we stand, the massive boulder formations carpeted with moss, wild ferns and tiny purple flowers provide a postcard-perfect viewing deck.

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