Enchanted Cave In Bolinao (Pangasinan)
The Enchanted Cave
The main object for my second day here in Pangasinan was the great attraction the nearby Municipality of Bolinao had to offer: The Enchanted Cave.
Going to Bolinao
I still was the only guest at the little bed and breakfast resort I was staying at called Olana Resort. There were two staff members (a couple with a baby) and the owner's wife. The male half of the couple actually offered to assist and come with me to the Enchanted Cave, and I said yes.
It was a one and a half hour bus ride to Bolinao and when we got there it was raining a little bit; we decided to visit the old Bolinao Church first for a little bit.
The church was about 400 years old, originally instated by the Spanish colonists. It's always so readily apparent inside and outside the Philippines' churches that the Spanish were very successful spreading the religion: almost all Filipinos are greatly devoted to Christianity (mostly Catholicism). We just roamed around a little bit, I blogged, and then we went out to have some lunch at a nearby eatery.
Enchanted Cave
My day tripping friend Reynold already arranged a tricycle for me before I finished my lunched, and off we went towards the Enchanted Cave.
When we arrived there was a parking place and a well-maintained land entrance point with a big sign, and a cool scale model of the Enchanted Cave Park itself. There were also monkeys on chains climbing and playing in the trees. It was well-kept, so before we even paid the entrance fee (150 PHP) and went inside the park, the sceneries were already quite enchanting.
The park itself is really nice, and very enchanting to walk through and take lots of pictures! It is like the textbook example of a picturesque place. Also there weren't too many guests, and all of Pangasinan (except for 100 Islands) doesn't seem to be overly touristic at all.
After we discovered the park, which was quite worth the 150 PHP (it's really nice); we had the opportunity to take a long pathway of stairs towards the top of a hill, where a big white cross was waiting for us.
It cost another 50 PHP a head to go up there, but we took the opportunity to climb on top of the holy cross. From up there we could see the Bolinao lighthouse, as well as a broad scenic view over the South China Sea.
It was time to go the actual Enchanted Cave, since it was almost closing time for the cave (5:30PM). When we got there, unfortunately there were many people still in the cave, so we waited for a bit. We were lucky in the end: we had about 10-15 minutes before closing time, the whole cave for ourselves, because the group had left ultimately.
The water in the cave is amazing to swim in, and crystal clear. It's really amazing when you have the luck to have it for you alone, or for yourself and your partner. If you're with your lover it's a very romantic experience, and you can swim all the way to the back where you can have some actual private time (there's a cave keeper in the front of the cave). I do actually think that going in just before closing time is the way to go, if you want some secluded time for yourself and/or your partner.
The Enchanted Cave is really highly recommend when in the neighborhood of Bolinao! And I urge you to watch the vlog I made from my experience to get a better view of how nice it really is to do this activity.
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