It was raining like heck for several days now and unfortunately some of my beloved things got soaked!!! Well, I got to sorting stuff out like books, magazines, souvenirs, and old pictures.

It was some sort of a revelatory thing for me to find pictures of my good old cave lurking days. I've been to a few caves back in the day when I had a fling for it. One of the most interesting caves I was able to get to was the Hoyop Hoyopan Cave in Camalig, Albay.

The word "hoyop" is in the local tongue of Iraya which literally means "to blow". The name of this cave comes from the fact that the wind freely blows into the cave's insides making a somewhat eerie blowing sound.

The cave is rather cool (a nice treat after a long hike). You get a guided tour too when you get there. If I remember right, the tour fee is about P100 (that was because I was with my comp Matt Langford -- everybody thought that I was as rich as the Amerikano and even started to call me "Hey Joe! Wachap? Wanna buy souvenir?" when I was obviously not).

Anyway, you get to walk around with the guide and back then they had lights on the walls so you could see where you're going, which is pretty neat. There are puddles of water every now and then so you better watch your step.

There are sections of the cave that are a bit stiff however where you would have to squeeze through (ah, the fun part). At the end of the thing is what the locals call the dance hall. There's a wide space in the middle of the cave where the floor is flat enough for one to move around, practice aikido, or dance (if you feel like it that is).

You'll also find several openings in this portion of the cave where you can have a view of the surrounding woodland. The air entering here is fabulous. Perfectly cool. And the owners have constructed concrete seats where tourists can rest and have a bite.

The cave is owned by the Nieva family. Here's how to get to it. You go to the Camalig Market at the center of town. You'll find a jeepney terminal there. Don't get on a tricycle (though tricycles can take you to Hoyop Hoyopan), they'll charge you like you were the king of France or the Pharaoh of Egypt, or Bill Gates (man, Windows XP still costs P8,000 a copy!!! Talk about over pricing for a license key of an OS they're phasing out).

Any way, back to topic. Take the jeepney. The fare is around P15 to P20 I think. Ask the driver to drop you off in Barangay Cotmon at the entrance to the Nieva property. To make things easier, just say you need to get off at the entrance of the Hoyop Hoyopan Cave, people seem to know the cave better than the family who owns the place.

Once at property entrance, walk in and you'll find a souvenir shop, a small office of some sort, and a little store where you can buy snacks. You can ask for a guided tour or you may choose to explore on your own. You want to take the guided tour when you enter for the first time. Go on your own after you've been in at least once. The cave isn't that big and they'll turn the lights on for you even if you go on your own.

I'll post pics tomorrow. I still have to scan and upload them. Man, I was still skinny when I took these pics. Anyways, that's one place you can check if you're backpacking in and around Albay Province in Bicol. It's a cool alternative to checking out Mayon Volcano.