INSIDE GUA KERAMAT: PLUNGING INTO DEEP

It's my fourth times visiting this cave (see: Gua Keramat), but there's always something new about Misool. Tahun ini saya (akhirnya) mengambil kursus freedive, sebelumnya saya hanya "coba-coba" saja jika menyelam bebas turun saat di laut, dan memang meski baru punya skill tipis-tipis saja, it really feels different :) 

It's my fourth time visiting this cave (see: Gua Keramat), but there's always something new about Misool. This year I (finally) take the freedive course, while before I only did "trial" only if free diving down at sea, and indeed despite only have a little skill, it really feels different :)

Kini, saya bisa turun lebih lama, yang tentunya membuat saya dan Ferry juga dapat lebih melihat apa saja yang ada di bawah air di Gua Keramat. Kami juga ditemani MikhaelDominico, our freedive instructor from Apnea Culture.

Now, I could go down for longer time, which of course makes me and Ferry also can see better at what's under the water in the Gua Keramat (in English: Sacred Cave). We are also accompanied by Mikhael Dominico, our freedive instructor from Apnea Culture.

Area "pintu masuk" Gua Keramat berupa celah besar gua, di mana area bawahnya tertutup air laut, sehingga untuk masuk ke dalam gua harus berenang/ body rafting. Area masuk ini dangkal, dengan bagian dasar yang diliputi pasir dan sedimen yang mudah terangkat, sehingga menimbulkan "smoke effect" yang menarik.

The "entrance" are of Gua Keramat is in the form of a huge crack of the cave, where the underneath area covered by the sea, so to get into the cave we must swim / body rafting. The entrance area is shallow, the bottom  is covered with sand and sediment that is easily lifted, giving an interesting "smoke effect".

Mikhael exploring the cave

Kedalaman Gua Keramat maksimal sekitar 5 meter, dengan pasir putih dan lumpur di bagian bawah, namun formasi bebatuan yang muncul di tengah area datar, dan bebatuan di area pinggir gua serta stalagtit dan stalagmit yang sebagian terendam air membuat menyusuri Gua Keramat menjadi sangat menarik saat melihat di kedalaman.

The maximum depth of Gua Keramat is about 5 meters, with white sand and mud at the bottom, but the rock formations that appear in the middle of a flat area, and the rocks in the area of the edge of the cave and stalactites and stalagmites are partially submerged in the water make Gua Keramat becomes very interesting when viewed in depth.

Kami pun menemukan celah kecil yang cukup lebar untuk masuk, meski hanya ada ruangan kecil di dalamnya. Hampir tidak ada binatang di area gua, kami hanya menemukan ikan-ikan kecil saja, di area yang menuju ke pintu keluar Gua Keramat.

We also found a small gap which is wide enough to get in, even though there is only a small room in it. There is almost no creature in the area of the cave, we found only small fish, in the area that led to the exit of the Gua Keramat.

Kali ini saya mendapatkan experience yang berbeda, Gua Keramat tidak terasa spooky, namun lebih menarik. Masih ada area-area di bawah air yang belum kami eksplorasi, hopefully next time we can see more from what's underneath :)

This time I got a different experience, Gua Keramat did not feel spooky, but more interesting. There are still some areas under water that we have not explored, hopefully next time we can see more from what's underneath :)

  

@marischkaprue - having fun in surface and below

Photos by Ferry Rusli 

Also see the video here:

NOTES:

• Misool terletak di area Selatan Raja Ampat. Misool adalah salah satu pulau dari 4 pulau utama di Raja Ampat, area di Pulau Misool dan sekitarnya ini juga disebut Misool.
• Misool located in the southern area of Raja Ampat. Misool is one of the 4 main islands in Raja Ampat. The area around Misool Island is also called Misool.
• Untuk menuju ke Misool ambil penerbangan menuju Sorong. (Penerbangan Jakarta - Sorong biasanya via transit di Makassar, budget Rp. 4 juta PP). Dari Sorong dilanjutkan dengan speed boat selama 4-5 jam perjalanan.
• To reach Misool, take a flight to Sorong (Flight from Jakarta to Sorong usually via Makassar. The usual ticket price for return ticket Jakarta - Sorong - Jakarta is around 350 USD). From Sorong you can continue with speed boat, around 4 to 5 hours boat trip.
• Terdapat homestay Harfat Jaya di Pulau Harapan Jaya, Misool dengan budget sekitar Rp. 400.000,- hingga Rp. 500.000,- per orang per hari.
• There is a homestay in Harapan Jaya Island, Misool. Harfat Jaya homestay cost about 34 USD to 43 USD per person per day.
• Sewa kapal ke Misool sangat mahal sehingga untuk mendapatkan budget trip sekitar 6 juta selama 5 hari, anda harus share hingga 20 orang dalam satu kali trip. Lebih baik ikut penyedia trip seperti Tukang Jalan yang menyediakan Misool Trip dengan budget di bawah Rp. 6 juta (exclude tiket pesawat). Contact Tukang Jalan di 081315890191 / 087888002004, atau Whatsapp/ Line di 08180689303/ 085810697553.
• Renting a speedboat to Misool is highly expensive, to get a 509 USD budget for 5 days exploring Misool, you will need to share speedboat cost with around 20 person on one trip. I suggest you to join open trip such as Tukang Jalan who provide Misool Trip with budget under 509 USD (exclude plane ticket). You can contact Tukang Jalan through 081315890191 / 087888002004, or Whatsapp/ Line di 08180689303/ 085810697553.
• Penginapan yang tersedia hanya homestay, pilihan lain adalah Misool Eco Resort dengan rate Rp. 5,8 juta per orang per hari. 
• The only accomodation available is homestay, for more comfortable choices you can stay at Misool Eco Resort with rate around 492 USD per person per day. 

***