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Reubs in the jungle near the cave entrance. |
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We took a day off to "relax" by going
caving. Here, the first group hikes down to the cave entrance
where they will swim into the darkness. A few years ago, National
Geographic produced a documentary called, Journey to the
Underworld, in which they detail this cave. |
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Entrance to the Underworld. Günther (burgundy
shirt) and Doreen (blue shirt) wait their turn to swim into the cave
behind the rest of their party. |
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Fourteen human sacrifices have been found in the cave so
far. Look carefully and you can see the forehead has been
flattened and the front two teeth are castellated (having notches cut
into them like the top of a castle wall).
(Don't forget to enlarge the pictures!)
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Reuben admiring the splendor of a candelabra stalagmite.
Want to know a secret? Mammoth Cave in Kentucky is nowhere near as
awe-inspiring as this cave! |
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Jutta, Cole, Bill, & Sergio pause
on a complex of pool-forming "rim dams." Note the
sock feet to exercise "due regard" for the cave's formations. |
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Our group's guide, Rafael Guerra. He's
studying to be an archeologist, and is involved in a dig on
Pook's Hill where several burials have been found. His knowledge of the cave's geology is impressive,
and left us with very few questions to ask him! Thanks for an
outstanding tour, Rafael! |
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"Crystal" These are the sprawled
skeletal remains of a woman that seems to have been hauled back to this
spot deep in the cave and simply dumped off as though from over one's
shoulder. The bones are encrusted with calcite crystals, hence the
"fake" appearance.
Seeing her was rather sad, actually.
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Our group pauses near a large
"bacon stalactite" also referred to as an "accordion"
stalactite while Reubs (left) and Bill (right) pose for a picture.
That's Susan in the background with Jutta and Sergio(?). |
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Cole, Jutta, Sergio, & Bill.
(Sorry I cut ya off, Cole.) |
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Reuben takes a sec, then takes yet another
plunge. What a great experience!
Reubs (left) and Cole (right) ford one of the cave's many
pools. There were several places where the water was too deep to
touch bottom adding to the thrill of it all.
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Cole & Sergio in a portion of the cave's
shallower waters. |
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Bill, Cole & Sergio making their
way. |
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Jutta (left) Cole (middle) and Sergio (right) examine a
particularly interesting formation of stalactites. |
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Reuben crawls out of the hole he came from!
What??? |
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Bats! The arrows point to two blurred bats in flight
behind Reuben. These tiny cave residents were darting by at
amazing speed, but never hit a thing... not even my face! |
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Here's Reuben in another hole. I couldn't
resist climbing down into this tight complex of large boulders that formed a
drain for the water rushing through it. (It sounded like a giant
flushing toilet!) Unfortunately, I'm
blocking most of the opening, so the current isn't clearly visible,
though it was surprisingly strong and could have easily drawn me down
had I let go of the rocks. No worries though, I simply would have
swam out the other side of the complex. |
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Bill, this is an excellent shot! I hope you, your
friends and family get lots of enjoyment out of it. |
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This is the guide that lead us through the jungle
to and from the cave. He had a pleasant accent in his soft-toned
voice that I still can't place. It was unlike any other I heard in
Belize. |
