Coolest. Thing. I’ve. EVER. Done. Period.
I almost can’t find the right words to describe how awesome of an adventure I had. Truly unforgettable. Actun Tunichil Muknal, or ‘ATM’ as it’s referred to, is one of the most adventurous things you can do in Belize - the trip takes you deep into the underworld that the ancient Maya called Xibalba. Our rickety little bus left San Ignacio at 7:30am and drove over an hour along the Western Highway towards Teakettle Village. We hiked for about 45 minutes through the jungle-like forest, on partially visible trails and earned a short lesson on botany while catching glimpses of rare butterflies - like the Owl Butterfly. We had to cross three rivers which were shallow (waist high) and not terribly wide. I think a few of us might have squealed with delight and we waded into the first river...there is something so completely thrilling about being on an adventure where you have to wade across water. With the first step in, as water fills your sneakers, rising up to soak your shorts - there is a moment when your brain tells you to ‘stop, something’s not right, we walk over water, not through it.’ But then you remember quickly that it’s all part of the adventure, and soon find yourself standing in the middle of Roaring River, looking in both directions on an endless ribbon of water, and you feel giddy standing there on those slippery rocks, fish swimming figure-eights around your ankles.
In short time, we made it to the wide, hourglass-shaped entrance of the ancient cave which is surrounded by lush jungle and beautiful pools of water with moss-covered rocks. It feels completely untouched and undisturbed and yet alive with the history of the ancient Maya who used the caves as their sacred spot - a bit like from the book of a childhood fairytale...utterly enchanting. We donned our helmets complete with headlamps, and dove into a slightly frosty 20-foot deep pool. After a brief swim into the caves, our feet touched rock and for the next three miles, we twisted and turned our way through the underground labyrinth, swimming, walking, and climbing our way deeper and deeper.
Giant shimmering flowstone rock formations left our mouths open in wonder, and in the next turn of the bend, we were awed by thick calcium-carbonate stalactites dripping from the ceiling. Water rushed around us, pooling in some places and moving with a fast current like a waterfall in other places. Our headlamps illuminated stalagmites growing up from the cave floor (in phallic arrangement), and tiny bats flew around the tall ceiling. It was massive inside the caves, kind of like a mountain that was hollowed out with an airiness reminiscent of gigantic ballrooms. It was mind boggling to think that we were underground, as anti-claustrophobic as it was.
At one point, our guide had us turn off our head lamps and clasp the right shoulder of the person in front of us - forming a human chain. At this point, he then lead us (in the dark) for about 15 minutes, us sloshing through the water, him chanting in Mayan - on our way to the sacred temple. It was unbelievable. In the darkest kind of dark, where you have to touch your eyes to believe that they are really open because it’s the same dark behind your lids as it is with your eyes wide open, we silently wormed our way through the cave, invoking the spirits of a past world. Most of us felt the hairs raise up on our necks - felt the presence of more than seven of us in those caves.
Finally, we reached the massive opening where we climbed up rocks to dry land, took our shoes off, and in sock-clad feet, moved gingerly about the hundreds of ancient pottery vessels and shards, and the few human remains. Some of the pottery was still intact and set in their offering, ritualistic fashion. One of the most shocking displays was a calcite-encrusted skeleton of a woman for whom ATM (Cave of the Stone Sepulcher) is named for.
ATM was discovered in 1989, and some of the artifacts found inside date back to at least 600AD. They believe to have about 200 ceramic vessels and the skeletal remains of about 14 humans (seven of them children), all almost certainly sacrificial victims to the gods. The legend says it was probably the rain god Chac (who dwelt in caves) that the Maya people offered sacrifices to in a time when the drought was severe in the second half of the 9th century.
Our journey back out of the cave labyrinth seemed to go more quickly than the trek in. Maybe we had become experts at rock climbing, our feet finding solid ground more easily in the waist high water pools of the caves. Because, somehow, when we saw the light of day at the opening of the cave and the enchanted forest came into view, it felt like those three hours of spelunking had flown by in mere moments. We were a lot quieter on the trek back through the forest and through the rivers too - but when I looked back over my shoulder at the stragglers behind me, I saw that each of them had a huge smile on their face. Yeah - we were all thinking the same thing. Coolest. Thing. Ever.
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