Sunday 4-17 Heading to the ATM Caves

In the previous Belize Zoo/TEC post I failed to provide any information about our bus driver/tour guide. His name is Manuel, a short stocky Belize native who appears to be in his late 30s or early 40s, is married and has three sons. Manuel is a very intelligent individual who speaks English with with a heavy Belize accent but has excellent enunciation, pronunciation, and vocabulary. He has a deep rich voice and when he speaks he sounds like he should be narrating a National Geographic special. A bus driver/tour guide is really a prestigious job in that country that requires rather rigorous schooling and licensing. Anyway, more about Manuel later.

I woke up at the Tropical Education Center just after sunup, took a cool shower to get my blood pumping, and then loaded my things into my back pack. Our group was scheduled second for breakfast at 7:15 so I went to the chow hall just for a cup of coffee. I took my coffe and went for a walk about down the long winding road that leads back to the entrance of the TEC. I was keeping my attention focused for any wildlife, especially birds. There is an observation deck at the TEC building that has pictures and descriptions of all the species of birds that habitate the area. When I reached the entrance to the TEC, I stopped to sip my coffee and look into the brilliant blue morning sky. A raucous noisy caught my attention, and I spotted a large black bird heading my way. The bird landed in the top of a pine tree not far above my head. It was a Toucan! We stared at one another and had a conversation that lasted I'm not really sure how long. When he was finished he flew away as effortlessly as he flew in, and for awhile, took me with him. Man, I wish I could do that.

After breakfast, we loaded up the bus and headed for the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) cave that is also locally known as "Xibalba."

We left the TEC and headed further west into Cayo. The bus turned of the main road and slowly traveled for several miles down a long, curvy, bouncy, deeply rutted, dirt and rock road. Once we arrived, we ate a bag lunch and then began the hike for miles into the jungle and had to cross several streams to reach the cave. Once there, we were each given a hard hat with a light and had to check the lights to make sure the batteries were charged and replaced them if needed.

Feels like we're on Survivor Island.

What a dork! 

From this point it was a short walk and a brief climb down some rocks to the mouth of the cave. There are two ways to enter the cave; either swim in through the mouth here or rapel down a 300' drop in the middle of the cave. Once we were inside the cave, Manuel asked that we maintain an air of reverence and respect. I have video of this trip that I will try to post at some point.

Chilly water!

As we traveled through the caves we were often in knee deep to chest deep water and at times were squeezing our bodies between jutting rocks to get further into the cave. The areas where artifacts were located are considered sacred. We had to remove our shoes so as not to damage any of the area and walk sock-footed so that the oils in our skin would not come in contact with the limestone floor or anything else. Nothing could be touched. They are insistent that no artifacts be removed from the cave by archeologists or anyone else. What is there belongs there and should stay there. I think if the cave were in other parts of the world, the artifacts would be removed and put into a Museum. The Belize Tourism Board grants licenses to only a few agents to conduct tours in the cave.

Inside the cave: That is Manuel to the far right at the front of the group. The only light in the cave was from Manuel's flashlight or the lights on our hard hats. There were times that all hard hat lights were turned off. There was only Manuel and his deep rich baritone voice describing a scenario. Almost like an ancient god's voice speaking in the darkness. Really cool.

The next pictures will be of pottery vessels that were left in the caves. Many were said to have held human blood for sacrifice to the rain god who was believed to dwell in the cave. Women would pierce their tongues and drain the blood into vessels and men would cut their genitals and drain blood into the vessels. 

If you look closely, you can see a special symbol on this vessel.

The last area that we entered is known as the cathedral. It is a small area carved high into the cave. To reach there, we had to climb a very tall ladder.

Liability issues would never allow this in the U.S.

Before you go to the next pictures, I ask that you view them with respect and reverence and say a blessing for them.

It was an amazing experience knowing I was standing and breathing where ancient Mayans had walked and held their rituals. Manuel disagreed with some archeologists interpretations of the Maya culture and called it BS.  He is very proud of the heritage and history of his country.

We had to exit the same way we entered, back through the cave and the water. The trip out was much more silent than the trip in.