Actun Tunichil Muknal Mayan cave ruins
Trip Start
Dec 12, 2006
1
45
55
Trip End
Mar 09, 2007
San Ignacio,
Belize
Friday, February 23, 2007
The cave is completely dark (duh), so we are each given a helmet with headlamp. Since we swim and wade through water, you pretty much only wear a bathing suit and your helmet. The walking, wading and swimming in to the cave where the Mayan sight is takes about an hour and there is about an hour hike to the entrance of the cave.
The caving was awesome. There werenīt many tight spots, there was a bit of crawling, but most of it involved walking and wading through water. At times we had to swim since the water was too deep to walk or wade through. The water is all fresh running water, I guess its kind of like an underground river through a cave. The toughest part was this water is really cold. So it was pretty funny hearing Jeremy, Jason and I squirm for warmth as water got higher up our legs to the family jewels region. I'm pretty sure my huevos where located somewhere around my throat during most of the trip. The next worst part was when water got up to the nipples. Damn it was cold.
Eventually we get to the point where you either continue down the rest of the cave system or branch off to the ceremonial sight. Now, I call it a ceremonial sight, but it doesnīt have an alter or anything. The Mayan Shamans basically came to this cave with torches and performed ceremonies in them. They did sacrifices in this cave. The sight consists of tons of pots, a few artifacts, and sacrificed skeletons that were left there. Its an archaeological sight, so we werenīt allowed to wear shoes or sandals, we all had to wear socks (wearing socks in a dirty cave is kind of weird). Since its a cave and all of these artifacts are so old, with time the artifacts have been covered and some completely consumed by minerals and calcium. This has actually helped them be preserved. The skeletons are covered over in a thick film of calcium and minerals, it looks so cool. Whats cool is that it has been surveyed and studied, but 98% of the artifacts have not been moved from their original location (many of them stuck to the cave because of the minerals).
Now keep in mind that this stuff is about 2000 years (yes two thousand years) old. And yes they let you walk amongst all of these artifacts, thats the crazy part. This stuff is over 2000 years old and you can walk amongst it, I still canīt believe it, they would never let you do this in the USA. If I wanted to, I could have reached down and touched a 2000 year old pot that some Mayan made and used for ceremonial purposes. We had to follow the guides and walk exactly where they did so that we didnīt step or break any pots. You could see where there were other pots that had been broken by people who werenīt careful where they walked.
Walking through there was absolutely amazing. We basically were walking through a living museum. There were no glass cases or anything separating us from these artifacts that were so old. I really canīt believe they allow guides (only two companies are certified and allowed to lead trips into the cave) to bring stupid tourists like us into an archaeological sight like this. Our guide was telling us that we were quite lucky because no one knows how long they will allow the cave to be open to tourists and the public and that it will eventually be closed off to the public. I canīt believe that its open to the public now, its pretty ridiculous. If they arenīt careful, tourists are gonna overrun and destroy that place.
I think this cave trip has probably been one of the most amazing things I have seen and experienced. Jeremy and Jason felt the same way. I like museums, but this was a whole new level. I think I got some awesome pics. Jeremy, Jason and I all agreed that this cave trip was by far the highlight of the trip.
