Lilly_annew's travel blogs:
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Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM)
Entry 17 of 29 | show all | print this entry |
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I felt privileged to go on this trip because you could never have done this in the United States. We started out with a group of 10, plus 2 guides and a driver in this squeaky, rattly, van that felt like it was about to fall apart. It was understandable though as the road to get to the cave trail was one of the worst roads I've been on. We hiked through the jungle about a mile, fording the river once. It was about knee deep so not too hard. The jungle was a "Real" jungle. So lush with huge fern fronds 50 ft. high. The biggest ferns I have ever seen. There were vines hanging everywhere. We didn't get an time to explore the jungle as the focus of this trip was the cave. I hope to do some jungle exploring another time. When we got to the entrance to the cave we stopped to have lunch, provided with the trip. Then they split us into two groups of five. I thought we were going to swim through a lake to get into the cave but, it turned out that we swam and waded up the river that flowed through the cave system. In other words, about 1/2 mile of walking and swimming through the river. I did a lot more swimming than the rest of them since I was a lot short and a lot of the time I couldn't touch the ground without putting my head under water. The water was pretty warm though. So it actually felt good. I felt like I was in a National Geographic Special to be swimming and wading through a beautiful cave system with calcite stalagmites, stalactites, and flow stone formations all around me. There were also yellow sulfur stalactites and so many shapes and colors, white yellow black and all the combinations in between. A number of times we were squeezing our way through sections of the cave where you had to crouch and slide your way through. We were not allowed to touch any of the crystal formations but, thee were many times when we were using our hands and feet on walls because you could not get through otherwise. At one point about 2/3 of the way through out trip we left the river and climbed up a wall into another chamber. This is the main ceremonial chamber whee the largest number of artifacts are found. We hiked about 1/3 of a mile more to get to the chamber. We had to be very careful where we stepped because there were pottery fragments and human remains scattered all around this area. Dave got a ton of pictures of the trip because he had his underwater camera. I managed to get a few pictures in the dry portion since our guide took the cameras in a dry bag. We had to leave our shoes and walk in socks in the dry section because they didn't want any damage from shoes or oils from our feet to damage the surface. It was an awesome trip. Well worth the $80 US. At times I felt guilty for walking over some of the surfaces because I know how long it took for those surfaces to form. It didn't feel right to be there but, I'm sure glad I had the opportunity before it gets closed up for good. I can't believe they'll be able to continue these trips for too much longer.
After the trip they took us up to Clarrisa Falls Resort where we had reservations. We are staying in a thatched roof cabana that is a little dingy and worn but, it has hot water, electricity and plenty of room. The grounds are lovely and they have pet turkeys and geese wandering around. One goose guards the mens room for the open air restaurant and would chase Dave away every time he tried to use it. Dave started going to the cabana to "do his business," as Theresa would say, because the goose had him scared shitless! Pun intended. We were hoping for something a little nicer but, it's close to where we want to go the next couple of days. So we are going to stay here anyway. The hosts are cheerful, helpful and very friendly which really makes a difference.
Dave has developed huge blisters on his toes from all the hot, humid hiking and walking we've been doing. So, we are hoping to visit the botanical gardens tomorrow where he will, hopefully, not have to walk as much. Dave is still raving about the botanical gardens we visited on the big island of Hawaii. so, he has high expectations. I hope he isn't disappointed. My gut tells me this one isn't going to be as nice. We saw fire bugs in our room tonight. They were so bright I couldn't believe it. That's the first time either of us have seen them They were very cool. More thumbnails ...
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