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The ATM Cave Revisited Saturday was our group's last day together and in the misty morning we all said goodbye before scattering in different directions. Our group of 16 "mature" (i.e., old) folks, plus the youngsters Kelsey and Alyssa, had worked together all week on various projects in several villages and many of us had formed bonds which I'm sure will last a lifetime. Several people headed down to the airport in Belize City to fly back to Portland, others went out to the keys in the Caribbean, while a small group of us more adventurous folks – Barbara, Judy, Kelsey and myself – decided to tour the ATM Cave, hidden deep in the jungles east of San Antonio.
I had explored the ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) Cave last year and described it, and my incredible experience there, in an update from last February. As I described in that entry, the ATM is a river cave that had been used by the ancient Mayan Indians for ceremonial purposes for hundreds of years, up until about 1200 A.D., when the Mayan civilization collapsed. The cave was re-discovered only recently, in 1989, and for nine years afterwards, only archaeologists were permitted inside. Then in 1998, the Belizean government began allowing limited public tours of the cave.
The ATM Cave is quite extensive, extending for at least a half-mile back into the hillside, and there are dozens, and perhaps hundreds, of ancient Mayan artifacts scattered throughout, in the exact same location and same pristine condition (well, mostly) as when they were last used by the Mayans over a thousand years ago. The Mayans used the cave for sacrifices, among other things, and 14 skeletons (mostly of young women) have been found in the cave so far. Exploring the ATM Cave is an unforgettable experience. Indeed, I'll never forget my first visit there a year earlier – nor my visit on this trip, I'm sure.
The four of us were picked up on Saturday morning at Log Cab-Inn and boarded a minibus with about a dozen other folks, then we rode for about an hour, down the highway and then on a dirt road through the jungle, until we reached the trailhead. From there, we hiked about a mile through the jungle while wading across several streams.
We finally reached the cave entrance and, after stripping down to our swimming gear, we each donned a plastic helmet with a headlamp. Then our small group of five, including our Belizean guide, swam into the cave – yes, that's right, we swam into it – and then sloshed and splashed our way back into the dark cavern for about a half-hour, totally mesmerized by the fascinating reddish limestone stalactites that drooped from the ceiling. The warmish water was ankle deep in some places, up to our waists in others, and in still others, it was over our heads, requiring us to creep along a ledge while grasping it with our fingers while trying to stay afloat.
After a half-hour of wading, swimming, sloshing, and scrambling over boulders, we reached a dry trail above the creek that eventually led to an assortment of Mayan pottery that had been left in place on the floor untouched for hundreds of years and well-preserved by the cave environment. From there we scaled a ladder and entered an upper chamber. Sprawled on the cave floor was the musty skeleton of a 14-year old Mayan girl who had been sacrificed in the cave over a thousand years ago. We spent a somber moment in the chamber viewing the skeleton, then turned around and splashed our way back to the cave entrance, finally emerging into the blinding daylight.
Visiting the ATM Cave is a singularly unique experience, but unfortunately it's becoming so popular and crowded that the government is considering closing it to the public. I had visited the cave the year before so I knew what to expect, but my companions, Kelsey, Judy and Barbara, were totally blown away.
Above left: Admiring the limestone formations on the ceiling. Above right: Del's having fun.
Above left: Kelsey and our guide at a water-covered rock. Water percolates through the soil hundreds of feet above and drips down from the cave walls into the stream. Above center: After a half-hour of wading through the stream, and deep in the cave, we hiked on a dry trail and admired the pottery that was left here over a thousand years ago by the ancient Mayans. Above right: Kelsey is having fun, too.
Above left: The happy crew somewhere deep in the cave. Above right: My legs took a real beating that week. The splotches are chigger bites from working in the villages. And the night before, Jonny ran over my foot with his SUV because I had to jump out of it while it was still moving (a long story). Then on Saturday I got a bloody gash in the ATM Cave while stumbling over a rock. Belize can be hazardous to your health.
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