ATM ... plus! 10/21-10/22, 2023

Today (Saturday) we'd be challenged. After breakfast, our little bus took us over eight miles of a winding, rough limestone road, through citrus orchards and cornfields, to drop us off at the starting point for our exploration of Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave. No cameras or phones were allowed inside the cave, so I can't show you any pics, except those before entering the cave, and those of others who somehow got photos.

Suited up, ready to go:  Israel, Fred, Florence, Anita, Cait, Andy, Jill, Margaret, me, Karen, Jane, and Jimmy.  We had to don life jackets and hard hats with headlamps, sturdy shoes and sox.  We brought backpacks with dry clothes to change into after we emerged.

I'll quote our Road Scholar info page for today.  "This arduous, rewarding activity will begin with 45 minutes of hiking that includes river crossings (the first through chest-high water, pulling yourself along with a rope, as you see above) and wading in knee-high water.  Once at the cave entrance, we will swim through the opening and start a four-hour journey inside the cave.  This activity will require endurance, strength, agility and balance."  Photo by Suzy.

At the cave entrance.  Pic by Larry Waight

I can tell you that this was probably the most taxing activity I've ever done.  We had to swim and climb and clamber and squeeze and hoist ourselves over boulders through the cave labyrinth of interlocking chambers.  We had two certified ATM guides who assisted us; otherwise, we'd have been lost within the first two minutes!  As you would expect, the cave is pitch black.  On a scale of 1 to 10, this cave is about a 6 in terms of difficulty, due to the long hike and "some climbing."

Aside from all that, the cave itself was impressive with natural beauty; i.e., stalactites and stalagmites, columns, draperies and bacon.

"The volume of archaeological discoveries in the ATM is truly stunning. Over 1400 human artifacts have been discovered, all of them dating from 250 to 909 AD. The combination of pottery, tools, weapons, and vessels for water tell a tale of a broad and advanced society, and the scope of the discoveries make it one of the most worthwhile finds in archaeological history.  Many of the stories that can be gleaned from the ATM Cave are rather bleak in nature. It's believed that as part of their sacred rituals, the Mayas used the cave to conduct human sacrifices. Well-preserved human skeletons are just as prodigious in the cave as handmade artifacts are, but the most famous of these finds is the 'Crystal Maiden'."  (Above, Wikipedia)  It's now believed the remains are of a young/ish man.  We scrambled one last time into a nook to see the calcified skeleton.  And then ... and then, we made our way down and out of the cave.  (with only minor scrapes and bruises!)

* * * * *

We were so wiped out from our ATM adventure, as well as our many ruins-climbing of previous days, that all but two of us elected to do the "less strenuous" Caves Branch cave tubing adventure the next day (Sunday) rather than the hiking/rappelling at Black Hole.  Called Footprints Cave after calcified Mayan footprints were found deep within the cave, they were too far in for us to view.  We were looking forward to this different cave tour!  

Gathering together at Caves Branch,

just a hop-skip-jump from our Eco-lodge at Jaguar Creek.

Again with the helmets/headlights, life vests, and this time:  tubes.  From left, Jimmy, Margaret, me, Anita, Jane, Cait, Jill, Andy, Florence.

Ready to tube into (against the current!) the cave mouth.

Our two experienced cave guides assisted us as we tubed through the "refreshing" water.  Not cold, mind you, the water felt cool in the tropical heat.  We put aside the tubes a couple of times and set off on foot when the water became too shallow.  The cave floor was rocky and, of course, wet, and walking wasn't easy.  Not as much as yesterday, we still had to clamber over boulders and rocky formations.  I took my waterproof red camera.  We chased bats off their ceiling perches.

At one point, the guides picked up two wet sedimentary rocks, scraping one against the other, and "painted" our faces with red and black (mine was blue) lines.  Enjoyed this!  We were trying to look fierce in the pic, haha, above.

Several times we stopped to examine Mayan artifacts, as above.  It was kind of thrilling to be able to see and touch these items. 

Like the famous Waitomo (glow worm) Cave in New Zealand, Caves Branch has a gnat fungus.  Anita touched one of the gossamer strands, and a tiny "caterpillar" dropped down, surprising, even stunning, her.  She jumped back! 

The cave decorations made us ooh and aah.  Helmet lighting wasn't conducive to good pictures, sorry to say, but you get the idea.

Climbing up to this point, we could see this amazing large piece of pottery which was off-limits to us, but a guide (I think it was Hector) climbed up to take a photo for us to see.  On two sides near the top were markings that may be a signature.

And then there's this Mayan facial mask.  Eerie with a headlamp shining on it.  Fertility god?  Fertility chamber?  This was as far as we went inside the cave.  We made our way down to the water and our tubes, floating downstream for a bit with headlamps off (so dark, I didn't like that).  What an adventure we're having.

Believe it or not!

Lunchtime in the cave!

Our guides brought in lunch in their packs and set it up, complete with lit candelabra.  We made our own burritos and wolfed them down! Talk about different, talk about a cool, fun thing to do!

While we consumed those burritos, we waded in shallow water with the catfish.  We also spotted a cave crab and some kind of big cave spider (bleah), but that may have been in the ATM cave.  Whatever ...!

And finally, we floated on out into the sunshine to our exit point, with a walk to the bus and back to our lodge, a shower and dry clothes.  Man-oh-man, two days of caving.  Are we lucky or what?  We'd already packed our bags as we were again transferring to a new hotel on the coast.  Through the Maya Mountains to the peninsula and the Umaya Resort.  What a trip this has been so far!

Xunantunich, 10/20/23

San Ignacio Resort in San Ignacio is a beautiful place, full of lush greenery and lots of birdlife.  The sun gets up early here and so do we.  Of course, Jimmy and I are looking for coffee, which we invariably find, but I also come armed with binocs and a camera.  We sit outside on the deck to slurp and spot.  One of the restaurant workers is a birder and he helped me find the birds I heard and he also got the great Toucan pics for me.  We had to pack our bags and have them outside by 7:30/ish, as the group is moving again.  I will miss this wonderful hotel, but I'm sure the next one will be great, too.

Most of these are new birds for me.  Top left to bottom left:  Golden-fronted Woodpecker (who refused to turn around), Red-lored Amazon parrot, Keel-billed Toucan, Brown Jay, Toucan again!, Kiskadees.  All before breakfast.

Xunantunich, you wonder.  We practiced saying the word.  And then Israel gave us an easy way to remember how it's pronounced:  Shoe-nah-toon-itch, accent on nah.  Kinda like that.  It's an ancient Mayan archeological site in Western Belize, about half a mile from the Guatemalan border.  Today we'd check it out.  We picked up Jason, the local guide, in San Ignacio.

While we've enjoyed days with no rain, somewhere in the highlands it rained and the Mopan River had risen.  We needed to cross the river by (hand-cranked) ferry to get to the site, but our little bus wouldn't be allowed on because of the river's swift current.  So ... once across, the group set off up on a mile uphill climb to get to the ruins.  Yowza, hot and humid.

Nevertheless, here's the group, smiling and all sweaty and glad to have arrived at Xunantunich. Front row, from left: Anita, Karen, me, Margaret, Cait. Back row from left: Jimmy, Jill, Fred, Florence, Jane, and Andy.

Apparently Xuna served as a ceremonial center to the Belize Valley region and at its peak, nearly 200,000 people lived there.  In Mayan language, the name means "Maiden of the Rock" or "Stone Woman."  Above you see the group in front of El Castillo (the castle), which we're fixin' to climb.  As we heard it and as Wiki reports:  The "Stone Woman" refers to the ghost of a woman claimed by several people to inhabit the site, beginning in 1892. Dressed completely in white with fire-red glowing eyes, she generally appears in front of El Castillo, ascends the stone stairs, and disappears into a stone wall.  We were hoping to NOT see her today!

Instead, we saw this Spiny Iguana (and several others).

Part-way to the top,

we ascended these steps to get to the next level.

Most of us posing on a narrow stone ledge.

This wee fruit-eating bat was resting in an alcove ceiling.

Wow!  Below El Castillo you see two people walking away.  Wow!

The ancients built high on ridges so they could monitor anyone coming near.  And then they built these impressive temples and palaces, one layer atop another, and everyone in our group talked about how difficult it must have been for folks back then to climb to the top.  They were short people.  We guessed they'd go up and down the same way we did (on the steep stone steps) -- with hands and feet.  Hauling and placing these massive limestone blocks to begin with ... ohmygod!  (Yes, I'm making the Yuba River famous)

These guys were coming down a different set of stairs.

At this point, Jason (in aqua shirt, facing the group) was telling about human remains found in this particular structure behind him.  Excavations continue at Xunantunich.  The tree in front is an All Spice tree, or Pimienta.

Roadside Hawk, left, and it looks like a Rose-bellied Lizard at right.  I spotted these guys on our way down to the ferry.

Ours was the last group to cross the Mopan River on the ferry, because of the water's height and current.  The fella in the orange shirt at left is cranking the ferry across.  The other guy dropped into the hole to retrieve the sign.

Lunch was at Benny's a short distance from the ferry, and nearly everybody ordered the Pipil, with empanadas as an appetizer.  And Soursop juice to help revive us from the heat.  Very good meal.  Goodness, we were pretty drained from our day.  Back on the bus, we rode toward Jaguar Creek, our next hotel destination, an Eco-Lodge nestled in the rainforest.

Well, now!  Jaguar Creek has 12 cabanas connected by boardwalks to each other, the restaurant, lobby and more.  Our cabana has one bedroom with a queen-sized bed, as well as another bedroom with double bunk beds, living room, and bathroom.  It's gorgeous.  But what it doesn't have is hard walls or air conditioning!  Or radios, clocks or TV's or hairdryers.  The outside walls are screened.  Ceiling fans stir the air and upright rotating fans blow the air where you want it.  This is the jungle!

Jaguar Creek flows on the property and guests could tube on the creek if the water was higher, but, alas, not at this time.  Everywhere you look are flowers, hummingbirds, butterflies, and lots of greenery -- like being transported to Jurassic Park.  The shower looked inviting, and it felt good to wash off, and it didn't take the group as a whole to disappear into the night and their peaceful cabanas and comfy beds.

We'll be here for two nights.  Tomorrow, Saturday, we'll tackle the ATM cave.  (Actun Tunichil Muknal cave)  Wish us luck.

Caracol, 10/19/23

 

I'm not sure, but when most people hear the word Belize, they think of beach resorts and snorkeling and fun-in-the-sunny-Caribbean Sea.  But there's much more to the tiny country of Belize (almost the size of New Jersey).  Did you know it used to be called British Honduras? -- which I didn't know before coming here -- and the national language is English, which makes it easy for us Americans.   It hosts a population of slightly more than 400,000 people.  

More importantly, Belize is rich in Mayan history and archeological sites, and today we'd visit Caracol, a fairly recently discovered Mayan site.  Some believe it may rival Tikal in Guatemala when further excavations are done.  A local guide named Gisele joined us on the bus and not only furthered our knowledge about the Mayan civilization and Caracol, she kept us entertained with Belizean anecdotes!

Our scenic drive from San Ignacio to Caracol would take us a couple of hours, first on 30 miles of paved road and through the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Preserve with stands of Caribbean pine, and then on 25 miles of jaw-jarring limestone.  That entire section is in the process of being paved, which might allow Caracol to be overrun with tourists, sorry to say.  We were lucky to be just about the only folks at the site and it was a treat not to fight crowds.

Not a cat, it's an Agouti.

The Mayans considered these giant Kapok (Ceiba) trees sacred, the Tree of Life.

We're entering the site ... which was first reported by a native logger named Rosa Mai, who came across its remains in 1937 while searching for mahogany trees to exploit.  You'd need a good or practiced eye to see mounds or mini-mountains covered in thick jungle and believe more existed below.  Imagine having to peel back the jungle, like peeling an onion, one layer at a time to expose the temples.

In 2009, the use of LIDAR was introduced here and mapping revealed so much more to this site than originally thought.  Skeletons, some calcified, have been found, as well as artifacts, monuments, and pottery.

Above and below:  I wish I could remember the details of these reproductions, but I can't.  One was on the right and one on the left of a "pyramid."

Climbing up.  Whew.  I'll just say it right here that even though the day was partly overcast, it was flat-out hot and humid.  We were all wringing wet with sweat in short order.

Made it to the top!  The large green terrace below us was the halfway point.  The smaller green lawn below that was ground level.  We look happy that "we did it!"  We'd been advised to wear long pants because of mosquitoes.  Everyone sprayed bare arms and necks.  Didn't matter for me:  I managed to step on an invisible Fire Ant bed and ended up with a bunch of nasty bites on my feet.

A zoomed in shot.  So much history to relate.  Too much for a blog post.  If you're interested, take the time to look up Caracol.

Israel, our guide, demonstrating where the Mayan "head honcho" would sit.

We descended sideways, like crabs, climbed more ruins, and then returned to where we began. Lunch was served, and then it was back on the bus, but this time we had an intermediate destination.

Brazilian Red-cloak.

We'd passed the Rio On Pools site on our way to Caracol. And, by gum, we'd brought our bathing suits and towels. A busload of hot, sweaty people were grateful to jump into the water! We splashed around for a while, and then, yup, back on the bus, with yet one more destination!

The Rio On tumbles down huge granite boulders, forming waterfalls and swimming pools at every level.  We pretty much stayed at one level.

You might see my head!

The question was raised -- Who wants to stop for coffee on the way to the hotel?  Everyone, was the answer!

The group doing one of the things we love to do.  Drink coffee.  Grown and roasted on the farm, bagged and sold.  Hit the spot.

Oh we had a long, active and very fascinating day, on the bus at 7:30am, arrival at the hotel at 5:30pm.  The group as a whole was exhausted.  After showers and dinner, most of us were early to bed.  Tomorrow would be another busy day.  Goodnight.