Lanquin and Semuc Champey

Alright so after dealing witht two bouts of food poisoning, a sliced open foot, severe chest cold, and bed bugs (ALL in the last two weeks), I've concluded that either I've reaaaaally pissed someone off in the karma system, or I'm being punished for ignoring this blog for so long. My theory is that if I do 1.6 million random acts of kindness, and update this thing, I should be alright.

So Katie provided an epic account of Mirador- truly a life-changing experience. We continue to run into some of the friends we've made there along this Gringo Trail we're traveling, and we couldn't be happier about it! Seeing as how we've been absolutely terrible at updating this blog, we'll work to take you guys up to date bit-by-bit, since no one wants to read a 20-paragraph blog entry.

Once we returned to Flores from Mirador, Katie, Sofia, and I booked a bus to Lanquín, to check out the glorious pools of Semuc Champey. We landed at the Zephyr Lodge, a beautiful spot with sweeping views of the valley and crystal river below. In fact, we spent Christmas Day tubing down that very river with a crew from Zephyr and a bag of beers (props to Brenda the beer wench, nicely done!). Christmas night consisted of an awesome party, complete with tequila shots and one very epic speech by Dieter (a Guatemalan who was taught to drink by Irish guys... this man is a legend).

We took a day off to recover, and then all hopped in the back of a pickup truck and arrived at Semuc Champey after a very bumpy 20 minute ride. The day was pretty action-packed; first we explored a water-filled cave using only candles (easier than you might think... definitely a unique experience). After that it was time for the infamous rope swing. Everyone we'd talked to said they got absolutely WRECKED on this thing, but we all did pretty well. Except for that one girl... but I'm sure she's recovered by now. Because we hadn't had enough action yet, we decided to jump off the 30 foot bridge on our way to the park.

Hiking around the park was awesome, with the gorgeous views being well-worth the climb. Semuc Champey's main attraction is a series of crystal blue pools formed by the Cahabón River. They're stepped, so water flows down from one to another, and there are endless possibilities for jumping and climbing. After we'd exhausted all our energy, it was time to clamber back into the pickup and force our jello-like limbs to cling on for the jolting ride home. 

We spent another day at Zephyr enjoying the views and meeting some fantastic, Jager-loving Aussies who promptly awarded me the nickname of Reginald, or Reggie for short. I've been going by Regan down here, since the whole "Cait and Katie" thing seemed to be confusing for people, and we were both sick of responding only to find that it was the other Caitlin/Katelyn being summoned. Anyway, after our fun-filled stay at Zephyr, it was time to head to Antigua to kick off the New Year! 

Actun Tunichil Muknal

Actun Tunichil Muknal ("Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre"), abbreviated ATM, refers to an expansive network of caves outside San Ignacio in the Cayo District of Belize. Inside it are immaculately preserved Mayan artifacts and human sacrifices. The ancient Maya believed caves to be a passageway connecting them to Xibalba, or the underworld. Offerings of food, water, and sometimes humans were brought deep inside the caves, and used in elaborate rituals- some asking for better crops or rain, others for guidance in matters of war. As the Maya civilization began to decline, the offerings became more and more frequent.

The tour we booked through Mayawalk allowed us the opportunity to see these ruins and experience the history up close and personal. Our guide's name was Aaron Juan, and he has been running these tours for about 15 years now. Before tours were offered to the public, he worked closely with archaeologists studying the caves, and knows ATM inside and out. He is hands down the most experienced and most thorough guide in all of San Ignacio. During the drive to the site and the hour-long hike to the cave, Aaron was full of stories, Mayan history, and jokes. He pointed out various plants that have practical uses in the jungle, and got us all psyched for the cave itself.

We reached the opening to ATM, and after a quick dip in the pools outside the mouth of the cave and some lunch, our crew was ready to head inside. Overall it was an eerie feeling; I'd never been deep inside a cave system before, and therefore had never experienced such a profound and total darkness. Our headlamps did little to mitigate the blackness that enveloped us, and many times Aaron had us stop and switch off our lamps, holding hands as he told us a story or simply had us imagine what it would have been like a thousand years ago, being guided by torches instead of headlamps. The other groups rushed through the tours, so many were heading out as we were heading in, resulting in the 8 of us being the only people in the entire cave network for a majority of the adventure.

I'll let Katie tell you the specifics of what we saw, but overall it was an epic experience. I can't deny a feeling of unease that I carried with me throughout the journey until we reached daylight again. The relief I felt at emerging back out in the jungle sun was more profound than I'd expected. Maybe it was being engulged in complete darkness, or imagining what the ancient Maya felt and saw as they journeyed to Xibalba. Aaron told us at the beginning that Actun Tunich Muknal effects everyone differently, and for me it was definitly an adventure I'll never forget.

When you first set your eyes on the entrance of the cave, it just might take your breath away. Like something out of the jungle book, the tall stone mouth of Xibalba is surrounded by lush green plants and from the mouth a deep stream flows down into a series of refreshing pools which we happily took a dip in before gearing up with helmets and headlamps and heading in.  

We swam into the mouth of the cave like a line of little ducklings following one another and soon found ourselves in another world.  The first cavern makes you realize just how small you are, and suddenly you sense the foreigness of your environment.  As Caitlin said before, the atmosphere of the cave affects each person differently, some feel scared, some sad and so on.  For me, at first I was simply in awe, but the ominous beauty of things creeps over you slowly and for a few moments my heart was beating faster and my mind was racing.  Soon after Aarons introduction, we moved further into the depths and he pointed out a few cave dwelling insects such as cockroaches, spiders (yes, just sitting on rocks and crawling up walls) crickets, and catfish.  We walked through wide shallow passages filled with stelagtites and stelagmites, and maneuvered through small crawl spaces that made you feel like a contortionist.  

Upon arriving at the point within the cave system where we would need to climb up into higher caverns where the offerings and sacrifices were made by the Maya, Aaron told us we had only gone 1/4 of a mile in even though it felt like we were in the belly of the beast.  We helped eachother make the ascent into the dry cave system where we were very careful to stay in line and listen closely to Aarons instruction -well, most of us anyway... ;) we wont name you fellow blogger.  The first things we saw were many offerings, broken pots of all sizes, and stones where fires were made with scorch marks on the cave ceiling.  Calsification has left many artifacts unearthed but also has done a phenomenal job at naturally preserving the skeletons as well. Many skulls were believed to be from royality, and the Mayans would alter the shape of the skull by placing a board on an infants forhead, making it long and flat as the bones fused together.  The teeth on some skulls were also visible, and were shaped into petals .  

The last skeleton was by far the most amazing , and was reffered to as The Crystal Maiden , a fully preserved skeleton body whose sex is still in debate as of today. The body is located at the highest and deepest part of this section, signifying great importance and is believed to be the last human sacrifice made there before collapse.

The overall feeling was unreal, you emerge from the cave back into the jungle feeling relief that the light of day is back in your sights, and a great appreciation for being able to go back in time and actually feel the presence of that era all around you. To ATM and this adventure, I hold great admiration.