Day 7: ATM Cave and 4th of July

When I was first told the dates that I would be going to Belize, my initial thought was "Nooo, I'm going to miss the 4th of July!". I've always LOVED this holiday, probably because I love being out in the sunshine, grilling (veggies!!), and watching all 3 fireworks shows from Mission Beach. But I told myself that was a silly reason to be bummed and that I would make sure I had the BEST DAY EVER in Belize....and that I did :-D

I awoke this morning, anxious for the ATM cave trip I had booked. I don't like spiders, I don't like snakes, I don't like bats, I don't like enclosed spaces, I don't like the dark!!! Why the heck am I doing this? Well, because I'm a sucker for the "unforgettable, don't miss experience" ads, aimed directly at tourists like me.

Even though the website says shorts are okay, I know myself; I tend to be a klutz and bruise/scar really easily, so I opt into wearing yoga pants, a tank, and sneakers. The van picks me up at 830am at the bottom of the hill; I hop on and introduce myself to the three other passengers and we immediately start sharing our experiences in Belize thus far. Myra is traveling from Vietnam along with her boyfriend Vin, who lives in New York; and Bukie is a fun, enthusiastic girl from DC. A little while later, we pick up another couple from New York (London and Lianne), and so begins our journey together...

We arrive at the gate of ATM cave. We are instructed to be sure we use the bathroom because this is the last of the facilities and absolutely no one is allowed to pee or do #2 in the cave; if we must, we have to go in a bag and carry it out!! The locals are very protective of their pristine water sources and we are told that we cannot wear sunscreen or bug repellant. Our tour guide, Daniel, tells us "You come to our Country, you deal with our bugs and the sun. If you cannot handle it, you should not come to our Country." Okay, point made. All 6 of us look at each other in shear terror, already imagining the swarm of bugs that will be engulfing us as we hike through the jungle. Luckily I put repellant on my arms and ankles before I left my house; and I sneak a little on my neck and ears when our tour guide isn't looking ;-) We are also told absolutely no cameras. If the rangers catch us with a camera, they will confiscate it. We all reluctantly leave our valuables in the tour van and hope to see our treasured items again!

After all of the rules, we begin the 2 mile hike through the rainforest. I wish I knew more about the plants we are passing, but our tour guide is a bit of a drill sergeant and keeps yelling at us to walk faster as he charges full speed ahead. I'm on high alert for mosquitoes, frequently glancing at my arms and back to make sure I come out unscathed. We cross the "rapid river" three different times, hanging on to a rope to steady our footing. The girls are of course asking about Pirañas and snakes, which Daniel assures us "nothing poisonous in Belize".

We make it to the entrance of the cave and Daniel begins to give his speech about all of the famous people he has led through the cave; apparently hundreds of people applied to be tour guides, but he is one of the 20 guides chosen. We're trying to be positive about our drill sergeant, but so far, $90 has gotten us a lot of yelling!

It's finally time for the plunge! I fasten my helmet, turn on my light and slide into the frigid water. Within two steps, the water is already above my head! We spend the next 2-hours, walking and swimming--hitting our knees, sliding down rocks, and banging our heads on stalactites. Every now and then we pause to wait for the group and Daniel tells us a stories about how the cave was discovered, Maya myths, and archeologist hypothesis. He admits that "50% of what I tell you is fact, 50% is what makes sense to me."

It is believed that the cave was first entered by the Mayas in AD 300s but it was not until AD 700-900 that they went deeper to perform their ceremonies. Daniel tells us that the cave served as a sacred place for the Mayas to pray to the gods and release their spirits. As we crawl deeper into the cave, we see fragments of ceramic pots; some are exhibiting small holes deliberately drilled into the bottom, as part of  ceremonial offering and release of the spirits. We also see pieces of slate stele, most likely used to do cut away at their flesh and offer blood sacrifices. The cave is a maze of chambers, filled with untouched relics and remains of skeletons. Most of the skeletons appear to be males, based on the pelvic structure, and have rather flat foreheads and slightly notched teeth. According to myth, the Mayas worshiped the Jaguar "sun god" and went to great lengths to resemble the Jaguar. They would strap a board to the forehead of the young, so that they would develop a flat skull; as they grew older, they would file their teeth to appear jagged.

We end the tour with a view of the "crystal maiden", which I described in my last post. Not as glittery as I imagined but impressively intact, except for a couple of missing vertebrae. Daniel believes that the adolescent got struck in the spine, causing him to collapse to the ground; the skeleton appears as though he was dancing or writhing in pain. All very fascinating! I'm sure if I took the tour with a different guide, I would hear completely different tales...but it is still fun for the imagination!

On the ride home, Bukie and I decide to meet up a little later in town. It is her last night in San Ignacio and the 4th of July! I catch a taxi and meet her at Evas, a restaurant/bar on the main strip that has WiFi :-D The actual "downtown" area of San Igancio is very small, consisting of one short main street with three other streets jetting off from the center. Where these roads converge, is a pedestrians nightmare! There are no such things as yield signs or stop signs...even if there were, no one would pay attention! We wander thru the entire town in about 8 minutes and decide to go big for her last meal and stop at Ko-Ox Han-nah; this is the restaurant my sister recommends, but all of the locals say "oh, its so expensive"! Of course, she has extravagant taste :-P But it is incredibly delicious and worth every Belizian dollar!

The town seems dead. Most of the shops are closed and the main street is very quiet. We decide to walk down an alley where we hear music; suddenly, we find ourselves in the center plaza filled with people. This is where everyone is! There is live music, street vendors, taco carts, families bbqing, and lots people sipping on rum. Just as I'm about to ask Bukie what's happening, she jumps as fireworks begin erupting from behind a building. We start to laugh and realize, IT'S A  FOURTH OF JULY PARTY!!!


Here's a couple images I got off of google so that you can have a visual of the cave!

The entrancing entrance to ATM cave

Keeping my eyes peeled for bats!!!

The Crystal Maiden

The "main" street

First "purchased" meal in Belize....def beats the hospital food, although I do love rice and beans!

It's still rice, BUT coconut rice with Burmese curry

I decided to start a new tradition of stopping here every time I go to town ;-)

I tried the flavor "Soursop"; I have no idea what it is!

The Night Life

This fire dancer was pretty rad

Adios Mi Amiga!