Indiana Jones and the Cave of the Stone Sepulcher, Belize
Those of you that still do not think that I´m adventurous after two years of traveling Latin America might now concede….. After Tikal I crossed the border leaving Guatemala for Belize, a British Commonwealth country. Suddenly I was in an English speaking environment again, well, Creole. Arr-ait! (See next post for more about Belize itself.)
I had heard about the Actun Tunichil Muknal (Cave of the Stone Sepulcher) tour near San Ignacio and decided to give it a try. No regrets! It was probably one of the most exciting, most adventurous and dangerous tours I have done yet.
The cave has appeared in numerous NatGeo/GEO editions and documentaries. The cave is located in a jungle and was seen by the Mayans as a dark and sacred place where they made food and human sacrifices to their gods in times of dispair. Strangely all of the artifacts and human remains are still in their original places and the cave is open for conservation-conscious guided tours.
Entering the cave, with the odd bat flying by, you are immersed in water and then must climb over, under, in between flowstone rock formations with water gushing through them. We were treated to amazing stalagmites growing up from the caves and calcium-carbonate stalactites dripping from the ceiling. The formations are incredible. We then climbed up to a massive opening where hundreds of pottery vessels and even human remains are still in their original positions. One of the remains is encrusted with calcite, hence “Cave of the Stone Sepulcher”. I have photographs of everything described above.
Here are the photos. There are more to come – when I receive them from other tour group members.
DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 33,450 KM
I had heard about the Actun Tunichil Muknal (Cave of the Stone Sepulcher) tour near San Ignacio and decided to give it a try. No regrets! It was probably one of the most exciting, most adventurous and dangerous tours I have done yet.
The cave has appeared in numerous NatGeo/GEO editions and documentaries. The cave is located in a jungle and was seen by the Mayans as a dark and sacred place where they made food and human sacrifices to their gods in times of dispair. Strangely all of the artifacts and human remains are still in their original places and the cave is open for conservation-conscious guided tours.
Entering the cave, with the odd bat flying by, you are immersed in water and then must climb over, under, in between flowstone rock formations with water gushing through them. We were treated to amazing stalagmites growing up from the caves and calcium-carbonate stalactites dripping from the ceiling. The formations are incredible. We then climbed up to a massive opening where hundreds of pottery vessels and even human remains are still in their original positions. One of the remains is encrusted with calcite, hence “Cave of the Stone Sepulcher”. I have photographs of everything described above.
Here are the photos. There are more to come – when I receive them from other tour group members.
DISTANCE TRAVELLED (OVERLAND) SINCE USHUAIA: 33,450 KM
posted by Louise Parmenter at 3:20 am
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