ATM is an abbreviation for Actun Tunichil Muknal, which literally translated is "Cave of the Stone Sepulcher" and is the name of the cave. Only eight people are allowed into the cave with a guide at one time, so our group had to split into two separate groups. One group went early and left Rosa's at 7:30am, and my group went later at 10:30am (I was so happy to finally sleep in for a bit!). My group was: Lisa, Julia, Maria, Taylor, Susana, Kaley, Dr. K and me. After a brief stop at a street vendor for meat pies, we got in our van and were on our way at about 10:45am. We drove most of the way on a paved road. We stopped once in a tiny town for a bathroom/snack break, and then took a right turn onto a bumpy, dirt road. We mostly drove by different tree farms and open fields. At one point, we were passing an orange tree farm when our driver, Dora, asked if we wanted to stop and grab an orange. Of course we did, so we hopped out and got to pick our own oranges and have a nice snack on the side of the dirt road. The oranges were delicious and we had a lot of fun picking, peeling, and eating them. We spent a good chunk of time at the orange farm, like 20 or 30 minutes. Taylor started tossing up oranges and using Dora's knife to try and slice them in the air. He didn't do so well, but Julia and Lisa could slice them right in half! (I didn't try, I was too busy eating!) When we finished eating and playing around, we got back in the van and drove another 20 minutes or so to the edge of the jungle, where we would soon enter to get to the cave. We arrived around 12:15p.m., and I was anxious and ready to go as soon as the van stopped. But much to my disappointment, I had to continue to wait. Apparently, we had to wait for our guide to come back with the first group, so we had lunch (even though none of us were hungry) as we waited. Then we finished eating, and still had to wait. We killed the time by laughing having a photo shoot with Dora's machete. Then, when our guide had still not come back yet, Dora led us into the jungle and down the path to the first river that we would have to cross to get to the cave to swim while we waited. It was rather shallow, no more than thigh high, so we didn't didn't really swim; instead we splashed around and skipped rocks. Finally, our guide returned with the other group (who looked absolutely exhausted) and we were soon on our way!
It was about a 30 minute hike into the jungle to get to the mouth of the cave. On the way, our guide stopped and pointed out lots of cool stuff for us to see. Gigantic trees, butterflies, huge ant hills with big holes in them from anteaters, beautiful orchids, and fish, just to name a few. He even picked some leaves for us to eat (they were key lime leaves; very strong but good and refreshing) and grabbed some cohune nuts (cohune nuts come from the cohune palm tree, which is native to Belize) for us to crack open and eat. We had to use rocks to break them open.
Right before we made it to the mouth of the cave, we stopped at this shelter to drop all of our stuff and put on our helmets and headlamps. Julia, Lisa, Susana, Kaley, and I had ditched our shirts (we didn't want to be walking around in a soaking wet t-shirt all day) but our guide quickly told us that we had to put shirts on. "This is some of the most sacred of grounds," he said, "we have to respect them." So we put our shirts back on. Luckily, Susana, Kaley, and I had brought our shirts with us, but Lisa and Julia didn't. Julia ended up wearing Dr. K's dry shirt he planned to change into, and with some persuasion, our guide made an exception and let Lisa go in wearing only her sports bra.
I was so excited, shocked, overwhelmed, and curious when I first laid eyes on the mouth of the cave. It was so vast, and at the very start of it, a big pool. I followed our guide over some rocks and then right into the pool. We all doggie paddled across the pool, keeping just our heads above water. Then we climbed up on to some huge boulders and took a look around. The walls of the cave were covered in different mineral deposits, all varying in color and shape. And much to my surprise, where we stopped to look around, there didn't really look like anywhere to go past that point. In front of us lay enormous boulders layered in the water and all the way up to the ceiling of the cave. I followed our guide (I was first behind him) as he shimmied between cracks, over and under the boulders, in the water and out. Where he stopped, he had us sit in a line on the side of the cave on a small ledge. He then had us turn our attention to the skinny opening we had just come through. He showed us this formation of rock/mineral/wall/boulder (whatever you want to call it) that looked just like the profile of one of the Mayan Gods. His headdress, nose, and chin were his most prominent features (SO COOL! I really liked this part!). He told us about this God and how the Mayan's had worshipped him. (Just to be clear, this was a natural formation--not something the Mayan's had shaped or carved.) Then, we got up, walked a bit further through the water, and then our guide had us turn off our headlamps. He explained to us that the two most important Gods that the Mayan's believed in were the God of Darkness and the God of Water. These were the Gods of the Underworld or Xibalba (Place of Fear) which is where we were entering. He said that we were about to experience and appreciate them both as we entered the cave in the "most respectful way." He instructed us to put our right hand on the shoulder of the person in front of us and then we started making our way further and further into the darkness. No one spoke. All you could hear was the sound of us splashing through the water as we walked. Soon it grew so dark that you couldn't tell any difference when your eyes were open or closed. We took tiny, careful steps. We went around a corner. The water rose up to our waist.
Now let me be clear: I am not a very spiritual person. But I felt something in the darkness of that cave. I felt at peace, completely relaxed, and blessed to be in such a sacred place. I worshipped and thanked the God of Darkness and the God of Water as we walked. I've never felt anything like it. What I felt is actually pretty indescribable, so I'll stop trying. You just have to experience it for yourself.
We walked up onto a ledge and stopped. I have no idea how long we walked in the dark but it couldn't have been more than 10 minutes, but honestly, I lost complete track of time and reality in the darkness so I could be wrong. When we stopped, our guide thanked us for allowing him to take us into the cave and teach us about the ancient culture and the sacred grounds. He spoke so majestically and lovingly it gave me chills. Then we turned on our headlamps. With the light, our voices returned and we all exclaimed at what an incredible and wondrous experience that just was..and that was only the very beginning.
The trek through the cave was insanely awesome. We squeezed through cracks and crevasses, climbed up over the boulders, and splashed and swam through the river. The floor of the river was all rocks, and although the water was clear, it was still difficult walking. The inside of the cave is formed by several different types of minerals--stagnites and stalagmites were a few that I remember. There were some formations that sparkled and glittered like the sun hitting snow on a mountain. Others hung from the ceilings like curtains. There were also many perfect circles in the ceiling where bats lived/were living. Kind of ironically, a lot of it reminded me of the coral I have seen on my dives here. Again, it was all pretty indescribable. If you want to know exactly what it looked like Google it. We couldn't bring cameras because they recently banned cameras from the cave. Apparently in 2012, a tourist dropped his camera onto one of the artifacts and nearly destroyed it!
We passed a ledge about 15-20 feet up off of the water and our guide had us stop there. He said up there is the one place that they know for sure was a special "blood letting" place, or a place where the Mayan's would go spill their blood for the Gods. He asked us if we wanted to go up there, DUH WE DID! So up we went. There was no path or stairs or ladder. We climbed up the side of the cave onto the ledge. On the ledge, we first saw two broken bowls. Our guide told us that these bowls were special blood collecting bowls. They were orange, very shallow, and about 10 inches in diameter. He also showed us where the one stela (an upright stone slab or column, typically bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design) had been found inside the cave. They removed the actual stela but the altar remained completely untouched. He told us that at this very place we were standing, the Mayan's would come and take various hallucinogens (from plants or frogs) to alter their state of being and make a blood sacrifice to the Gods. He said that the men would cut their foreskin and the women would use a stingray barb to pierce a hole through their tongue. The blood was spilt onto papers or string and then burned at the altar.
There was such a positive energy in the air. We climbed down carefully, helping each other. Taylor has very poor eyesight, so we made sure we gave him extra help. It was all unspoken cooperation and teamwork. It felt good.
We trekked deeper and deeper into the cave. Soon our guide told us that we were 600 feet below the surface (pretty unbelievable right?!!). At this point, we stopped following the river, and we climbed up the side of the cave to go see the chambers. We climbed about 15 feet up the side of the cave and then had to remove our shoes. I remember being on that ledge taking my shoes off and looking around wondering where we would be going next. There was no pathway. Then our guide started climbing the wall behind me. Up and over the wall we went until we were on flat ground. This is where we entered one of the chambers. This "room" was full of broken pots. The pots were calcified and naturally preserved. Our guide told us how the ladies would make these pots with such care and precision and how if a pot came out of the oven right, with no cracks or imperfections, that that meant that the Gods had blessed it with life. So the Mayan's would fill these pots with offerings and bring them into the cave to break and release the spirit of the pots and give the offerings to the Gods. To me, the room just looked littered with broken pots. But he told us how the placements of the pots and how they were broken, each had a specific purpose. Some where tilted on their side, some where completely smashed, some were upside down, etc. There was a purpose and reason for everything. It was all very interesting. This was one point where I was particularly surprised. I had envisioned us seeing like one pot, or one bone, or one or two somethings. This was an entire room full of ancient artifacts. And they weren't in glass boxes or separated from us in anyway. They lay untouched and unprotected. There was only red ribbon on the ground marking a narrow path that we had to stay on. But even on the path, I was close enough to touch many of the pieces.
He showed us a place with three rocks positioned together marking where a fire had been. Then he had us turn off our headlamps again. He shined his light on the formation behind the rocks. A big shadow appeared on the way in the shape of the profile of a lady. He said that she was the God of Childbirth and Fertility. He said that the fire would create the shadow on the wall and the Mayan's would pray to her. He described everything with such detail, I began to see vivid images of the ceremonies in my head.
He took us into two other enormous rooms filled with artifacts; including two human skulls. The skulls were those of human sacrifices. They were placed face down, revealing huge holes in the backs of each skull. The guide said that the only weapon found in the room capable of that sort of damage were two granite axes. He showed us those later. They were black granite stones shaped into a dull triangles. One of these skulls had been damaged by the tourist who dropped the camera. The camera knocked out several teeth.
We walked through another gigantic room (I seriously can't believe such vast openings exist that far underground. I completely understand why the Mayan's found this place to be the sacred underworld). It was also filled with pots and broken pieces. We climbed up and over more huge boulders and down through cracks. We came to a ladder (yes, an actual manmade ladder) to climb high up to another ledge. We walked down around a curve and over more boulders. We passed the skeleton of a child. The bones were in a pile and the skull was on its side revealing a massive hole in the side of it. We didn't pay much attention to the child, instead our focus was on the grande finale. Behind a fence (the first real structure I'd seen all day keeping people from touching the artifacts) was a complete skeleton of a young girl. Her bones have been calcified to a sparkling, crystallized appearance. They call her "The Crystal Maiden". She is the most famous artifact, possibly a sacrifice victim, whose only missing the middle section of her vertebrae, which our guide told us is probably the cause of her death. Her positioning is also notable. Her arms are up and active and her legs bent out, signifying dance. Our guide said she was the most beautiful dancer who was selected as a sacrifice.
I lost track of time while we were in the cave, but when I finally looked at my watch it revealed that we had been in the cave for four hours! The guide told us that it would be a three hour tour, but I think because we were the last group to go (literally there were no other groups inside the cave, which I hear is rare) our guide took his time, told us a lot, and showed us some stuff he doesn't usually get to show people. Dr. K said he had never been up to the place where the stela was. By the time we made it out of the cave, it had been four and half hours, and I was exhausted but extremely grateful of the whole experience.
As we hiked the 30 minute trek back to the van, the forest gradually got darker and darker. By the time we got changed into our dry clothes and back in the van, night had fallen. I was so tired, I was determined to sleep for a bit on the drive home. I had my head down when we hit a huge bump and I felt the back left tire (which was right underneath me) start wiggling like crazy. Everyone silently panicked as Dora stopped the van. She and our tour guide got out to inspect the tire. They quickly came back and told us there was a problem but they were going to fix it, we just had to get out of the van. I thought we had a flat, but the bump had knocked the nuts holding the tire in place completely off. As Dora jacked the van up to put the spare on, we were all mesmerized by the stars. Out in the country where we were, you could see so many stars. And it was a perfectly clear night! After a while, I noticed that Dora wasn't really getting anywhere with the tire. But the poor girl was doing it by herself after all! Kaley, Taylor, and I stepped in and managed to get the tire on. We had to borrow nuts from the other tires to secure the spare. It took us a while, but eventually, Kaley, Dora, and I got the tire on and we were on our way!
What a day! We made it back to Rosa's almost eleven hours since we left! Today was absolutely incredibly, overwhelmingly, amazing. It was like nothing I ever could have imagined. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to view these ancient artifacts and learn about the Mayan culture. I find it all so interesting, I want to continue to learn more about it! I tried to describe my experience the best way I knew how, but you really just have to see it for yourself!
Tomorrow, I will go to Guatemala to visit another ancient ruins site, Tikal, go zip lining, and visit Flores. Not sure if it can top today, but I can't wait!
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