We had an hour long hike through the jungle, including crossing the river a few times with all our stuff on our backs. Once we reached the cave, our guide outfitted the group with helmets and headlamps, and in we went. In order to reach the main chamber, we had to hike through various dark passages and swim through collected pools of water. At one point our guide had us all turn out our lights, place our hands on each others shoulders and walk through the pitch blackness. It felt strange for their to be no difference with my eyes open or closed.
When we reached the main chamber, we all took off our shoes and walked around in only socks. This was to prevent damage to the numerous Mayan artifacts scattered every few feet around the cave. We were walking around inches from ancient pottery and both adult and infant human skeletal remains.
Our guide took us further into the cave into a chamber of cathedral-like living stalactites and stalagmites. He had us close our eyes once more and we began hearing ethereal, melodic drumming. When we opened our eyes, he showed us that the stalactites each make a tone when tapped, singing like a drum.
We finally reached a rickety-looking ladder and climbed up into the final room, the Chamber of the Crystal Maiden. In this chamber is the skeleton of a young female, positioned as though she is dancing. Her spine is severed, and lying near her is the blade with which she was sacrificed.
Her skeleton lies to the left, just above where water would reach when the caves fill in the rainy season, and you can see the curtain-like glittering cave formations in the background.
Before we left on this tour, it was described to us as the "quintessential" activity to do in Belize, and I would have to agree. I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to tour this cave like we did. With the number of tourists traveling through every day, damage has been noted to the artifacts and condition of the cave itself. The tour guide association is currently working on restricting the number of people and the regions of the cave to which tourists may be taken. While it was amazing to hear the stalactite song and see these artifacts up close, I can imagine how this kind of daily exposure is causing deterioration. Case in point, in the picture of the skull above, you can see that the front teeth are missing. This occurred a few years ago when a tourist dropped her camera and broke them off. While I am thankful for this experience, I definitely think restrictions will be necessary to preserve this amazing combination of natural and ancient human works.
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