3 Mar--ATM Caves

Wed, 3 Mar up early and caught a ride into San Ignacio with Lucino to meet at MayanWalk Tours for our trip to the limestone cave, Actun Tunichil Muknal, referred to as ATM ... but not because there is any money there. it cost us US$65 each, which was a 'deal' from a nice-looking guy named Andrew. it was well worth the money. this is a 'wet' cave adventure, under, or inside, a mountain. Actun Tunichil Muknal, also known as the Cave of the Stone Sepulcher, was first entered by the Mayas in AD 300-600. but it was not until the late AD 700-900 that they went deeper into the cave to perform their ceremonies. The cave houses various types of artifacts from ceramics and stoneware to the remains of skeletons. The Mayas consider Actun Tunichil Muknal a highly sacred location, enclosing the famous "Crystal Maiden," who was thought to be a sacrifice victim. After decades of weathering and natural processes, the surface of the skeleton appears to be covered with a geological sanded finish, which gives the maiden a somewhat magical fairy-dust appearance. Artifacts are often looted from caves following their discovery, but passage through this cave is known to only a few select guides, who have permission from the Belize Department of Archeology to take visitors to this special cave. To this day, the cave has not been looted and nearly all of the cultural artifacts have remained in place as they were originally found in 1989. this cave has been known to the locals for many many years; but was scientifically explored, recorded, mapped, tested for noxious gases, etc. prior to it's opening to the public. without the modern technology of today, the process took 4 years to complete. The cave was officially opened to the public in 1998. the ceramic pieces that you see are all broken, but it is believed that these vessels were made explicitly for this purpose, and so they were destroyed on site at the completion of the ceremony. it is a cave tour like none i've ever heard of before. it is considered one of the top 10 caves in the world. they drove us north about a 1/2 hour, then turned down a dirt road and continued for another hour to get to the rainforest. we were asked to bring a dry change of clothes, towel, water, and camera. we were to wear swim suits, shorts, shoes and socks. they provided us with helmets and head lights. we left our dry clothes in the car and walked about an hour through the rainforest and we waded across a river 3 times and finally reached the bank of the river to the cave. there were thatched shelters there where we left our lunch; we gave him our camera and he put them in a dry bag an were given our instructions; i.e., he was the guide, we were to stay close and single-file behind him, and only step where he stepped and touch only where he touched. so the person directly behind him had the best seat, the rest had to rely on the one in front of them to pass along the instructions ... we then headed for the cave entrance. even though this is a very beautiful place, it was not sunny and not a very warm day. ...the idea of getting in the water and swimming into a dark cave was not really very appealing. but in we went .... we didn't have to go under the water, in fact we were warned that our head lights were NOT waterproof and not to get them wet, ..... but it was over our heads, 12' i think he said. we swam a short distance to a ledge and then started walking in the water through the cave. it was black, there were no lights, only the ones we had on our heads, pointed downwards so we could see where we were putting our feet. we walked for 1/3 of a mile through the water, sometimes swimming again, climbing over boulders, squeezing between rock slabs, crawling up rocks, on our bellies, backs, or sides, and over ledges .. all in the light of only what you had on your head. 'they' said that an 84 yr old man and a 4yr child had done this cave ... if so, they were both unusual individuals, .... it was a strenuous tour. i understand the reason for the the darkness, and that it is was part of the intrigue; but if we could only have seen more of the cave walls it would have been even better. there were the most unusual formations i've ever seen. it was breath-taking. unfortunately, we didn't have our cameras during this part of the tour .... that underwater camera that i don't have, would have been perfect for this; ... altho i'm sure the flash wouldn't have reached the heights of the top of the caverns. he said that the Nov 2004 issue of National Geographic has an article devoted to this cave. if any of you are 'collectors' of NG, let me know, i'd love to see the issue. after an hour we reached the rock wall we had to climb up to get into the large open 'dry' cave where the ceremonies were held. now we were given our cameras, told to remove our shoes, but leave our socks on ... for the protection of the caves--the oils from our skin damages the limestone. ...and we began to hike and climb again .... staying close and walking only where he walked! we saw lots of broken pots ... photos for my 'potty buddies' down at the KIA .. these pots were perfect ... with very thin walls ... how did they do that ? this one had an imprint on it .... it looks like a monkey ... our guide was saying something about there only being 4 fingers and no tail. i should have paid better attention but this was at the point where i was so cold and my brain must have been freezing ! he had a strong light that he used to point things out, but by the time i was ready to take the photo, he'd moved the light on to something else :( so, it was not very helpful in taking pictures, and most things were too far away for a flash to reach ... so the images we got are limited ... this was so sparkle-ly this is the first skull we saw, among lots of pottery pieces ... our guide was older .... and passionate about this civilization. at one point he stopped walking, let a few other groups go around us, and started talking .... and talking .... we were all wet, standing still, and i was going into hypothermia ... well, not really, but i was shaking. i was really kicking myself for not wearing my wetsuit jacket ... it would have been perfect for this activity. i finally started walking around and he apologized and started walking again; but he must have talked for a half an hour! the finale was up a 'real' ladder, into a cavern where there were the total remains of The Crystal Lady not sure why, but she seems to be dancing and smiling ... is that disrespectful ? we were in the cave for about 3 hours we then back-tracked our way out the same way we came in ... it was much easier on the way out ... we were all more comfortable since we knew what to expect. but it was still quite a journey. ...climbing DOWN isn't as easy as climbing UP. once outside .. i was really cold. i would suggest to anyone else that they bring their warm dry clothes with them to change into when you got out. having said that; IF it would have been a hot sunny day, it wouldn't have been necessary. the walk back through the jungle and the trip across/through the river would have been a welcome cooling off activity in the heat. as it was, we just tredged on through trying to get to the car as fast as we could. i did take a few shots of the surrounding flora :) when we got back to San Ignacio, we had arranged to meet Marta for drinks and something to eat. she took us to a nice bar-restaurant a bit out of town called Happy's then back into town to another bar where we met a nice young 19 yr old who had just started his own business of growing organic vegetables; ... what a challenge, and we all applauded him for his efforts and encouraged him to continue. then across the street for PIZZA ... a good pizza, with GREAT old time American music !!!!!!!!!!!! we arrived back at home to a party-in-progress. they were really having fun playing drinking games, and i was SO GLAD i wasn't going to be them in the morning! i had to laugh, ... i heard them playing a much easier version of "this is a click--this is a clack" .... i know most of you won't know what that is ... but i know my brother and sister .... and possibly Janny and Sandy will ???? that's a game from the early 70s!!!!! i was also thankful that i had a pair of earplugs so i could sleep!

Tues, 2 Mar

Tues, 2 Mar Eddi and I are beginning to firm up our plans for the rest of our stay here. Tomorrow we'll tour the cave, then Thurs morning, we'll leave for Flores, Guatemala. well spend one day at Tikal, one of the largest Maya civilizations. so we decided to spend today at Chaa Creek, since we're already feeling the threat of a limited time here at this paradise. here are some photos of this beautiful retreat there are 23 cottage rooms in several separate dwelling dispersed among the beautiful settings. the Tree Top Suites the Orchard Villa the dining room where we are very privileged to eat our evening meal. we eat breakfast and lunch with the 'staff' in a separate location, with a separate, very different menu :) the pool and spa area The Macal River Camp has 10 casitas with porches and hammocks for the more rustic-minded (and budget conscious) visitor, ... shared bathroom facilities. they have their own dining room apart from the main lodge area. the horse stables round em up another interesting tree, the Give and Take Tree gets its name from the thorns, ... and they are over 3in long and nasty !!!!! the thorns "Give" a very stinging cut but their are portions of the plant provide a remedy that "Take" away bleeding, infection, and pain. it grows 12-18ft. when the trunk is stripped of it's thorns it is used to make poles for the walls of homes and palapas. the leaves are also tied together to make brooms. a lot of these Lobster Claw flowers are blooming here right now. they are related to the banana tree, and grow in swamps, waterways, and wet forests ... they are so bright and colorful --and so tempting to photograph! ...

Blue Morph Butterflies

Blue Morph Butterflies The Blue Morph Butterfly is local to this area, Central and South America as well as Mexico. the Butterfly Farm here at Chaa Creek was established in 1993, and they specialize in the captive breeding of the Blue Morpho Butterfly, .... much as i do with the Monarch Butterflies. the development cycle is the same; except their caterpillar stage lasts for 10 WEEKS... not 10 days as is the case with the Monarchs, and they hang for 4 days before transforming into the pupa, instead of 1 day. the caterpiller only eats the leaves of the Ant Tree. the caterpillers also undergo changes in their colors as they go from one instar to another ... in the beginning when they are tiny, they are bright red and black and yellow. these colors signify that they are toxic to birds, geckos, snakes, etc. as they grow they become more orange and red .... in their final stages they become very dull in color and move to the bark of trees where they are better camouflaged. before they transform into the pupa, they become greener, and seek out green leaves and trees to which they will spin their silk web and will, like the Monarchs, hang by their feet, head down, to prepare for their transformation. another difference is that the Blue Morph Butterfly only eats rotting or fermenting fruit ... not flowers ... interesting. also interesting is that it is only the INSIDE of their wings that are the beautiful blue color ... the outside of the wings are browns with subtle outlines of blue. Here you can see the outside of their wings while they are eating pineapple and melon. i'm thinking that these colors provide more camouflage while they are more vulnerable and eating. they are beautiful iridescent turquoise to blue butterflies .... depending upon how the light hits them the Butterfly House here is a 'collection' of pupa waiting to emerge .... there are rows and rows of them ! they sterilize all their equipment and leaves much as i do. i know from experience, this takes a lot of time. they have hundreds of eggs at one time. i visited with one of the guys at the butterfly house and told him about my experience with the Monarchs. i had the video on my computer and showed it to him. he was intrigued by the 'cremaster' that the Monarch uses to attached itself when it transforms into it's pupa stage. it's so fun to share information on nature! i'll also mention here another conservatory effort that was undertaken by Chaa Creek. In the mid 1950's the Howler Monkeys in Belize were totally wiped out by an epidemic of yellow fever. In the early 1990's, Chaa Creek, in conjuction with The Belize Zoo, The Audobon Society, and the Baboon Sanctuary in Belize City .... reintroduced the Howler Monkey in this area. They placed 5 monkeys on each side of the river. ....one male and 4 females. current numbers are not available but they are seeing mothers with infants, and believe the number to be around 16. the people staying at the River Camp usually hear them howling nightly ... and they say it is the loudest noise they have ever heard, ...and even if they've never heard it before ... they say it is unmistakable. sometimes they see them as well. i've been down to the camp twice, but with no luck. this is the best i can do for now ....

1 Mar--Cahal Pech

Mon, 1 Mar ...sorry for the long delay again ... i've been travelling to Guatemala ... more on that journey later ... for now ... i'll continue ... March ...already ...???????? ...and i'm still here .... anyone seen any crocus yet ? i hate to miss those sweet bright cheery flowers, ....but ... life is about choices, ..and right now, this is the right one for me. after breakfast Eddi and i caught a ride into San Ignacio to see Cahal Pech Maya Ruins; it's right on the outskirts of town and their interpretive center is very well done. gives you a lot of background on the history of this settlement of the Maya culture. Cahal Pech stands for "Land of Ticks" because there were so many dogs ... not too inviting, but today there are no ticks, thankfully :) Cahal Pech is one of the first major settlements of the Maya civilization in central Belize. it began in 1200BC and grew to be one of the most important sites of Maya history over a 1000 year period. it reached it's peak between 600-800AD with major achievements in astronomy, mathemetics, religion, science, medicine, and cultural evolution. it declined around 800AD, along with the rest of the maya settlements and was abandon in 900AD. there is debate on the reason for the collapse of the civilization. but it is agreed it was not due to earthquake, disease, etc, ... most agree that it was likely social, political, and economic deterioration. their museum is a very nice one with artifacts covering such objects as incense burners chocolate pots, my personal favorite :) and other pottery which was used for ritual purposes ... burial was also a highly developed ritual whereby the body was placed under the house of the residence with some of their belongings and and ancestory were respected and revered by the family as shown in this picture. We then headed for the site. it was quite comfortable, walking around under trees, not out in the open field (which for some reason was what i had expected). photo of the mural inside the interpretive center, of the main entrance, with temple, tall, in the background this is what the entrance looks like today this is what remains of the original temple ... from the top of this, the Maya sent smoke signals off to Xunantunich (zoo-nan-tunich), another Maya settlement, which you can see in the distance those of you who have traveled with me know how i love to photograph doors, doorways, arches, entries, etc .... so not surprisingly, i took advantage of this opportunity more archways after touring Cahal Pech, we walked into town, had some ice cream, and booked ourselves on a cave tour for Wed. as i mentioned, we are dependent upon the 'charity' of the drivers to get to and from Chaa Creek to San Ignacio. the plan was to meet Lucino at 2:30 for our ride back home .... at 3:30 we were still waiting. i had bought a bottle of rum and and some coke in town to take back ... trying to keep our 'spirits up', i suggested we make use of it while we waited. a half our later, we decided we should get a cab to take us to the dirt road back to Chaa Creek and then walk the 3 miles to the lodge .... once we got out of the cab, we needed a refill ..... along our long walk home we passed this beautiful Brahma Bull ... and continued walking the long, hot, dusty road ... no one offered us a ride ... wonder why ? the day ended with a dinner of shrimp pasta and a chocolate brownie. the internet was down again, so early to bed.