Taking the Plunge: Loads of Adventures

It has been a few days since I last had access to both a computer and internet simultaneously. I am now settled into a hostel in San Ignacio, borrowing a fellow traveler's laptop to send this update. Since my last post, we have had many adventures, both on land and on sea, and our ranks have doubled. As Irene and I left Placencia (our first destination), we headed to a small town further up the coast called Hopkins, where we met two lovely girls (Stephanie from Texas, and Fiona from England), that became our traveling companions through Hopkins and into San Ignacio.

Together we have had great fun and shared many laughs. Here are some of the highlights of the last few days.

1. Diving off the barrier reef in Placencia and Hopkins.
We saw soooo many fish, and such healthy coral and sponges. It did my heart good to see it. Unfortunately, my little submercible digital camera couldn't capture nearly a fraction of what we saw. The water here is full of beautiful parrotfish, grunts, squirrelfish, triggerfish, angelfish, grouper, snapper, and lots more that I am not yet familiar with. We also have happened upon about 5 sea turtles over these dives, ranging in size from about 1.5-4 feet long. One even swam right up to us and passed us by without hesitation. Another favorite moment was swimming amid a huge school of about 200 snapper, each atleast 2 feet long! I also watched as a school of French Grunts swim tighty together, shifting form and direction as if they shared one mind. Another favorite moment was swimming down at 110', and seeing about 6 blacktip sharks swimming just slightly beyond our sight. But absolutely, without a doubt, my favorite diving moments so far have been seeing spotted eagle rays. We were very lucky. I have already seen about 15 so far this trip. They are so large and graceful... it was moving to watch them flow effortlessly through the water. Even a good photograph would nto do them justice.


Rube worms in a brain coral

HUGE vase sponge--about 4 feet tall!

Island where we rested and lunched between scuba dives

Me!

Our semi-friendly Loggerhead turtle

Hard to see, but about a 4' long spotted eagle ray

2. Cave Tubing at Jaguar's Paw
While not nearly as exciting as my two previous days under water, spending a day winding through cavernous limestone caves on a meandering river on an inner tube was a great way to spend the day. The water was cool and refreshing, and the current was just strong enough to keep us moving at a comfortable speed.

Carrying our tubes through our first river crossing. Irene is cut in half, Fionia is in tyeh blue t-shirt, Stephanie in the middle.

One of the views out of the cave

3. Caving Actun Tunichil Muknal
Wow. We just did this today. I am truly at a loss for words to describe our experience. I have been through many caves before, and had my share of adventures, but this was truly unlike anything I've ever done. Actun Tunichil Muknal (referred to as ATM for obvious reasons), is home to some of the oldest ancient Mayan artifacts in the area. They have found many clay pots (both whoe and fragmented), and the remains of 14 human sacrifices. The cave was believed to be holy, a gateway to the rain god Chaak (pronounced like 'chalk'). In this enormous meandering cave, sacrifices were made to end droughts; sacrifices first began with blood-letting, later graduating to voluntary human sacrifice. It was a 45 minute walk to the cave entrance, and then a 1.5 hour swim/scramble to the furthest reaches of the cave. At times we were bouldering up small rock walls, at others swimming in deep pools, and still others squeezing through narrow tunnels neck deep in water. It was trhilling. But thankfully we had a terrific guide who knew exactly how to direct us for maximum safety. It was an arduous but exciting day, but it kept forcing us to think about the Mayan experience so long ago, and what it must have been like for them to make the long journey inward. For us we had experienced guides, helmets, headlamps, dry bags, and the knowledge that we would be home in time for dinner. What must it have been like for the first Mayan to penetrate the depths of these channels back in 125BC?