ATM: Not just a machine...

Well today we went to the Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave better known as ATM. We rode on the bus for about an hour and a half and then unloaded our stuff. We each got a helmut and began our hike through rivers, up rocks, down twisting paths, and finally to the mouth of the cave. The cave is a water cave so the mouth looked like an exotic grotto of sorts. It was breath taking. While waiting on the entire group to get there we got to swim in the water, go into the opening, and climb on the rocks. I could have stayed there all day! The water was a crystal clear light aqua and the rocks were huge and ominous. The stalactites and stalagmites framed the cave as if we were in a movie. The entire thing seemed so surreal.

Once everyone arrived we split into two groups and ventured into the dark caverns. We waded and swam through the water for most of the trip, engulfed by sparkling walls of calcium deposits, limestone, and quartz. We also saw granite, cinnabar, and hematite, as well as some iron oxide deposits! For those of you who had me for Science at Eaton, I was thinking of you all!! I took tons of pictures to show you each when I get back! It was amazing to see what we had studied all semester actually in nature. The guide was impressed because I answered all of the questions about what types of rock each was and how it was formed! Everyone kept laughing at Ms. Bilotti and I because we were so excited about the minerals! While we were in the cave we had some pretty tricky challenges to overcome including, rocks to climb over, and caverns to get into. One of the trickiest spots was a long passageway about the size of my chest. The passageway was completely underwater and we had to tread water while going through the passage sideways. There was also a part called "The Neck Cutter" where you had to squeeze your neck against two sharp rocks because they were so close together.

At one point our guide found some clay and he drew on my face in a decorative Mayan design and told me that I was the Mayan Sacrifice! It was a big joke because Mayans actually used to make sacrifices very regularly in the caves to the gods of the underworld. See, the Mayans believed that the caves were the underworld and that they could connect with the gods better while practicing rituals in them. They would travel through these caves by torch light and would stay in them for days meditating and connecting with the gods. We saw a lot of pottery in the cave from the Mayans as well as a few skulls and even a full skeleton that had been sacrificed!! It was very eerie to see but so amazing because we real really got a good feel of their culture.

We also went through the main chamber of the cave in our socks so that we did not ruin the formations. That was really fun because we could feel the cave floor under us, but boy were my socks destroyed! On the way back our guide let us go a secret way since we did so well in the cave. We got to do some more climbing and it was amazing! When we finally got out of the cave it was pouring rain so we ate lunch at a picnic shelter in the jungle and then hiked back. The tour was unbelievable and I felt like I was watching a movie the entire time. I will definitely post pictures when I get back because this short description doesn't even begin to do it justice. Can't wait for tomorrow when I am doing the harder cave!