Cuevas y Lagunas II

So I lied....I didn't write the second installment yesterday. Sorry for the wait, those of you who were waiting with baited breath. Where was I? Ah, yes, I left off at the half-constructed hotel near Chisec. It really was a lovely place and should do well if they can get the tourists to fill it. Not sure how many get up that far away from Coban...we were the only tourists in the area as far I know.

The next morning we met the guide to the Bombil Pek and Jul Ik caves at 8 am. Bright and early. But since we had literally gone to bed around 8 pm the night before we were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. While the guide took us down the path to the caves (which took us a good 45 minutes to hike) he explained a bit about the community project that runs the ecotourism attractions in the area. These caves, for example, became part of the project because of two Peace Corps volunteers that were stationed in the community. They saw the value of the caves as a tourist attraction after visiting them with some locals and started the push to make them part of a community-wide effort to take advantage of the natural attractions in the area. The caves are very impressive. Bombil Pek, which means painted rock in Q'eqchi', is home to the only cave paintings found in Guatemala. The cave is truly impressive. To get to the mouth you have to pass down into a pit 60 meters deep. I've included a photo of the ladders the community set in place to help visitors get to the entrance of the cave itself. Seriously, I had to hold my breath a few times on these ladders, wondering if it would really hold my weight. Our guide told us that before these ladders were put in place the locals would climb down into the cave using the roots of the plants that grow on the edge of the pit. The actual entrance to the cave is incredible. I was able to take the photo to the left with natural light (no flash) because of the little bit of sun that comes in from above. But I decided not to take my camera inside after the guide warned us that we would be crawling through some small holes to get to the paintings. We would have to pass through two agujeros, he said, which is the Spanish word for buttonhole. The inside of the cave was reminiscent of the caves I used to play in back at Sewanee. Some really impressive stalagtites and stalagmites. And the small holes we had to crawl through also brought back some memories. You have to get on your side to pass through, with one arm ahead of you and the other at your side. Once you get your head and shoulders through you can then get your second arm through and then the fun wiggling and squeezing and pushing to get your butt and legs through. The guide and my friend were cracking up at my difficulties getting through the second hole. It was a little easier for them, considering that I am probably at least a foot taller than the guide and maybe ten inches taller than my friend. The extra inches made it difficult to get a foothold to push myself through the holes. The guide thought it was hilarious...me with me front end stuck in the hole and my feet flailing around looking for some sort of leverage. Well, ok, I thought it was pretty funny, too. I have to admit the paintings were a bit anticlimactic, but the journey to get there was well worth the trip. The paintings are of two monkey and a tiger, but they've been worn away some-what by unauthorized visitors.

After Bombil Pek cave we trekked down to Jul Ik cave, the cave of air. It is called the "cave of air" or "cave of wind" because of the vapor that appears above the mouth of the cave during the hotter part of the day. It makes it look like the cave is breathing. To enter this cave you have to descend down into a smaller pit (without the dubious help of home-made ladders [not that I would have wanted to get down to Bombil Pek without them]). This cave had much higher ceilings that Bombil Pek and we had an easier time getting around inside. There are certain spaces in this cave where local indigenous people still hold religious ceremonies.
The most exciting thing about this cave was the stalagtites. Not only are they immensely beautiful, but when you knock on the sides they ring like a bell. Each stalagtite has a small hollow space inside were the water passes through to the tip. I'm including a video I took of us playing with the stalagtites...I think it sounds like we're playing around with a marimba.

When we finally emerged from the caves and dragged ourselves back to the trail head we were hot, tired and ridiculously dirty (but quite content). After a quick lunch of jam sandwiches and a swift dip in the river to wash ourselves off we hopped in the car and high-tailed it to Lanquin just in time to grab the last cabin and a delicious meal at a lovely hostel on the river. More on this in the next installment....