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Published: June 23rd 2007
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Actun Tunichil Muknal Entrance
The entrance to the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, showing the two ladies from our tour and myself, J.C. Two of the young ladies from our tour and I got in the Atun Tucnil Malakin (sp) van and went into town to the MayaWalk Tour Office. We paid our fees , found satisfactory wet/cave shoes, grabbed our bag lunches and headed out. After about an hour on a decent road, we turned onto the "road from Hell"! After another hour of riding on a road that couldn't have been any worse and still be usable by anything but an ATV, we arrived at the base camp. The guide briefed us on what to take and what to leave. Wear a pair of socks and bring a dry pair. A bathing suit is ok if its tough, otherwise shorts or even pants. We donned our helmets and one light backpack for the 3 of us and headed into the rain forest. After a long, pleasant hike during which we forded a stream 3 times, we arrived at the cave camp near its entrance. Here we ate our bag lunches (a bit early being not even 11am), hung our backpack up and went to the entrance for photos. Afterwards we emptied our pockets and gave our cameras to the guide to
Actun Tunichil Muknal Pottery
Some of the artifacts we saw in the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, and a bit of the cool formations. put in his waterproof backpack (should have turned a light on there!). Entering the cave required us to basically swim about 20 feet in icy cold water! Things got better after that. We must have waded, hiked, and climbed a mile thru the cave, often thru narrow and treacherous openings, over rocks and along the stream, a couple of times up to my chest in water. Along the way we saw (we each had head lamps) the most awesome stalactites, stalagmites and curtains formations imaginable. Reaching the dry portion of the cave where the Mayan artifacts were, we climbed up into them and got a thorough briefing on how to treat the relics with respect. Going stocking-footed, we proceeded thru the dry cave that was littered all over with lots of pottery and some bones. Awesome! We were looking at 1,300 year-old relics up close and personal. There was even a complete skeleton of a woman laid out on the cave floor. Going back out of the cave seemed a lot shorter and faster. After collecting our gear, we trekked back to the base camp, changed into dry clothing and then rode back to San Ignacio and our hotel. I
Actun Tunichil Muknal Skull
A Mayan skull, complete with teeth in the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, still as it was over 1,300 years ago. highly recommend this tour to anyone! By the time we returned it was almost 6pm and having eaten lunch at 11am, I was starved. Manoli and I walked into town (quite a distance, but pleasant with lots of stuff and people to see), and found one of the recommended restaurants, Serendib. I convinced Manoli to share their special which was a combination plate with steak, fish, shrimp, potatoes, rice, and salad. The steak and shrimp were delicious and Manoli defintely ate her fair share. With a pantyripper (coconut rum and pineapple juice) the total was $20.50 U.S. After dinner we strolled back to the room. Tomorrow on to the island paradise of Caye Caulker. I'll try to upload photos tomorrow.
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ChrisinLA
Chrisinla
hi
How much was the tour of the cavern? Great blog!