Barton's Creek Cave

In the back of David's truck
see all photos »

We made it back to San Ignacio on the bus late Sunday afternoon and got to bed fairly early in preparation for the morning. Earlier in the week, David had pretty well sold us on one of his adventure outings with his charming hype of Barton's Creek cave. He was actually one of the very first to actually re-explore the cave about 20 years ago and worked with the Archeology departments within the government to help make it a national park. The cave itself is considered "live" which means it is still continuing to grow and erode from a water source deep inside the mountain it's situated in. It was used as an ancient Mayan burial and sacrificial alter by an outcasted tribe who believed it to be the entrance to the underworld. Pretty much nothing else needed to be said... I knew we HAD to go.

Crossing the River
see all photos »

So, early Monday morning we set out: Me, Nate, David and the "Little" Man. It was about an hours drive into the bumpy dense jungle and we rode in the back of his shitty little white truck on makeshift benches until a sudden down pour hit us and we quickly jumped up front with David. Unfortunately, for the "Little" man he had to stay in the back and David handed him a huge garbage bag to poncho himself. I would turn around on occasion to see a big black plastic form being pelted by the large raindrops.

At times I felt we'd paid the toll man to take us across the River Styx

the "Little" Man!
see all photos »

Meanwhile, in the front we got more of David's story. His father was Jamaican (apparently "he was as dark as Sydney Poitier") and his mother an indigenous Mayan. His self-created title being a Rastafarian Afro-Mayan. As we got closer to our destination we drove through the BIGGEST orange grove I've ever seen (and I AM from Florida!) and then through the Mennonite community. It's a very strange sight to see ultra Aryan children running bare footed with horses through the jungle in their little suspenders and "bowl cut" style hair... but somehow only in Belize!

The ONLY photo of my Swimming Hole!
see all photos »

In the final lag to get to the creek we had to ford a small river! We came to a bend in the road where David parked and he walked out to start clearing a few of the large stones in our path. Nate and I climbed back into the truck bed with "Little" man for the weight and we just plowed through about 25 feet of foot high water! Making it down to the small outpost right on the creek, we laid eyes on the most beautiful swimming hole I've ever seen. Not wanting to waste anymore time, we agreed to swim after the cave and David got our canoe ready.

Barton's Creek Cave entrance
see all photos »

I was in the front and had the privilege of holding the 1000 watt spotlight (hooked up to a car battery!!) while Nathan took pictures and David narrated the cave. The entrance was ominous as we approached and we kept the light off until we were far enough inside to where the natural sunlight no longer filtered in. The formations were incredible, unlike any other cave I've been in! Around 30-40 feet inside, the entire ceiling of the cave opens up and you can see straight up for what seems like a mile. The screeching and the occasional low flying bats kept me alert as well as the unbelievably clean and crisp air deep inside.

Nate in the Cave
see all photos »

Fairly early in our descent (what it truly felt like) we saw the Mayan alters (lots of pottery and even a human skull half-exposed coming out of the side of a rock). Evidently, they had actually created their own man made overhead bridge to access this sacrificial burial ground. There were definite "eery" feelings in this particular area but this was as deep as the Mayans had ventured into this cave. We went in quite a bit further and were inside the cave (roundtrip) for close to 2 hours. At times I felt we'd paid the toll man to take us across the River Styx and at the deepest point the air was so dense that there was a light foggy mist in the air.

The Face with Dreadlocks
see all photos »

So, we made it out alive (no flash floods!) and the flow of the creek took us right back into the jungle and back to that swimming hole I'd had my eye on...

Unfortunately, Nate used up our camera battery in the cave and we were unable to take any of us rope swinging into the water with the "little" man. We could tell he was somewhat disappointed when I wore my tank top over my bikini saying "You're going to bathe with your blouse on?" in his almost British accent. The water was cold but refreshing and the perfect end to our adventure!