artful nomad

Off-the-beaten-path guidebooks and marketplace designed for the independent traveler

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Sensitive Cultural Artifacts: On Sale!

All museum reproductions are 20% off. Our featured artifact is a reproduction of the Mask of Death and Rebirth. The Maya belief in the never-ending cycle of life and afterlife is illustrated in this sculpture, with each layered face representing a specific stage of life. The original is from the ruins of Tikal in Guatemala and dates to about 900 AD.

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Artful Nomad Co. Names ShelliusMax "Best Person Ever"

“Assuming she is a real person,” says ANC Editor Dave Berg. Berg is referring to ShelliusMax’s recent blog on belizeforum.com, an excellent forum for info about traveling in Belize.

According to ShelliusMax (not her real name):

“Thanks Steve, the book came on Monday already. It looks fantastic! What I have read so far is very useful and your writing is also funny in places which is great. Terrific photos too. I’m really glad I ordered it.”

Shellius will retain the BPE title and accompanying notoriety until the ANC sees fit to award a new Best Person Ever at a future date.

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Man Breaks Pot, Sacrifices Family

— Staff Report

Modern explorations breathe life into 1000 year old mysteries inside the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave near San Ignacio, Belize.


PACZ guide Carlos Panti illuminates the ATM cave’s trail and history.

San Ignacio, Belize

Amongst the rubble lie the bones, human bones. These bones – a skull here, an ulna over there – lie scattered in the dust of a thousand years. Amidst the drip, drip, drip or distant murmur of the underground aquifer, they lay here as the years marched by with nary a sunrise nor sunset to mark their passage. Never a thin voice nor squeak of a mouse was heard, and the only movement was the rise and fall of a swirling black river, or the wrong turn of a bat in a distant cave’s chamber.

But you’ve hurtled through time zones, gone from winter to summer, frostbite to sunshine. You’re deplaned and decompressed, and walk across the airport tarmac blissfully blinking in the tropical Belize sunlight. Really now, the last place you may think of crawling into is a hole in the ground. But for a moment, try to give it a second thought.

Hidden snug in a cliff, at the base of a mountain, lies the the Actun Tunichil Muknal cave, or Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre. You may recall from Anthropology 101, that the term Sepulcher just simply put means grave. Now all of a sudden, this hole-in-the-ground idea has gone from bad to worse. Don’t close the door on my foot quite yet however, because this cave is actually part of a curiously unique and spellbinding adventure.

If not for the sweet-toothed cravings of a developing world, the cave may rest in peace to this day. However, early forest entrepreneurs known as “chicleros” whispered of the cave as they scoured the forest for chicle, the original cornerstone ingredient for a Wrigley’s Chewing Gum empire. Legends spread and flitted in the wind until before long an expedition was conducted by Canadian caver Tom Miller and the Queen Mary College Speleological Expedition in 1989. Most recently, Belizean archeologist Jaime Awe was the first archeologist to probe the cave’s strange mysteries and then attempt to explain them to the world.

Explore it yourself today, as it’s merely a monkey swing down a few dusty mountain roads and at the end of a forest trail. You’ll know when you’ve arrived as your route turns from forest trail to the emerald green of a jungle creek. Entwined in creeping vines and lianas, the cave entrance pours forth a small river, which swirls into a murky pool at your feet. The mist and mystique swirls as well, let me explain.

Mayan Roots

According to scholarly theory, a few years ago, perhaps 1100, a majestic Mayan civilization was at a crossroads. There is much lively discussion these days about the roots of the problems confronting these powerful societies. Some say they had ruined their environment or drought was key; others say a heavy-handed priesthood tipped a fragile balance, sending a multitude of commoners back to their ancient forest ways. Certainly, a complicated brew of elements is what most can agree contributed to the mysterious breakdown of a once-amazing civilization.

Over a course of time, different groups of Mayans explored ever farther into this small mountain by torchlight. They brought pots and broke them, they stained walls with handprints, and most illustrative of all, they left their loved ones in the throes of sacrifice. Their deaths, they believed, left them on the hearth of the afterlife.

The ATM cave is a small but preciously intimate peek at what a relative handful of seemingly desperate Mayans did to shore up their futures – futures they believed were in peril. The cave to them was the throat of the underworld, and the portal to their ancient world’s beginning. Amongst Mayan cave guides today, some say their ancestors understood that their world was carried on the back of a turtle, swimming on an ocean, and the cave was the mouth leading to its heart and essence. Pretty heavy stuff, but it’s something you should know before you jump into the little river coming out of this turtle’s mouth.

The Turtle’s Mouth

Your spirited adventure starts in clever San Ignacio town in Belize’s Cayo District near the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve. Mayan ruin mavens, canoe enthusiasts, bird watchers and iguana chasers alike descend every year on this cozy and friendly town as San Ignacio offers a veritable Dagwood sandwich of interesting adventure opportunities. The ATM cave is only one of many.

You’ll begin your journey by hiking through the jungle for some 45 minutes, fording streams as you go. Your guide explains the flora and fauna and points out a jaguar’s fairly recent arrival–claw marks etched in a tree.

Your trail ends at a mountain. There, you’ll eat a lunch provided by your outfitter, and then stow your cameras in your guide’s drybag before starting your journey into the turtle’s mouth. You’ll swim about twenty feet in water well over your head, you can arrange for a life preserver if you’re not a good swimmer. After this refreshing dogpaddle you’ll hike and wade in a line, and You Will adhere strictly to your guide’s instructions. Because, if anything goes awry, the government will nix this adventure from Belize’s adventure list, as there are few places in the world that let you get as close to ancient history as fragile as this.

All instructions are passed back from person-to-person as you traverse beautiful chambers, squeeze through narrow passages to navigate clefts and gentle cascades – basically lumbering along carefully by headlamp. Wonderfully formed stalactites and stalagmites line the walls and ceilings and eerie rock formations leer at you from the shadows. If an 1,100 year old Mayan corpse totters on to the end of your tour group, make sure he tips his guides just like everyone else.

Throes of Sacrifice

At one point you will climb atop a rock shelf, shed your shoes, and walk very carefully in your socks to a large chamber where pottery shards lie scattered in the dust and limestone. Some pots are large, some small, yet some are smashed and strewn about, others on regal display.
Nearby is a sacrificial area where the rites were performed. You’ll pick your way carefully around the ancient remains of once-proud and pious Mayans living a cycle of rites and beliefs they considered true and sound. Before long you reach a 20-foot ladder, which takes you up and even deeper still. There in a silent, tiny hollow, an intact skeleton known as the Crystal Maiden lies partially calcified in the cave floor and somewhere close-by – her secret lies with her.

At most times you’ll be wet, and sometimes warm, and often times chilly. A thin, neoprene-type shirt would be a good option. It’s not super strenuous and there’s little danger of ending up in a pile of bones somewhere; but the hike up inside the cave echoes on circuitously for maybe a mile before you stop. You’ll be glad to finally emerge in the sunlight as most everyone makes it out alive. Your return trip to town seems much quicker and you’ll be back in town no later than 4 pm.

Outfitters

Only two operators offer this trip, PACZ Tours is one of them. You can connect with them through Eva’s Restaurant and Bar at 19 Burns Ave. Ask Eva’s owner Bob about them and he’ll whip out his trusty notebook and get you sorted out for the next outing of your choice. Yes, it’s that easy. Pacz is certified to go to the ATM cave, has excellent guides and is owned by Jaime Awe’s nephew Emilio Awe.

The other outfitter certified to do this trip; is Mayawalk Tours. They are directly across the street from Eva’s at 19 Burns Ave.

Both outfitters charge about 140 BZD/70 USD for the ATM trip, but I found the price well worth it. Plan to get up early, as your group heads off around 8:30. Get a good breakfast beforehand and bring good hiking footwear, SOCKS and a change of dry clothes.

The outfitter will provide transportation, guides, lunch, helmets, head lamps and a bottle of water. All Mayan spirits must provide their own transportation, as the van fills up quick.

Comment

  1. I hope everyone who reads this appreciates what it took to accummulate this knowledge. I do ‘cause I was there with you xx years ago. Not at ATM Cave, but nearby. Your description makes me want to go back!

    — Jimdad · Apr 10, 06:05 PM · #

  2. The ATM cave was an awesome experience and I never use the word “awesome”. We went with Mayawalk tours and had an excellent adventure that was worth every penny. It helps to read everything you can about it before you go.

    — Shellius · May 13, 10:25 PM · #

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