did an epic cave adventure
We stood around in a semi circle, the six of us who paid $200 for the whole kit and caboodle. We were dressed to the nines in our thermal undershirts and slightly damp wetsuits.
"So, who's been surfing before?" the guide asked. He was a wiry man, with a friendly, sun-weathered face.
I raised my hand tentatively, glancing around at everyone else. Nope, just me.
"So you know what to do if you're cold?"
"Pee in your suit," I said with a shrug. It was obviously the answer he was looking for, so there was no point in sounding embarrassed about it.
He laughed, amused by what I could only assume was my lack of hesitancy. "You got it!"
Then began the long ride out to the cave we were going to explore. To recap, we're wearing still-damp wetsuits, cramped in a fairly small minivan, being shuttled for a 30 minute drive out to the cave. But these were not regular wet wetsuits, oh no. These were wetsuit overalls, with a wetsuit jacket on top. I felt like the Michelin Man, for all the movement I was afforded in the suit.
When it came time to descend into the cave, we were warned that the entrance which we were supposed to rappel down was hourglass-shaped, and that it was fairly narrow. We were assured that we'd all fit, albeit possibly needing some wiggling.
This would be a really bad time to be fat, I thought.
I began my descent slowly, my body gently swaying in the breeze. I started to gently bump against the walls of the increasingly-narrow entrance, and held out a hand to brace myself.
Then I got stuck.
Surely I'm not that fat. A little bit of uncomfortable wriggling against the unforgiving rocks later, I was lowered to the bottom.
Large jagged rocks were scattered in the chamber, bathed in the light from above. That was the last natural light we'd see for the next few hours.
After a short trek, we were at a ziplining platform. I didn't expect too much out of it. As I slowly rolled along the track in the blackness, I wondered when something interesting was going to happen, when I was suddenly pitched forwards. I lost my breath on a gasp, stunned by the sudden speed. I was still holding my breath as I flew beneath indistinct patches of light on the ceiling. As my eyes adjusted, I saw the glow of each individual glowworm, but the flight was over all too quickly and I bounced against the springs along the track, twisting around awkwardly to ham it up for the camera the guides were carrying.
At the end, we had a choice of taking the easy crawl out of the caves or to do a short rock climb through two waterfalls. As if I wasn't taking the challenging way.
And it was amazing. The roar of the water in my ears, the bracing force of the falls as they rushed my arms and legs, the unabashed spray of water hitting my face. The limestone of the cave formed jug holds, making it incredibly easy to navigate. I felt the rush of adrenaline as I pulled myself through the water, the deafening sound of the falls goading me higher, further. I stepped outside into the dark night feeling wet and chilly, but triumphant.
The only thing that made it better? When I checked into my hostel room to find a double room with no one else's travel bags. I poked my head out of the room, confused, and met the gaze of the Germans next door who also had a double room. We were the last ones back that night, so, realization dawning, I let a squeal of delight and began to settle in for the night. (The night before had been spent in a 6-person room where I overheard people talking sex, sex, and more sex. But that's another post.)
"So, who's been surfing before?" the guide asked. He was a wiry man, with a friendly, sun-weathered face.
I raised my hand tentatively, glancing around at everyone else. Nope, just me.
"So you know what to do if you're cold?"
"Pee in your suit," I said with a shrug. It was obviously the answer he was looking for, so there was no point in sounding embarrassed about it.
He laughed, amused by what I could only assume was my lack of hesitancy. "You got it!"
Then began the long ride out to the cave we were going to explore. To recap, we're wearing still-damp wetsuits, cramped in a fairly small minivan, being shuttled for a 30 minute drive out to the cave. But these were not regular wet wetsuits, oh no. These were wetsuit overalls, with a wetsuit jacket on top. I felt like the Michelin Man, for all the movement I was afforded in the suit.
When it came time to descend into the cave, we were warned that the entrance which we were supposed to rappel down was hourglass-shaped, and that it was fairly narrow. We were assured that we'd all fit, albeit possibly needing some wiggling.
This would be a really bad time to be fat, I thought.
I began my descent slowly, my body gently swaying in the breeze. I started to gently bump against the walls of the increasingly-narrow entrance, and held out a hand to brace myself.
Then I got stuck.
Surely I'm not that fat. A little bit of uncomfortable wriggling against the unforgiving rocks later, I was lowered to the bottom.
Large jagged rocks were scattered in the chamber, bathed in the light from above. That was the last natural light we'd see for the next few hours.
After a short trek, we were at a ziplining platform. I didn't expect too much out of it. As I slowly rolled along the track in the blackness, I wondered when something interesting was going to happen, when I was suddenly pitched forwards. I lost my breath on a gasp, stunned by the sudden speed. I was still holding my breath as I flew beneath indistinct patches of light on the ceiling. As my eyes adjusted, I saw the glow of each individual glowworm, but the flight was over all too quickly and I bounced against the springs along the track, twisting around awkwardly to ham it up for the camera the guides were carrying.
At the end, we had a choice of taking the easy crawl out of the caves or to do a short rock climb through two waterfalls. As if I wasn't taking the challenging way.
And it was amazing. The roar of the water in my ears, the bracing force of the falls as they rushed my arms and legs, the unabashed spray of water hitting my face. The limestone of the cave formed jug holds, making it incredibly easy to navigate. I felt the rush of adrenaline as I pulled myself through the water, the deafening sound of the falls goading me higher, further. I stepped outside into the dark night feeling wet and chilly, but triumphant.
The only thing that made it better? When I checked into my hostel room to find a double room with no one else's travel bags. I poked my head out of the room, confused, and met the gaze of the Germans next door who also had a double room. We were the last ones back that night, so, realization dawning, I let a squeal of delight and began to settle in for the night. (The night before had been spent in a 6-person room where I overheard people talking sex, sex, and more sex. But that's another post.)
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