Actun Tunichil Muknal Cave

We had booked out visit to the Actun Tunichil Muknal (ATM) cave a few days earlier while driving through San Ignacio rather than through our lodge, as by doing so we saved a few hundred dollars (!).

So, our day began with a relatively early start and drive back out of the Black River Canyon into San Ignacio. We arrived early enough to grab some breakfast at a French bakery in town (which had really nice French pastries but sadly only OK coffee).

We re-grouped with the tour guides and were soon bumbling down the road in their large van with several other tourists.

The trip starts with an hour drive into the jungle where we parked and geared up (with helmets, headlamps, lunches and other personal gear like cameras, etc.,) and hiked further into the jungle.

The hour-long jungle hike was another great trek where the guides provided information about the flora and fauna. Along the way we had to fjord a river a few times which lent the trip that extra bit of adventure.

At one stop the guide was talking about the termites (we had seen several of these nests during our walks in the jungle) and mentioned their source of protein and that they had a particular taste. I sampled a couple of termites but couldn't really taste the carrot flavor that they're supposed to have.

When we got to the cave entrance we stopped for lunch and split into smaller groups. When our turn to enter came up we made our way down towards the cave and got in the water.

Getting into the cave requires a swim to start and for a good 1-2 hours inside the cave we were hiking up river, deeper and deeper into the cave.

Eventually we got to a spot where we climb up out of the river and onto a second level, where all of the artifacts are found. At that level of the cave there were pot shards as well as fire rings and other artifacts. Deeper in the caverns we eventually came upon some bones and near the end of the system there was a full skeleton laid out in probably the same position that its been in for thousand(s) of years.

Our guide was really fantastic and the cave exploring was awesome. Just hiking through the jungle and caves alone was cool. Add in the water, the helmets and headlamps and it notches up the adventure scale. The artifacts and bones added yet another dimension to the trip. And our guides really brought it all together and did a great job conveying all of the information so that you walk away from the experience having gained something.

The van ride home was quiet as most people pondered what we had seen and done throughout the day.