We made it safely back into the land of English speakers! (Although you hear as much Spanish and Belizean Kriol here as you do English.) My friend Maria (from my 2000 and 2001 visits) has rolled out the red carpet, and we are staying for free at one of her hotels here. Incredibly sweet deal. That has allowed us to do some more expensive tours such as:
ATM Cave: I'm not sure I can describe this place and do it any justice at all, but it ROCKS! We drove about an hour into the bush, mostly on a very rocky, bumpy road. We hiked about 40 minutes through the jungle, feeding the mosquitos and wading across the Roaring River three different times on the trail. Then, the fun stuff. We put on our helmets with headlamps, and jumped into the (very deep) pool at the mouth of the cave. We swam through the entrance, and crawled out inside the cave. We then began a half-mile journey into the depths - not an excurison for the faint-hearted or out-of-shape! The river runs through the cave, so we alternately swam, waded through rushing water, climbed and clambered up boulders, wedged ourselves through crevices - all in complete darkness with just our headlamps for light. (There were only the three of us, Anthony, me, and our guide Juan Carlos.) The deeper we got, the more stalactites and stalacmites we encountered, glittering in our lamps like diamonds. Incredible.
Deep in the cave, we came to the "dry chamber" where we continued walking in stocking feet (so as not to damage the limestone with the oils on our skin). We began to see pots everywhere, just lying around. The Maya used this cave for offerings and sacrifices, and the pots contained food offerings over a thousand years ago. There were bowls there which they had used to collect the blood from bloodletting ceremonies (piercing penises and nipples, according to Juan Carlos). Ouch. We were allowed to walk freely among the artifacts, which is incredible. 
(Tourists have already crushed a few pots in the 8 years or so the cave has been open.) Then, we were walking among some skulls. Again, walking freely around them! (That would NEVER happen in the US!) These were the bones of the sacrificial victims the Maya offered up to Chac, the rain god. The archaeologists can tell that one of them died with hands tied behind his back, facing the wall. Definitely an unwilling victim. We were standing at a 1200-year-old murder site. 
The grand finale was at the end of the dry chamber. We had to climb a very high ladder up to a ledge, and there lay a complete skeleton, frozen in the limestone. They call her the "Crystal Maiden". The skeleton is a female, about 5 foot 2, according to the archaeologists. Another murder victim, frozen in time. (It almost feels like you can still hear her screams echoing through the chamber.) Creepy. According to Juan Carlos, these sacrifices were most likely performed during times of drought, and the victims were often prisoners captured from enemy tribes. (Although it was also considered an honor to be sacrificed, and they sometimes sacrificed one of their own.) Either way, the Maya were kind of a rough bunch, in my opinion!Anyway, we spent about two hours underground with the bones and whatever spirits remain. Pretty incredible experience.
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