Into the Depths of Xibalba

The Maya had strong beliefs when it came to life and death. They believed that the world was made up of layers, one of which was the underworld, or Xibalba. Ancient stories like the Popol Vuh describe the mysterious place, inhabited by the dangerous gods. The Maya thought that the numerous caves throughout Mesoamerica were the entranceways to Xibalba, leading down into the land of the dead.

We decided to be adventurous and explore and spelunk our way through one of the cave systems ourselves – on a guided tour of course.

After a short trek through the jungle we reached a pool of water and the entrance to the cave. A river runs its course within the cavern, so we would be tubing our way through it. We were each equipped with a life jacket and headlamp. There were fifteen people in our group, including our two guides. The line of our inner tubes tied together made a makeshift train in the water, so none of us would float away.

As we slowly drifted into the cavern, the light began to dim and we could see the silhouette of the rocky overhang behind us. Our guides instructed us to turn out our lights until we had completely penetrated the abyss, so we could appreciate the immensity of the darkness.

But soon our headlamps lit the walls around us, revealing hundreds of stalactites hanging from the ceiling and stalagmites emerging from the outcrops around us. The Maya believed that the caves were a sacred place, and that the water dripping from the stalactites was holy water. The guides told us that if we felt the water drip on us as we floated through, “consider yourself blessed.”

We spent almost an hour marveling the rest of the cavern, taking in the beautiful sights and sounds of the river flowing overtop the rock. Then soon we were outside once more, gliding downstream, surrounded by the trees around us and the blue sky above us. In another twenty minutes, we were back where we had started, without the hike.

It was an amazing experience. I only wish that I had had my camera with me to take some pictures. But of course I had left it behind so that it wouldn't be ruined from the water. Alas, nothing would have been able to capture the splendor of the caves in any case.