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Ok.. after weeks and weeks, I’m finally getting around to writing about Day 4 our our Honeymoon.
Che Chem Ha is a Mayan cave that is set into the side of a mountain in Belize. It’s located in the Mayan Mountain region of Belize, about 30 minutes from San Ignacio. The cave was thought of by the Mayans as the path to the Mayan underworld. The Mayans would offer grain, animals and sometimes people to the “Gods of the Underworld” in hopes of rains, fertility, and/or lush pastures. Because of this, the cave has many artifacts (pottery/drawings) that are 1000s of years old. Susan Hoffman wrote a great review of her trip here. Also, if you’re a fan of the History Channel, they have a show called “Cities of the Underworld“. One of their episodes is the Maya Underworld and they actually go to Che Chem Ha. Our guide was the guide who was on the show. Pretty cool huh!!??
I want prefaces the rest of this post by saying that like Tikal, Che Chem Ha was not one of our ‘must see’ places while we were on our honeymoon. Unlike Tikal (which we knew we’d be attending before we left the U.S), we had no idea we were even going to go to Che Chem Ha until the day before the trip. We really thought we were going to another Mayan ruin site, Xuanantunich. So, this trip was quite literally, not what I signed up for.
With that said, you all know from the Tikal post (you did read the Tikal post.. right!?!?!?) that I’m not fan of hiking. I’m also not in the best shape (‘chicken or the egg’ issue here). So the morning we were to set off to Che Chem Ha, I had some doubts. At breakfast, our resort host mentions that it’s about a 1.25 mile hike and that the best part is that it’s all downhill on the way back (this tid bit of information should have been my first clue). The guy who discovered the cave, William, will be our guide.
When we get to Che Chem Ha, it is noticeably hotter than the previous day (the day we hiked Tikal). It’s also more humid, and quite frankly, I’m tried from the 5 miles of hiking I did in Tikal and I really wasn’t looking forward to this hike. There was shade.. that was a plus. So off we go: the guide, his friend from Nepal, two people from another resort and the 6 of us staying at MRR. The hike starts in a field and is farily flat. After about maybe .25 miles, the hike starts to take on an incline. Again, remember it’s probably 96-99 degrees outside with 70+% humidity and our guide is in some kinda hurry. The incline begins to steepen (at this point, I’d say you’re at about a 6 or 7 on the treadmill), and our guide, for some crazy reason, picks up the pace!!! I’m huffing and puffing and my newly minted husband is nowhere to be seen (he was helping lead the pack… darn those long legs of his!). So at some point, I feel like my lungs are going to explode. Every breath of air is hot, and there is nothing to cool you down. Even your sweat was hot!
We stop for a moment to catch our breaths and I finally catch up with the group. I casually ask if we’re almost there when the guide says “Yes… we’ve got about .25 miles to go, but it’s the hardest part”. For the record, I’m not tall. I’m maybe 5′6″ flat footed. I have a longer torso than I have legs, so a normal step for some is a pretty big step for me. What our guide failed to tell is that the next .25 miles is the hike UP the mountain. The trail consists of nothing but 45 degree switch backs. My legs are already burning from the 1 mile uphill hike and the previous days activities, and now, you want me to climb a mountain!?!?!?!? Some of the switch backs aren’t even on the trail, so to speak. They are more like really BIG STEPS in the side of the mountain. We get started and once again, I’m so far behind the pack, I’m not sure I’m going to make it. My heart is beating at what I’m sure it just two beats short of cardiac arrest and I can’t catch my breath. I’m hot, cranky, out-of-shape, and not in a ‘caving’ mood. And my husband is nowhere to be seen. The guide instructs everyone else to go ahead and then walks with me behind the group. I keep insisting that he go on, but he’s nice and says that the “cave can wait”. By the time I get to the cave, I’m maybe 3 minutes behind everyone else. My husband, with his perfect timing says “where have you been? I thought you were behind me the whole time”. I glare at him (inside the words *$&#$@ are begging to come out).
“I’m done hiking”, I say to my husband. “I hate hiking, it’s hot, I can’t catch my breath, I’m tired of wearing shoes that require socks (this one day will be it’s own blog), my water is still frozen, and I don’t even want to go in this cave. I’m done… do you hear me….DONE”. (the last part was said in more of a seething manner, through my teeth).
He laughs (can you believe that!!! HE LAUGHS) and reminds me that this is the last day of hiking before we head to the island/beach. GRRRRR!
Now, if you are in shape, love to hike, love caves, can stand the heat and humidity, or any combination of the previous mentioned, Che Chem Ha is for you. The cave is a dry cave (no water runs through it anymore) but it’s very muddy. It’s also not very cool (only about 10-15 degrees cooler but with about 98-99% humidity). So that put the cave around 78-80 degrees that day. Once we got to the cave, it was very interesting. There where, as William said, 9 levels of Mayan ‘Hell” to explore. Some levels ran into others (with narrow passage ways between them) and others required step ladders to reach. We explored all 9 of them.
This is William, with his dogs Oso and Shakira, at the cave entrance.
This is the cave entrance from inside the cave.
We ran into some old friends again:
CAVE SPIDERS! Really people.. they were harmless.
I personally don’t really care much for the whole ‘pottery in a cave’ thing. I’m more interested in the architecture and art, which is why I preferred the Tikal trip to the Che Chem Ha trip. However, it seems like everyone else on the trip though this was one of the coolest things ever. Yes, there was a ton of pottery laying about. William and those who assisted in the preservation of the cave have done a marvelous job keeping everything in tact.
There were lots of partial pots all over the floor of the cave
This is me standing on a ladder (made of rebar.. all of the ladders were made of rebar, which is almost impossible to climb with muddy shoes) taking pictures of whole pots sitting on a ledge. That was the last voluntary ladder I climb (there were several we HAD to climb. The whole muddy shoes/wobbly ladder bit was too scary for me)
Whole pots. Very cool!
More whole pots
Painted pottery. I think it’s a bird if I remember correctly.
Once we got to the bottom of the cave we spent some time talking about what the Mayans might have done there (human/animal sacrifices, etc) and how the dark effected the Mayans and why they treated caves as passages to hell. We even spent some time with out headlamps off, in the complete dark, just listening and thinking of what it must have been like to have no modern technology (aka flashlight) and to have to climb down into this cave. It must have been effin scary! Afterward, it was time to climb back out of the cave and head back to the resort. Total trip took maybe 4 hours.
All in all, it was a good trip. Was it the best?? I don’t think so, but then again, I’m a big baby when it comes to exerting too much energy. I’d say that the cave itself is great, but the hike up there is a pain in the *&!. It ranks as SUPER STRENUOUS on my energy exertion meter. Be prepared to get dirty since there is no way to avoid the mud in the cave (the husband and I were filthy). If you go in May, be prepared for the heat!
I’m glad we went, but man… I was glad to pack those hiking shoes in the bottom of my suitcase!
Up Next: San Pedro Part 1and maybe some wedding pictures!
