On Day 3 we decided to go on a canoeing expedition to Barton Creek Cave, a Mayan ceremonial cave. We headed out fairly early with our Chaa Creek guide, Ricky. We took perhaps the bumpiest dirt road on the planet for what seemed like a very long time. Somehow, Finn managed to fall asleep.
Our destination was well worth the kidney-jarring ride. Even before we got to the actual cave, the surrounding area was lush and beautiful.
Here’s our ride, one of the trusty Chaa Creek vans.
We geared up — head lamps, life vests, paddles — and headed to the canoes.
The boys wanted to ride with Bruce (surprise) so I went with Ricky and got to take all kinds of pictures from the front of the canoe.
Sadly, my photos from inside the cave don’t do it justice. The stalactite and stalagmite formations were amazing.
There were lots of bats and a couple of skulls and Mayan artifacts. At one point, we turned off all our lights and experienced the total darkness, which was really eerie. And then we turned around and headed back out.
The boys’ highlight came next — a rope swing over the river which they played on for at least an hour. Ezra had it down to a science.
Finn … not so much at first.
But he got better the more he tried.
Bruce got into the act, too. But the water was so shallow that he kept hitting his bum.
I think we did something else that afternoon, but I can’t remember what it was. I know Jamma came that day, and we probably went to the pool. This is what happens when I wait nearly two months to do a blog post.