July 6, 2016
Today we went to explore the Actún Kan caves. These
are the caves that we need to promote since the concession rights belong to
ProPetén now. I almost said that the
caves themselves belong to ProPetén, but my friend Cinthya would never forgive
me for saying that. As she reminded me when we traveled to La Libertad together
last weekend, the caves around Guatemala carry special spiritual significance
to the Q’eqchi Maya people, to whom they represent doorways from the corporeal
world to the ethereal, and that’s why they still return to these caves to
conduct ceremonies.
In any case, my day was exhausting. We went with most of
ProPetén’s staff as sort of a workday excursion, but this meant that the whole
group was fighting over which direction I should point the high-powered
flashlight that I brought. On top of this, I was the only one who was really
working today as I had to keep close to the guide and trace out our position in
a map that I drew up, and make sure that whichever formation we were looking at
was consistent with what our position was in my hand drawn map. What was
frustrating was that at several points, my coworkers tried to rush me so they
could get to see the farther reaches of the cave, or direct my flashlight so
they could take pictures as I was trying really hard to focus on keeping the
map accurate. After all, if my map ended up being incorrect, the whole purpose
for the visit to Actún Kan would have been for naught.
Between those stresses,
I realized quickly that I needed to overcome my claustrophobia as much of the
trip was spent sliding between the narrowest of crevices. On the bright side, I
didn’t encounter any tarantulas or centipedes when we were crawling through the
mud, only a wealth of different bat species ducking between the stalactites. I
definitely have a new appreciation for bats now. Whereas I used to try to avoid
them, now I recognize them for their beauty and usefulness in their ecosystems,
especially for the guano they provide. Luckily, none of that guano was falling
on us from the cave’s rooftops. In any case, tomorrow we leave for our first
trip to the countryside working on the cacao project.
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The incorrect map at the cave’s entrance, I needed to
trace out an entirely new map for a new sign.
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The caves are loaded to the brim with bats and
incredible formations!
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