Río Secreto, a journey to the center of the Mayan Earth. PART 2
By Melissa Bañuelos
We descended a few meters up to a chamber that seem to be the door of the center of the earth. We carefully sited on some rocks, as if they were made of crystal to avoid any damage to that place so perfectly designed while million years went by. From time to time we felt some bats flapping over our heads and we smelled the mixture of dampness and purity, as we listed to the fine process of caves formation.
It was astonishing when we entered to the first of many galleries hidden by the underground. The floor has the color of marble and pearls due to the amount of calcium; it is covered with water so pristine that you couldnt tell where the dry area really began. Paths are not dangerous or deep, you become part of this crystal world, you get used to your own delicate swim and steps.
The floor and the endless roof of each chamber are filled with speleothems that are still alive and that slowly keep shaping through time. Minerals leakage through rain that runs in the subsoil and the huge roots of trees that penetrate the gaps of the cave fed by the underground water, make of this place, the reflection of the upper world. Seems like some formations were sprinkled by star dust and that the sinkholes’ water was really sacred. Rio Secreto explorer was accurate on his description about that place: “it is a shortcut to the moon, pure jewelry of silver and gold”.
There were all kinds of rocky formations of all sizes, colors and possible textures; suddenly we could visualize also chandeliers, curtains, steps, everything as if it was a perfect palace designed for the Mayan spirits. We were in a place above Earth, or inside of it. For moments we heard the planet breathing, the sound of the natural leaks, deep echoes that filled our mind with peace. We saw a ray of light, no very far from the last gallery; we knew we were returning to the surface.
At the end of this magical journey, when the sunlight started to warm us again, with all the oxygen in our lungs we started to identify the scent of every living being, we breath at the same compass of our beloved Earth and of all the life in it. Because of all the white and glossy shades, we could perceive the intensity of the thousand greens that surrounded us.
Río Secreto, a journey to the center of the Mayan Earth. PART 1
By Melissa Bañuelos
Close to Playa del Carmen and Cancun, is located one of the most amazing works of art of nature. Río Secreto (“Secret River” as in Spanish), is an underground cave that seems to have been built by the Mayan gods and that my team and I had the chance to explore a couple of weeks ago.
The day was perfect to begin a new adventure that until then, we didn’t imagine to be the path up to an underground palace of blue rivers, silver formations and a perfect silence. We depart from Cancun and in less than an hour we were at one of the accesses to the Mayan jungle, home of endemic species and where all trees are brothers.
We jumped in an Unimog, better known as all-terrain vehicle. It had to be a special car, as the path didn’t have trails of human work, no paving, no cobble, no asphalt, no nothing. In that same moment we knew that we would forget about our hectic lives to immerse ourselves in nature.
After a 20-minute ride through the jungle, we arrived to a leved area. We were welcomed by a guide and he gave us the necessary equipment to guarantee our safety and comfort. You don’t need much to get to Rio Secreto: helmet with head torch, neoprene suit and water socks. We walked while we curiously watched the strange vegetation and all kinds of insects. Very soon we realize that the jungle was greeting us as if we were part of its endless ecosystem.
We saw a small bottomless hole on the floor. Our guide told us the story of the casual discovery of this speleological treasure “Don Cleo, owner of this parcel, was tiding up his land when he saw an iguana and tried to catch it for that day dinner. He dug trying to find the reptile when he heard some rocks falling into the void. Something was strange in that place”, said with excitement our guide as if he was already part of that cave.
