Harrison's Cave on stamps

Having just visited Harrison's Cave in Barbados, in the Caribbean, I found there are a few stamps depicting the cave.

The first was issued in 1977 ,  Natural Beauty of Barbados series, $1

Next was a series just on Harrison's Cave, 1981 , a set of 4, SG 689-692 -

Then a 90 c in the 2000 series  "Pride of Barbados" , SG 1159 :

And in 2014,  a 65 c Harrison's Cave,  in the series  The Seven Wonders of Barbados, SG 1404/10

Harrison's Cave, Barbados

Barbados in the Caribbean is one of the Windward Islands. Unlike other Windward islands, only Barbados and Martinique have caves.

Barbados is not volcanic, it is composed of coral limestone, which is relatively young.

Harrison's Cave is a show cave. I have known about this cave for many years,since I started collecting cave stamps.

Harrison's Cave is formed from a type of crystallized limestone, and is undoubtedly one of the most
spectacular natural attractions in the entire Caribbean. Harrison's Cave has only been accessible to the general public in recent years and has had extensive refurbishment and renovations. It is located in the central uplands.

Firstly you enter the Visitors Centre, which gives info on how the rocks and cave was formed. Then you are taken into a theatre to watch a short film on the formation of Barbados and how the caves evolved.

Next everyone is given a helmet and hair net and you board the electric tram that will take you down into the cave.

The tunnel is surprisingly high and it was hard to see what has been blasted. The lighting was done quite well, with the lights hidden by 'frames' camouflaged to look like part of the cave. The guide
gives a commentary as the tram progresses. There is one large chamber. The cave was surprisingly wet (March) and water was dripping from the roof and the steams were quite active. The cave is warm and humid.

A stop is made in a chamber with some nice stal and a stream.

Further on there is nice flowstone. But overall we didn't see much stal and the water features seemed rather artificial. The last stop is at a small lake -

The return is the same route as the inward journey. back in the info centre, you then take a high outdoor elevator back up to the ticket office, shop and the car park level.

Tram tour 60 BDS $ (Barbadian dollar) , US$30 , £22.

Harrison's Cave website.


Update 
An article on Harrison's Cave on Ancient Origins July 2019.

**

Barbados became a republic 30 Nov 2021, on the 55th anniversary of its independence.

Barbados gained full independence on 30 Nov 1966, which meant that the Queen ceased to have sovereignty over Barbados. So the hereditary title of the Queen of Barbados was replaced with the elected position of the President of Barbados. 

Cave of Wonders, Dominican Republic, Caribbean

In March 2019 I was on a cruise around some Caribbean islands. The first island we stopped at was the Dominican Republic. The ship docked at La Romana, in the southeast of the island.

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, the latter is on the western side.
The DR is volcanic, but has limestone along the south and east sides, whereas Haiti is rich in limestone.

I joined a tour to Cueva de las Maravillas, Cave of Wonders.

This was discovered by boy scouts in 1926. From the ticket office you walk through an area of coral karst

A thorny tree -

The area above the cave entrance reminded me of a Malaysian wang. About 140 steps lead down to the cave entrance

No photography is allowed inside the cave. The tourist cave is one large chamber with a passage leading off with lots of paintings and this ends in a pool. Lots of stal and it was all really pretty. The whole of the flattish ceiling was full of small bell holes. The pathways and lighting were really well done indeed, no sign of any cables or even light bulbs. Took the government 3 years to do. Lots of tree roots hanging down, that looked like cables.

The cave is known for some 500 paintings, done by the Taino people in pre Colombian times (Columbus reached the DR 1492). They were done in charcoal and animal fats. They have faded but some have been touched up for display. Many of the anthropomorphic paintings are cartoon like, with heads and figures of people. The passage leading off to a small chamber is the main one for the paintings. And a passage off this leads to the rest of the cave which is closed to tourists, and houses a lot of cave fauna.  The show cave passage ends in a nice pool. All really nice but we were rushed through which was a shame. Not at all cold inside, about 19 C. The show cave length is 240 m and the cave is 25 m underground. Very attractive cave.

Roots outside the cave entrance -

As we walked back to the ticket office we saw a large enclosure with lots of iguanas

Entrance fee 300 RDS, US$10 for adults.

See more on Show Caves of the World.

Rock art in Cuba

News of a new cave painting site in Cuba was announced in August 2017. I went to Cuba in 2015 and wasn't aware of any rock art.

The news item "Speleologists Discover New Cave Painting Site in Cuba" can be seen here. It says that 'Cuban speleologists have discovered a new cave painting site in a cave located at the Sierra Maestra mountain range, in southern Granma province'.

The mountains have a long history of guerrilla warfare, such as the Cuban Revolution and Cuban Wars of Independence, including the time when Fidel Castro hid in the area with his supporters. Map from Wikipedia -

I was in Santiago de Cuba province and saw the mountains, they are volcanic -

The rock art consists of a group of pre-Columbian petroglyphs (carvings or incisions made in the rock). These engravings are the first ones reported in that area of Cuba. Photo taken from Prensa Latina -

The discovery is particularly important because the seven cave painting sites previously identified in that province are located in the western extremity, near Cabo Cruz. Wikipedia map -

Vinales Valley, Cuba, world heritage site

The Vinales Valley in Cuba is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Vinales Valley is located in the Sierra de los Organos at the western end of Cuba.

It is a stunning karst landscape, a valley encircled by mountains and dotted with mogotes that rise up to 300 m. Mogotes are tall rounded hills that rise abruptly from the plain.

Vinales is inscribed in 1999 as a cultural site. The valley is used for traditional methods of agriculture and tobacco. The indigenous architecture of the farms and villages shows the multi-ethnic society of the area, which was colonised in the early 19th century.

There are many caves in the hills although I wasn't able to visit any. Many were inhabited for centuries before the arrival of the Spanish colonists. Escaped slaves in particular lived in the caves.

Vinales is in Pinar del Rio province, the capital is also called Pinar del Rio.

Morning mist in the valley -

Cuba cenote

I spent some time in Cuba in Sept 2015, but unfortunately was unable to visit any caves. However I did see my first cenote.

Cenotes are sinkholes that contain groundwater and usually connect to underground water bodies. The name is commonly used in the Mexico and Caribbean areas.

La Cueva de los Peces is on the southern coast of central Cuba, at the Bay of Pigs.

It is 17 km south of Playa Larga, in Matanzas province, La Cueva de los Peces is a 61-meter-deep sinkhole. There are lots of fish.

Interesting 'fossils' in the floor -

This is the coast where the cenote water presumably comes out -

The sea is crystal clear