Tubing in Belize's Crystal Cave

 The Crystal Caves complex lie southwest of Belize City. From Belize City we took the George Price Highway, which leads to the capital Belmopan. It was a flat landscape, we passed a few karst hills in a group with Rockville Quarry. 

We turned off the highway at St. Matthew's and headed for Nohoch Che’en Caves Branch Archaeological Reserve and then on to Chukka Jaguar Paw outpost. Here we transferred to an old school bus to drive over a short hill to the outpost. Nohoch Che’en means big cave. 

We got waterproof shoes, left our things in a locker then walked in our swimsuits to have a look at the forest. I had left my camera and phone in the locker, so was unable to take any photos. Saw a kapok tree, called ceiba (saber), it is often found above caves here. A trumpet tree that has a hollow stem, and a Cohune palm.

Went to look at a cave entrance, the river flows through. Saw swallows. Then back through the compound and got life jacket and helmet with light, then our large green tube. Then about a 5 min walk up hill then down steps into the cave. It reminded me of a mini Clearwater. Lots of formations. 

The 8 tubes were tied together and our guide essentially pulled us along, upriver. We just floated along. Cave is impressive with a lot of stal and crystals, though the guide called them quartz. Saw a few very small bats. After a while we got out and walked up and over some dry land, through some formations and back to the river, then went back downstream to just beyond the put in point. We could then swim the last section but I chose to float across. Saw some small fish. We then had to carry our tubes up a lot of steps and then back to the centre. 

The cave is impressive, despite the conveyor belt of tourists. We got changed then had lunch of rice and beans with chicken. 

The caves were used by the Mayas and there are archaeological remains. 

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See photos on Trip Advisor ,

Limestone roofs in Bermuda

The islands of Bermuda sit on a long extinct volcanic seamount in the part of the North Atlantic known as the Sargasso Sea. The islands were created by mid-ocean volcanic eruptions about 35 million years ago. Today the rocks above water  are almost exclusively limestone, with the basalt volcanic core below. So Bermuda has igneous and sedimentary rocks.

Houses in Bermuda all have white stepped roofs. Bermuda has no fresh water springs, rivers or lakes so the design of the roofs is essential for collecting rainwater. This was first introduced 400 years ago. Many of the houses are made of limestone and painted in pastel colours with a white roof with steps. Bermuda has a lot of rain and the steps on the roof slows down the heavy rainfall which collects in the gutters and stored in a tank under the house. Each home is self sufficient and there is no mains water and no water rates. House building regulations state for each square foot of roof, all houses must have eight gallons of tank space. 

The roof is made of limestone, which is heavy enough not to be moved by hurricanes. In the past it was covered with lime mortar, which has antibacterial properties. Now the mortar has been replaced by white paint, this reflects ultra violet light from the sun and this helps purify the water. 

See BBC article from 2016.

In 2023 I visited Crystal Cave on Bermuda.

Cueva Pintada, Painted Cave, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

 After visiting the cave complex Cenobio de Valeron or the Valeron Granary on Gran Canaria, we then went on to Cueva Pintada, or Painted Cave. The Cueva Pintada Museum and Archaeological Park is located at Galdar on the island of Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, Spain. Its function is for the preservation and research of one of the most unique deposits of Gran Canaria.

Cueva Pintada, after which the deposit is named, was discovered in the mid 19th century. It is part of a group of artificial caves dug in the volcanic rock sinters. The Painted Cave has a wall of geometric motifs and is an unique representation of the Pre-Hispanic mural paintings.

It seemed a bit strange walking through a busy town and then along the pedestrianised streets to get to the archaeological park. The blue plaque on the ground marks the pilgrim's way, The Camino de Santiago, which stretches along 66 km in Gran Canaria -

As you enter the ticket hall and souvenir shop there is no indication of how extensive the site is.

Firstly you go downstairs and watch a film on the history of the people. Then there is a rather small museum, showing some of the archaeological findings that came from the deposit. These include Pre-Hispanic items along with others from late Mediaeval that were imported to the island, mostly from the Iberian Peninsula. Some of the exhibits are permanent, others are on temporary display.

You then go into a small theatre to watch another film on the history of the cave paintings. At the end the screen suddenly rises and you are looking down onto the large expanse of the archaeological park. This was a real surprise. The park is enclosed in glass windows and curtains and immediately surrounding it are houses of the modern day town. I found this quite incongruous.

A walkway goes down and around the hamlet of Cueva Pintada and you can get a closer look at the houses. Many houses have been excavated, as well as storage areas. The houses are in the shape of a cross whereas the stores are just simple rooms. Excavations in the volcanic rock sinters from 1987 to the present day have confirmed that Cueva Pintada used to be part of a village with over 50 houses and artificial caves dating back from the 6th to 16th centuries.  

The last surprise is the Painted Cave. We walked down to the platform seen in the above photo and the guide lets you in a locked door. Inside are a few steps down, enclosed by glass windows. Suddenly the lights go on in the painted cave and straight ahead are the paintings. As mentioned before, they are just geometric shapes. Unfortunately when they were first discovered, nothing was done to preserve them, so they are now quite faded. But now the conditions such as temperature and humidity etc, are strictly controlled. No photos are allowed of the paintings.

Again I found it quite surreal that this ancient site is in the middle of a modern town. 

The last part of the walkway takes you to some reconstructed houses -

Photo of the paintings as shown on the pamphlet -

See more on the Gran Canaria tourism website . This has more information and photos of the paintings.

Valeron Granary, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands

 Cenobio de Valeron at Santa Maria de Guia, on Gran Canaria, Canary Islands.

This cave complex is known as Cenobio de Valeron or the Valeron Granary. The man made caves are the largest pre-Hispanic collective granary built before Roman times and used by the island’s inhabitants until the conquest of the island at the end of the 15th century.

The site is also known as Valeron’s Monastery. The name monastery comes from the Roman belief that young noble women came here to live until they were married. It was only in the 20th century that an archaeologist realised the real use, as the cavities were similar to those in north Africa etc. The granary is one of Gran Canaria's most iconic archaeological sites.

The caves are located on a steep hill overlooking a steep ravine, and hidden from the sea it was an excellent natural fortress. View of the caves from the road, in the centre of the photo behind the tall rock , and looking back from the site -

Close up of other caves in the hill by the road -

From the ticket office steps lead up the hill and there are various notice boards and panels.

A cave showing items used by the people -

The caves were dug in the tuff using stone picks and wood tools. The cavities were excavated into the ground and along the walls of several galleries. The complex contains around 298 compartments with surfaces between 1-3 m2 and on 8 levels. They were used to store grain and foodstuffs. There are more than 350 storage places.

Looking  up at the main complex -

By the 20th century historians had discredited the idea that the caves were used as a monastery and suggested they were used as a communal grain store -

Steps up the cliff can still be seen - 

The cave walls are smooth so that no grain was wasted. The caves were shut with doors, probably made from wood. 

Surprisingly there were no pigeons roosting, the guide mentioned a high pitched hum (that we couldn’t hear) that is supposed to detract them.

The site was declared a Resource of Cultural Interest in 1978. 

See Caves of Valeron on Wikipedia. 

EMMCA Cave, Ashwick, Mendip, England, 1985

 East Mendip Minor Cave (Ashwick) or EMMCA is a small passage, located at Ashwick, near Stoke St Michael, on Mendip.

On 5 January 1985 we paid our first visit. It was on the right bank, directly up from the old house, about 50'. It was in a small cliff and depression and was a tunnel approximately 10' long, 3' wide, and looked choked without going down. Ashwick House -

We thought it could be an old dig but could find no reference. We started digging the next day but it ended after 10'. By 6 Feb there were holes off to the left and right and straight ahead. There were also a few bones. The air seemed quite fresh. 

My next visit was 7 August. We spent ages removing a large boulder then dug for a while. We dug again on 4 September, there was a slight draught and many bones. 11 Sept there was a hole down in the floor and one at the top which connects with the one on the left.

By 13 November it had changed considerably. It was now very steep and required three people down and two pulling. We used a double pulley system. The dig was loose mud and silt with many bones. Easy digging but no draught. 

11 December "Emptying buckets is hard work!. Still very "ochreous" and boney. Is getting even deeper".

8 January 1986, as we walked over, we noticed the roof of the old cottage had collapsed since the New Year. We pulled up several buckets and collapsed a few boulders. Entrance now need stabilising.

22 Jan we worked on the entrance and removed the log/tree, then dug from halfway down as we were short numbered. 5 Feb we had more people but abandoned digging after half an hour because of the snow. 19 Feb we dug out the bottom, initially wet clay then dry earth. It began to taper in after a while, perhaps we've gone down too far? Pulled up a few boulders. 

Next visit was 7 weeks later, on 9 April 1986. At the end of the evening we found a hole in the left wall, full of dry leaves. 16 Apr the dig was hard work with few people and very muddy half way down. That was my last visit.

See EMMC(A) on Mendip Cave Registry -

Whopper Cave, Batts Combe Quarry, Somerset, 1980

 On 15 May 1980 we went to Batts Combe Quarry near Cheddar in Somerset to look at a large hole that had appeared after blasting and had swallowed up many tons of rock. We were quite staggered when we saw the size of it. The quarry itself was absolutely immense, built on 5 levels and we drove up there in a dust storm. The hole was on the top level and proved to be a really massive entrance with a vast chamber below it. However it was about 70' below the quarry top, and a fair way down on the other 3 sides, being funnel shaped.

We put 100' of ladders down but decided it wasn't at all safe -

We kicked some stones down on the shortest side and started up a landslide. So we had to wait until the surrounding rocks could be removed. The amount of stone already fallen down the hole was incredible and we still couldn't see the bottom. The quarrymen had not seen anything like it either.

On 21 May 1980 we returned and found it somewhat changed. The rubble on the 3 sides had all been removed down to the floor level, about 20' lower than before. One person tied onto a rope and kicked rubble down the hole to clear a way for the ladder. The ladder was belayed to a machine using a long belay and we put down 75', but only 50' was necessary.

We went down, it was only free hanging for about 7'. It was estimated that 2000-3000 tons of rock had fallen down the cave, landing as a cone  on the bottom, some 25' high at the highest point. The main chamber was incredible, really massive, about 100' long, 90' high and 25' wide. It obviously continued down the bottom, south end, but the way on was blocked with rubble. 

We looked at the other end and one person went down and noticed a way on at the north end, on the left, which led into a chamber, with another chamber off it. There was quite a bit of mud there. We cleared out a drop of about 6' down to a small section of old streamway. Unfortunately there was no way on. 

We managed to survey the cave. There was a climb up to an upper passage, with a passage going off that for about 40'. The cave was assumed to continue under the quarry itself. Photo 21 May -

We went back to the cave on 29 May and had a good look around , knowing it was going to be filled in.

Whopper Cave on the Mendip Cave Registry -