My views do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer.
I was told that the Secret River was life changing. I was imagining floating on a tube but instead of going around a man made lazy river like I’ve done in water world, we would be floating through a cave. I ended up doing that a couple of weeks later, but that’s not what this was. We took a ferry to a bus which took us into the jungle. We took a cleansing shower to wash off any soaps bug spray and deodorant and then donned wet suits, life jackets and water shoes. We were broken up into groups of 8. Our little group was blessed by a Mayan, we were taught a few words which I immediately forgot and then we ventured into the cave. The guide asked me to hold one of the flashlights and walk in the middle, which was really cool. I got to shine a light on anything I wanted to see! At first there was just a little stream of water that we could step over. I stepped right in it. Then it got a little deeper and we were wading up to our knees. Finally it got deep enough that we would have to jump off a rock and swim through the water to continue on our path. It wasn’t very deep but the water was cold. With the life jackets our heads stayed above water. We climbed over rocks as the guide shared stories and geological facts about the caves. My favorite part was when we came to a place where my toes could barely touch the bottom and he had all of us turn off our headlamps and float in the silence. It was incredible. It didn’t matter if I had my eyes open or closed, all I could see was complete darkness. My body was completely supported by the water and I started to imagine I was floating in space. The walls were near and far at the same time. It was magical. Then someone’s stomach grumbled which made all of us giggle. We turned our lights back on and continued. We got to climb through a tunnel feet first like a water slide. The ceiling was so close to our heads. One might think it would have felt claustrophobic but it wasn’t. After over 2 hours, the natural sunlight widened and we climbed out of the cave. Stepping back into the sun I felt more still, silent and grounded than I had in a long time. Di was right– Life changing. Eventually I returned to my normal routine and the stillness lifted, but I love remembering how that felt.
