Some friends of ours from where we used to live in Mexico (Steve & Kathy) were on a two week trip to Belize and stayed with us for a few days. They checked out the ruins, caves and a few other of the tourist sights, but there was something right near us that we hadn’t even seen yet.

About two miles from us on private property there is a cave that is not really open to the public. We’ve gotten to know the kid who owns it and he invited us up to check it out. He told us that about 30 years ago his dad was hunting and saw something run under this rock into a small hole. The hole was covered by a big rock, and once they moved the rock the hole went deep into the ground. Later when they explored the hole they found that it was a big cave about 180 feet long with a 30-foot ceiling and full of stalactites. Not only that, it was full of pottery, spears, grinding stones, and human remains. Eventually, they had some archaeologists come and give them a little more insight into what they had. I guess this was a place where sacrifices were done and you were prepared for the afterlife.

Anyway, we met our guide and hiked up to the cave entrance where there was a metal grate locked over this small hole going into the ground. There was a ladder that went 14 feet straight down this hole to the floor of the cave, I was not sure I would fit, but I did.

Once inside the cave, our eyes adjusted and our flashlights came on and it was spectacular. The stalactites were everywhere and were still dripping wet making it very slippery in some spots.

After climbing down some slippery mud in the dark holding onto ropes we came to the spots where they had gone through and gathered and displayed the artifacts in different areas of the cave. There was a lot of broken pottery, spearheads, jewelry, and other items, but to me, the most impressive were the whole pots. Some of these were huge and still intact after more than 2,000 years.

Then there were also some human remains. There were two skulls, a male and a female, and a bunch of bones. One of the skulls had a tall flat forehead. I guess when the babies were very young they would tie a piece of wood to the baby’s head to reshape it. A tall flat forehead was considered to be a thing of beauty in the Mayan culture. You can see how tall and flat the forehead is on the skull on the right.

It was amazing to get to see this cave that very few people have ever seen before. In the future after some more work, there are plans to open this cave up to the general public. In the meantime, he told us that there are still a lot more artifacts to be discovered inside the cave before it can really be open to the public. This kid is very proud of what his dad discovered and the Mayan culture and is willing to share it with you. So if you are here and feeling adventurous I’m sure we could set something up so you can see this cave that very few people have ever seen before. Besides, it’s only a couple of miles from our place.