The Cave: a semi-hole in the Earth

View of the sunset from the bottom of the volcano. 

 When we all reached the bottom, we loaded into the van and drove down the volcano to the head of a stone lined trail with a little bamboo stick structure next to hit. Another guide handed us hardhats and flashlights. The sun and sky were pink and blue which looked spectacular next to the silhouette of the volcano. We all put on the hardhats and switched on the flashlights for out journey to a cave. A little ways up the trail, we turned off and descended some rocky (literally) stairs.

 

We entered the cave and the air was completely still. Humid too. We walked in and stopped. The guide showed us some small stalactites hanging from the ceiling. He also showed us the difference between new and old lava. New lava has some orange in it with no stalactites and no orange-ish coloring. We kept on walking.

 

The wall from the inside of the cave featuring 

hardened lava in cool patterns.

We had to tread carefully because the ground was really uneven and the ceiling was very low in some places. Thank goodness for the hardhat or I would have really hit my head hard on a low under hanging rock. When the cave stopped/we couldn't go any further, the guide had all of us turn our flashlights off so the cave was pitch black. I couldn't see 3 inches in front of my face. I closed and opened my eyes and there was no difference. The guide said he had us turn the lights off to prove the bats living in the cave didn't attack humans. He shined his flashlight to the ceiling to show us a part of the rock that legend had it was a woman who was sacrificed in the cave or volcano or something. The rock did appear to mostly look like a(n) (ugly) women's face. 

Then we all switched out flashlights on and made out way back out of the cave into the night. 

While we were in the cave, it had gotten darker. We walked back up the trail to another cave. We walked down the stairs leading to it and stopped. 

The guide shined his flashlight to show a snake consuming a bat. The bat wasn't moving but it was still sticking halfway out of the snake's mouth. Lovely...NOT. 

 

A snake in the midst of consuming a lifeless bat. Delicious.

We returned to the van and headed back to La Cancha.