Up at 7:15am!!! to catch our 8/9 hour shuttle bus to Lanquin. Woo Hoo! The bus was full as usual, but for the first time so far, Rach & I managed to get a seat together. During the trip most people were trying, but failing to sleep (incl. Rach), mainly because of the (lack of) roads. In the bus we were being accompanied by 9 medical students (2 Canadians, 3 Americans & 4 English). Whoever built the roads in this country decided hideous amounts of bends were far better than straight roads. So holding on tight was a necessity as the driver flung the van around every corner. That coupled with the huge holes, speed bumps & lack of tarmac, meant the journey wasn't the most enjoyable. However after our hour & a half stop for lunch (which should've been 30mins!), we got to Lanquin, checked into our wooden hut in El Retiro & quickly sorted out our cave tour, which we were half an hour late for. Rach & I along with our guide, jumped into the back of a truck & bumped off to the cave. We went about 1.5km into the cave, which had hundreds of bats hanging asleep from the roof, with our guide pointing out the different shaped stalactites & stalagmites along the way. I think though, that whoever recognised & named the shapes must have been smoking something funny, as not many of them were recognisable! We started heading out just as the sun was setting & the thousands of bats begun flying out the cave to feed. It was an amazing experience with the bats flying within a foot of your face. Luckily neither of us got shat on! I could've stayed there for hours, but we had to get back for dinner at our place. The place was full & laid on an excellent buffet. We ate with the young American medical students & met Eva (German) & an Aussie guy & spent the evening drinking & dancing with the lot of them until gone 1am!