The next day I had to say goodbye to Hege, Teresa and Joel as they headed off to Flores in Guatemala. Me and Matt stuck around to do ATM!

On my 'Top Five Things To Do In Belize' list was Actun Tunichil Munkal shortened to 'ATM' for obvious reasons. This huge, half flooded cave system was used by anciant Maya thousands of years ago with the belief that caves offered access to the gods of the underworld. Only the most important Maya royalty and priests would be allowed to enter this place.

The 45 minute guided walk through the jungle crosses Roaring Creek three times (you have to ask why) and leads to the cave. You enter with a brief swim into the dark hourglass shaped entrance before turning on your lamps. As the water shallows to about shoulder depth you pass through ever decreasing gaps further and further into the black. Eventually you rise out of the water onto dry rock and up into the chamber.

The chamber is littered with artifacts and human remains left as a sacrificial offering to the gods. All of these have been left in place exactly as they were when the cave was re-discovered in 1986

The Maya believed that as everything was made of the earth, everything had a soul. This included any of their hand crafted clay pots, to release the soul the pot must be broken and placed back in the ground. The damage ranges from pots thrown at the floor to shatter them to small chips removed from the edge. Many of these items have been cemented to the cave by the ever growing rock formations. One pot is actually in a recess with an opening half the size of the pot. Further proof of the length of time these artifacts have lain undisturbed.

Human sacrifices were offered to the gods, with some 18 individuals in this cave alone. It was believed that the greater the suffering, the greater the sacrifice so many of the bodies were dismembered and scattered. The star attraction is a fully intact skeleton of an 18 year old woman called the Crystal Maiden due to the quartz crystal that has formed over the past 950 years, covering the bones entirely.

After three hours in the dark the swim back out into the bright hot jungle was quite a shock to the system.

On the drive back, Patrick our guide pulled over at an orange grove with instructions to fill our bags with as many as we could carry. "It doesn't have to be orange to be an Orange" he said as I looked at the green fruit I was plucking from the tree.

Back at the hostel we all juiced the oranges cracked open a bottle of rum and sat back for a few hours during sunset. Another fantastic day in paradise!