A Snickers: the reward for personally-responsible spelunking
Safety precautions are good, but so's some good old-fashioned looking after yourself
The ATM (Actun Tunichil Muknal) Cave in Belize is very cool for many reasons.
It’s a Mayan archeological site dating back to lots of years ago and nestled in the remote jungle.
There are multiple human skeletons and skulls from—they believe—very early human sacrifices.
You have to swim into the cave and swim/wade during multiple parts of the excursion.
Another reason I find it cool, though, probably won’t surprise you—given my interest in personal autonomy: There’s a wonderful lack of regulation going on there.
If the ATM Cave were, say, in the United States, there would be waivers, a 17-minute safety video, and permanent lighting and handrails throughout the cave. We’re pretty big on safety here, and I’m not sure it’s good for us.
There? The only rules were “Don’t bring in food or cameras” and “Don’t touch Mayan stuff.” We didn’t.
The only safety precaution was that we wear hardhats with headlamps (light in three-mile-long, dark cave was not optional). A solitary guide wandered our party of ten-ish into and through the cave, trusting that we’d keep up with the group. Our reward for doing so was a full-size Snickers which, considering the food prohibition, was most welcome after hours of spelunking.
An ordinary ladder was provided to get us between the lower levels of the cave and the level with all the pottery relics and skeletons. We were—gasp—expected to continue to use our own good judgment as we went up and down said ladder. It’s almost like they trusted us to be the bosses of our own well-being.
The lack of proactive safety in the ATM cave might appall some. But I found it awesome. When we realize we’re responsible for our own well-being and won’t be coddled throughout an experience, we rise to the challenge, do a marvelous job of it, and get that elusive “I did it” feeling we all love.
I’m so glad you’re here. See you in the next one…
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“I did it!” Kids start saying that at age 2. It’s natural.
Love this Emily. I remember putting my kids on a rickety old chair life on a mountain in Italy. There were no safety precautions. It seemed safe. Autonomy and self choice. We get to choose. Thanks for the prompt.