This time, many native dancers and musicians were there to greet us, and they put leis/necklaces made of shells around our necks as we arrived. Even some little girls were there, twirling batons for us and dancing. They were sooo cute!
After a somewhat bumpy ride in a minivan, which the guide referred to as “a free back massage,” we boarded an outrigger boat and headed to a subterranean river national park, reported to house the world's longest underground river. The site was full of animals, including a monkey that sat on the bench next to Brian.
We donned our helmets and headed into the caves in a canoe.
The cave was full of bats and birds! The birds were using sonar to find their way around in the dark, and the bats were all sleeping, except for one who woke up when Brian shined the flashlight directly onto him. We have some videos of this experience. It was very interesting, and a bit creepy, to be several kilometers along an underground river and wonder how on earth you would get out if your flashlight stopped working! This is the view coming out of the caves/river.
The guide took a picture of us in front of the park entrance sign, and a lizard, called a monitor, slivered over to us. Brian said he prefers LCD monitors.
This place was so beautiful, and we saw many breathtaking views around the island.
We got back to our cabin, took showers, and waited for the ship to leave its berth. A huge number of locals gathered on the pier to see our ship leave. We watched over our balcony as people sang, a band played songs, and the people saw us off with cheers and waves.
Apparently, this was only the second cruise ship to ever visit the island, and the previous ship was much smaller and did not stay very long, so they were very happy to receive us as visitors. It is an incredibly pristine and unspoiled landscape... the mayor implemented a criminal charge for littering to keep it that way. We really loved this island. It was so peaceful, and we know it's a beautiful place that very few tourists get to visit. In fact, the guide told us that Bill Gates comes here to get away from it all. We're in good company. ;-)
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