So it has taken me the rest of today to process what happened at our water cave adventure. I think I was suffering post-traumatic disorder bc I came back to our hotel after the water cave and just crashed but woke up to a nightmare of sliding down a rock face to a canyon below. That was what nearly happened.
Let me start from the beginning: this morning Fiona and I went to meet Chufa who discovered some new water cave that he was keen for us to try out. Knowing that we were only the 2nd group of ppl to have explored this mountain made it really appealing. We were idealistic and full of pioneering spirit! No, we were just stupid. He wanted to try out this new cave with some guinea pigs and we happily paid for the privilege. The word water cave sounds misleading; it's more like an exploration from one side of a mountain to another. Inside the mountain there are canyons, sheer drops, water falls, stalactites and stalagmites, muddy pools and crystal clear waters. When we entered the mountain, my first thought was; this reminds me of Lord of the Rings...where Gandalf fell to his death.
So being the first few ppl to have checked out this mountain, there were no safety measures, no rails, 2 areas with ropes to scale rock faces, no nets, nothing. There were 3 ladders throughout the mountain Everything was going fine, probably about 2 hours into our exploration when we had to scale this rock face that had no hand or foot holds. We had to swing onto the rock face from a ledge and scramble up, it was a long drop below. The Fiona had scrambled her way up with the help of Chufa who was hanging off the side of the rock face, somehow wedged in. My turn came and I just kept sliding off, my sandals were caked in about 1cm of mud, so it was one slippery surface against another. Somehow I had managed to scramble halfway up, Chufa had grabbed my hand so the only reason I was not sliding off was bc he had a hold on me. BUT...his hold on the rock face was precarious so as I saw him sliding down towards me, I told him to let go of my hand otherwise he was going to slide right off. Once he did that, I slid down the rock face for about a metre, heading towards certain death or at the very least a couple of broken bones. I was just madly clawing about trying to find something to hold on to. Fiona was at the top having a heart attack as she saw me sliding down into the canyon. Somehow I swung my legs over to the left and got on a ledge, basically i was back where I started.
The next 10 minutes or so involved Chufa and Fiona trying to work out how I could climb up the rock face, I was trying to get the mud off my sandals so I could get some grip...I tried again, again getting halfway, this time both Chufa and Fiona grabbed a hold on each arm and pulled me up the rock face, it was a painful experience but I was just so glad they were both strong enough to pull me up. At the top I found myself completely caked in mud, my legs and arms cut up from the rocks.
Coming back to the hotel and taking a shower, I was able to take stock of my injuries; mass bruises all over my knees, scrapes all along my legs and arms. I am walking around with a slight limp bc it hurts so friggin' much. BUT am glad I am alive to tell this story. The rest of the cave exploration was just as bad but thankfully no more near death experiences, just lots of hairy sheer drops, tight crevices that we had to squeeze through, I think I was just blanking it all out as I tried to assimilate what had nearly happened.
It was a dangerous experience, one I would never repeat. The guide was irresponsible to have taken us through the mountain with no gear except for a hard hat and torch. I really don't want to think too much on what might have happened and how exactly they would be able to get help to us in the middle of a mountain with no set paths or lights to guide the way, how they would squeeze through areas that both Fiona and I barely squeezed through, walking waist deep through water, knee deep through mud. Don't want to think about it now otherwise I am going to get upset. Well tomorrow is going to be one tame day of going to a minority village. Very tame. I need it! Signing out, alive from Yangshuo.
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