Of Caving,Thai kids, Omens and, Claustrophobia

Entrance to Blue Hole, Westmorland

What I think will be the most memorable story for 2018, is what I dub the Cave Event in Thailand.

In brief, On June 23, 2018, 12 young soccer players ranging in ages from 11-16, who went exploring the six-mile-long Than Luang cave complex at a park in Northern Thailand along with their 25-year-old coach, went missing.

For ten nail-biting days parents and indeed the  entire world, anxiously followed the progress of searchers from that country plus numerous international volunteers, many of them experienced divers, as they braved the murky waters inside the flooded caverns, squeezed through narrow twisting tunnels, climbed sharp ledges at great peril to themselves, but despite not finding them for days, they refused to give up hope and just kept going.

All geared up to enter Green Grotto cave, Discovery Bay, Jamaica

 
Miraculously, on July 2nd, they were spotted by two British divers, fearful and hungry but thankfully safe, on a high ledge deep inside the cave.  

After feeding and giving them medical assistance, the rescuers were faced the awesome task of getting them out of the flooded caverns, a journey of some three miles, without even knowing how many of the stranded youth could actually even swim. 

This was a dangerous and staggering task that had to be completed quickly too, as the rescuers soon realized that oxygen levels were being rapidly depleted. Further, the rainy monsoon season was due to begin in days, thus further flooding the caves, despite the effort being undertaken to use a massive pump to get out the millions of gallons  of water already inside the flooded caverns.

Outside the Guadirikiri Caves in Aruba

At one point, it was even feared that they would have to keep the boys inside for months for their own safety as getting them out looked too dangerous. And it was indeed dangerous, as a former Thai Petty Officer,  Saman Gunam,  unfortunately, lost consciousness on his way out, after delivering air tanks inside the cave to facilitate the rescue.

Sadly,  Saman  Gunam later died.

Finally thanks to the skills and technology of  dozens of 

Engineers, geologists, military persons, health care volunteers etc from all over the world, assigning two divers to each boy and medicating the young people so they would not panic in the murky waters, all the boys and their youthful coach were rescued on 

July 10th 2018.

Inside Two Sisters cave, Hellshire

And would you believe that the pump that had been taking out the water from the cave to facilitate their exit, broke down almost immediately after the last person was rescued? This caused the water to start rising rapidly to the point where experienced divers who had gone back inside to recover the gear that was left inside, had to exit quickly to save their own lives!

Eerie isn't it?

Considering all this happened during the exciting  FIFA World Cup which was being played out in Russia and in which upsets have been the order of the day, I couldn't help wondering if this event involving the young Thai soccer players was some kind of omen. 

Marking inside the cave at  Cudjoe Hill, St. Catherine, made by the Tainos in Jamaica before Columbus arrived and wiped them out. Nanny's brother Cudjoe also hid out in that cave for months, when the British were trying  to capture and subjugate the Maroons. 

For example, could it be that in four or eight years, Thailand, a rank outsider in the soccer world, could become a world beater or this young soccer team would eventually represent their county at World Cup? 

I hope I will be around to find out if this was really a soccer omen!

While I know this drama held the attention of people all over the world for all sorts of reasons, for me it was especially eye-opening in understanding my own self!

For I am an enigma in that, although I tend to be extremely claustrophobic, I actually enjoy caving. 

Native Americans built fascinating abodes in the caves at Mesa Verde

However get this clear, when I say caving I do not mean I am a spelunker.

 No sir, I don't go into unexplored caves to study anything. I just like to go into well-established caves with professional guides to look and learn.

However, its is only since the incident with these boys that I realize that my love of exploring the underground and claustrophobia just cannot co-exist! 

For it has never occurred to me before that something like a flood or earthquake could occur while I was under the ground.... especially in my homeland, Jamaica, which sits on a serious seismic fault.

One of the caves along the Cuna Cuna trail in which Nanny hid for months

I cannot even conceive of how I would survive trapped underground for an hour much less 10 days. 

In fact, I have no doubt that I would actually go crazy if I was trappedn underground, anywhere.

This Thai drama has caused me to have a great deal of respect and admiration for those Thai youth who all seem to be in reasonably good spirits, despite being trapped in the dark, no bathroom, no food and not knowing if they would ever come out alive! 

What a terrible 10 days that must have been. 

This has also prompted me to have even greater respect for Jamaica's only female National Heroine, Nanny of the Maroons.

She led the Maroons in Jamaica to victory against the British in the early 1700's when they defeated the Spanish, captured the island and tried to re-enslave the former slaves who the Spaniards had transported from Africa to work on their plantations.

It was the complex caving system that the Maroons studied, which helped them in their struggles, as they were able to strategically select those caves which had water inside, in which they could hide for months on end while waiting to ambush and kill the  British soldiers. 

It was not until hearing about the Thai youth and seeing their plight in living color that I got a much greater appreciation for the suffering that Nanny and her people had to endure, as they hid from the oppressors.

As for me, will I continue going into caves? 

Maybe not right now. Luckily, I have been into all the interesting caves in Jamaica but maybe later if I am in another country and hear about a fascinating cave, who knows what will happen?

You have to ascend many steps to reach the entrance of Hato Cave, Curacao

That Holland America cruise

I have been on some 14 cruises, but the Holland American cruise line is the worst I have ever used, or rather, the Zuiderdam ship was by far the worst ever.

The thing is though, we had a wonderful cruise IN SPITE OF THEM, when at  the end of December  2017, I headed out with eight adult friends and five kids.

It was the camaraderie that did it.

Great travel partners

What I found as a really horrible first impression from we embarked was the fact that they never even had a small welcome package in the staterooms. They remind me ever so much of Spirit airlines, for once you pay your fare, you have to pay for almost every single thing. For example, I have never been on a cruise where you go to the gym and pay to even cycle! Dinners in certain dining rooms you had to pay for and in some recreation areas, you had to pay to even enter! Yuck.

To make matters worse, the new year's eve party music was terrible and they even started the countdown almost 2 minutes after midnight and only gave out free champagne after people grumbled loudly.

Anyway their saving grace is their staff, all of whom were wonderful and also their entertainment, especially the Trinidadian steel bank Island Music.

Half Moon bay, Bahamas

I liked the choice of ports of call too, Bahamas, Aruba, Curacao, Cartagena, Panama Canal and Limon, but that is what attracted me in the first place and caused me to take that particular cruise.

I started out enjoying wonderful tours all the way to Cartagena, then because a man had sneezed on me for about 15 minutes non-stop at a show the night after news year's day, boom, I was hit down with an influenza virus.

First I went through it was a coughing spell for an entire day, for which I took lozenges. Then feeling better, went on the tour of the "Walled city in Cartagena," when bam I  fainted on a sidewalk with 103 degree fever.

What a shock.

However, having friends around was what saved my life as in no time they secured my belongings and had me back on the shuttle to the boat and right to the hospital doctor. I was in isolation for two days but was happy and animated after that and enjoyed the rest of the cruise, thanks to the great company.

Back to the tours before the drama.

The first stop was at Half Moon Bay, one of the 700 "islands" of the Bahamas. This one is owned by Carnival Cruise but its just a small cay surrounded by a white sand beach. I swam but the water was cold brrr. Then the rain poured.

That was a forgettable port stop.

A section of the scenic Arikok National Park

ARUBA

I liked Aruba which reminds me a lot of Antigua,.......flat, lovely beaches all around and hot.  As it is a very dry island, they grow very little and import much.

Apart from tourism the only other industry they have is aloe vera farming, processing and export.

What  really caught me though were the caves and the fabulous rock garden.

The best caves are  in Arikok national park. That area reminds me of our own Hellshire in Jamaica.

The Guadirikiri  cave was very impressive  with its fabulous  stalagmites and stalactites and interesting formations which challenge the imagination.

The other cave we stopped at was Fontein but because of the delicate bat population, we couldn't take photos inside.

The island itself is tiny and  less than seventy miles from Venezuela and they take tourism seriously, even giving us helmets and flashlights to tour the Fontein cave. It is unique  too with a population of just over one hundred thousand but made up of ninety six nationalities. They also have a high literacy rate as education is compulsory and most people speak a minimum of four languages.

They remain part of the kingdom of Holland and have an ambitious green program to go totally renewable by 2020. To achieve this the airport is covered with solar panels and they have quite a large wind farm and are serious about recycling.

What I really fell for though was  the Rock Park at Ayo which was once a sacred ground for the indigenous Arawaks.

This area is close to the town of Santa Cruz in the center of the island. I have seen really spectacular rock foundations in my time in Nevada, Utah, Colorado etc, but this was even more awesome.

The backdrop to this Rock park was mount Jamananota, only 620 feet high, but when you are on a really flat island, even a little hill like that looks high!

To get to this point we had driven through an eerie, deserted area where the guide said the French had murdered a number of Indians and according to him, at nights, if you drive though that area alone at nights, ghosts enter your vehicle!

Obviously bunkum but a timely constant reminder of how vicious the European invaders were towards the indigenous people throughout the western world when they arrived.

Curacao

Curacao is also part of the Dutch kingdom and interestingly, like Aruba, it also has a female governor. The governors have to be locally born people though.

It is however larger and more industrialized than is sister island Aruba, even being a banking haven,. It also has the deepest deep sea harbor in the Caribbean, so does a great deal of trade, especially with its neighbor Venezuela.

Venezuela is currently being devastated by a socialist experiment which has led to chronic shortages so people from that large, powerful neighbor, visit in droves and work in Curacao to send money back to their relatives.

 

The Venezuelans even operate a floating market at the port in Curacao where you can buy any agricultural product from the barges then they load up on scarce imported goods to take home.

In general Curacao is a shoppers haven for all its Caribbean neighbors. Because it has so much going for it, tourism does not appear to be as well developed as over in Aruba.

We took the island tour and visited  the Hato cave  near Willemstad but it was nothing close to those in Aruba although better lit.

Cartagena

My first impression of  Cartagena was that  it is  not only a dirty city but also unsafe as most homes are grilled. Unfortunately because during the tour of the walled city  I collapsed I never really got  to see much, so that’s a lasting impression.

The "walled city" is  an old district full of impressive colonial architecture and heritage sites and surrounded by thick stone walls. It was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century after an attack by Francis Drake. It took two centuries  to be  completed, as the city faced frequent damage from storms and pirate attacks.

Today hundreds of people make their living selling wares and offering services there. Some women even dress in  traditional costumes and charge to take photos. You can also get a horse drawn tour of the city. I was really enjoying this outing until I had to be unceremoniously evacuated, but that's life.

After that, I stayed on ship after coming out of isolation, but really enjoyed the rest of the cruise hanging out with my group of dear friends, the Simmons, Simmonds and Green and even getting beaten badly in drafts.

The entertainment on the ship was really good, especially the magician and Island Music steel band from Trinidad. They really enjoy entertaining guests and it is by far the best steel band I have even seen in my life.

So despite the flu setback I enjoyed myself immensely for the company, the tours, he entertainment, the workers made up for the lousy cruise line!

Think I am going to give Central and South America a break for a while though. For about two years ago when I returned from Brazil, Guyana and Surinam  I also had a fever and was isolated at Medical Associates in Jamaica as they thought I had brought back malaria to the island!
Fevers and I are not doing too well with Latin American travel somehow!

SCENES FROM MY BALCONY DURING ISLOLATION. THIS WAS JUST OUTSIDE THE PANAMA CANAL

SCENES INSIDE THE WALLED CITY BEFORE MY DEMISE!