Cayman Crystal Caves are (at the same time) among the oldest and
newest of island attractions.
They are among the oldest by way of having been formed over
millions of years—as are all limestone formations—by accumulation of fossilized sea creatures
on an ancient sea floor. At some point,
in somewhat more recent history, these limestone deposits became the top of a
mountain thrust up above sea level.
Subsequent erosion formed chambers in the limestone and then rainwaters
began to trickle down through the chambers leaving calcium deposits in the form
of stalactite and stalagmite formations.
These cave are still wet and very much alive (insomuch as a cave
can be alive). In many places, the
formations are still dripping and adding an inch or two of growth every 100 or
200 years.
The caves are among the newest attractions because public access
to the caves was provided only 5 years ago.
Building ingress roads, forest floor pathways, clearing cave entrances,
and installing infrastructure (including lighting) took 4 years of intense but
careful work by about a dozen or so people.
The caves are located in a dense tropical forest only a bit over
ten minutes from our villa. We drove to
the caves yesterday and took a guided 1½-hour tour. Everyone in our group enjoyed the tour—though
some chambers within the caves can be quite warm and humid.
Tree Frog (found
along a path)
Cave Entrance
The Water Cave
Chris and Larry
Me and That Girl
—Mitchell Hegman
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