to the most beautiful part of the cave... Of course you will need a tripod ;)". How could I say no to that? After our wonderful husbands agreed to pick up the kids for us after school, we began our planning. It was going to be cold, so what would we wear? Our ski pants were going to be too bulky, but regular pants wouldn't be warm enough. Enter our 1990s era stirup wool ski pants. We were both thrilled we still fit into them and had kept them all these years. (Not to mention, move them around multiple times.) Doning our stirups and our 3 pairs of ski socks we set out for the cave after school drop off. Luka drove us and the area we went to in of itself was amazing! Once we got to the cave we were met by our guide who ushered us into a small wooden hut that was toasty warm from the wood iron stove burning. We put on our caving suits, rubber boots (a couple sizes bigger to fit over all the socks) and our helmet complete with head lamp and battery pack that we wore like a side purse. We were ready to go. We entered the cave and headed down into another world. We hiked the first part which in of itself was already amazing. Then we got to the water. It was so clear, you couldn't tell where it began. We had to take a series of boats into the farther part of the cave and at one point had to balance on a 6 inch ledge while holding a rope to get around the water. We climbed in and out of the boat numerous times while crossing all of the dams. Our wonderful guide carried the boat for us each time as we were juggling our camera backpacks and tripods. It was quite a sight and I was secretly thrilled I never once ate it into or out of the boat. We got some amazing shots thanks to Luka's expertise in photography. At one point we were in ankle deep water balancing our tripods while we leaned back against a ledge to keep from falling in the frigid water. The pictures do the cave justice, but not the experience. Quietly being paddled down a crystal clear river ito an amazing Creation underground was truly surreal. All I could think of was how God had created this amazing place and how so few people get to see it! (They only let 600 people a year into this part.) It is truly a hidden inner place of the earth that has never been hidden from God! We are the same way. He knows our inner parts, better than we know ourselves, nothing is hidden from Him. There is such peace in that! It was truly a once in a lifetime day, that I will cherish forever. Thanks Michelle for inviting me and Luka for being so patient with me and my very novice skills.
