Caves and Kayaks

"You want me to swim under there!?" All of the sudden my knees buckled and I quickly decided that I would 'stay with the bags', which of course was not necessary. I watched with trepidation as my partners on this voyage slowly slipped into the cold river water and pulled themselves on their tubes and into the darkness. I sat down on the table by the water, feeling defeated and like a little child that had missed her chance. "Amanda!", echoed from within the blackness they had just slipped into, "you gotta see this!!" Without allowing a moment more of doubt to come, I too slipped into the icy waters and into the dark. The three of us and one guide slowly, and nearly silently except for giggles and shrieks echoing off the walls, pulled our tubes along a rope. Further and further we recessed until we couldn't see our lifeline of daylight. Our head lamps clicked off and there was nothing. Sensory blankness. As we pulled further and further in, our guide stood up and told us to leave our tubes on a sandy embankment. Through an impossibly narrow space we crawled and a few moments later we stood up. Sparkling jellyfish chandeliers in an underground ballroom! Delicate and laborious stalactites painstakingly produced in the womb of the earth. How could I have almost missed this dance? The symphony playing was the "drip drip drip" of water, producing another work of awe. We left them to their work and crawled back out, plunging back into the icy water. As we slowly made our way out, lost if not for our headlamps and rope that we pulled on, the light slowly began to reappear. I understood that only my hesitation of the unknown would have prevented me from experiencing this. It was not from lack of trust but from FEAR - F.alse E.vidence A.ppearing R.eal (thanks Maureen) So I hope that I will continue to face my fears.... you never know when you might stumble into an underground ballroom!