Mexico/San Luis Potosi: Cave of Swallows – Rappelling Down Into the Abyss
Quite possibly the ultimate adrenaline adventure in the world is rappelling down to the bottom of the Cave of Swallows. This is the world’s largest pit cave – a vertical shaft – with a 376-meter (1,233 ft) vertical drop. Is it scary? Hell yes! Going down you are all together hanging on a rope like Christmas decoration and slowly being lowered into the abyss as your heart beats at around 150 bom and you are imagining how it would be to fall. Interestingly, it would take a long 11 seconds of a free fall to reach the bottom, enough to have all your life flash slowly in front of you. As you rappel down, you see the edges of the entrance and then the interior of the cave walls, before slowly but surely you reach and touch the ground. It’s absolutely amazing and insane – you walk around the guano-covered floor, exploring the terrain, crevices, even hanging stalactites, as the ray of light shines from the entrance far away at the top. We found a swift bird entrapped in a plastic bag and liberated him/her! After about 30-40 min at the bottom, you get pulled up, one by one. It’s a much longer process of about 40 min, with you spinning like a yo-yo on the rope – head-spinning doesn’t even begin to describe it. Eventually, you are on top and the adventure of a lifetime is it your achievement pocket.
