Yucatan Dispatch 16 October 30, 2009

The bat cave really is a spectacle on many levels. Just as a bat cave, I found it quite impressive, thousands and thousands of bats flow out of the mouth at dusk, into the blue hour. But the best of course were the snakes. There are about 100 living in the cave, and every night a few of them will be out and hunting hanging there long bodies from the cave ceiling into the stream of leaving bats, trying to grab one for dinner. It is very trickey to find the snakes, it is a big cave, with many side arms, most of which are very low. Crawling around crouched down or on all fours, with all the equipment is challenging, but it is absolutely worth the amazing spectacle. Some of the snakes can be quite long 4 and 5 feet, and hang most of their body lengths into the cave space. I loved it, both the majestic view of the bats flowing onto the night and the drama of the snake hunting the bats. What a great place !