Cordoba, Argentina - Navigating caves and rushing waterways

Cordoba, Argentina - January 25, 2011. A daytrip outside of Cordoba to visit a cave some 2 hours away. "Cave trekking" was the name of the excursion. We were a small group: four guests from my hostel plus our guide, Max, who drove us to our destination in a beat-up old burgundy sedan. It began raining a few minutes after our arrival, and we spent the next two uneventful hours waiting for it to clear. When it finally did clear, we made a dash for the cave, donned our miner-type gear, and entered through a tiny slit in the rocks. It started raining hard again just as we reached the shelter of the cave. The water quickly entered the cave and a small stream ran down into its depths. I wondered, "If it keeps raining, is there a risk of the cave filling with water while we are down there?" I didn't really get a straight answer.

Click to watch video: Rain forming a stream into the cave entrance

We had to crawl through small holes and tunnels to go between 'rooms' of the cave. I've visited plenty of caves before, but none where I had to crawl. I was reminded of my visit to the Chuchi Tunnels in southern Vietnam, where I had been allowed to crawl through a short stretch of narrow tunnel. This was similar. I either had to drag my bum along to floor or do a type of squatted duck walk, depending on the size of the opening. Anybody the least bit clausterphobic would not have done well. And despite the name of the excursion, there certainly wasn't any 'trekking' involved. But it was an adventure. And I love a new experience, so I certainly wasn't complaining.

Left: Just behind me, one of our group has already headed down the tunnel.    Right: More small spaces.

The guide showed off the caves different formations. One of the strangest was the number 24, somehow naturally formed in the rock!

What are the looking at? It's this keyhole-shaped opening at the top of this dome. It was formed by rushing water, spiralling upwards through the cave. Notice that the keyhole is off-centre and to the left. If we were in the northern hemisphere, the keyhole would be on the right. Anybody know why?

There was one tunnel that sloped downwards like those tube slides you see at childrens parks. I had to slide down on my bum. (No wonder those overalls had so many patches!) To get back up that slide, I had to crawl on my hands and knees. Our last obstacle was an extremely low, but wide, tunnel (pictured below). Most people crawled through on their bellies. I discovered my own method. I laid down sideways, my arms tucked to my chest, and rolled down the opening (just like I rolled down grassy hills as a child.)

We emerged from the cave into bright sunshine. It had stopped raining while were were below ground and we were surprised at how hot it was, since the cave is constantly cool, irrespective of the weather outside.

The caving was over, but the adventure was not. The weather was great for much of the ride home, but then it suddenly began to rain hard. We were forced to stop at the side of the highway when the visibility fell drastically. There were many other cars like us, stopped along the side of the highway. There was also a number of cars that had unfortnately lost control and driven into water-filled ditches along either side of the highway. Then came the hail. We saw a number of cars that had purposefully driven off to the side of the highway to tuck their precious cars under trees and away from the damagin hail. We even saw one car that was lovingly covered by a blanket. (Funny!) Luckily, our guide was not driving his own car, so he wasn't worried about hail damage.

Click to watch video: Waiting out the worst of the storm, on the side of the highway.

Click to watch video: Back on the highway.

Eventually, the rain slowed enough for us to restart our journey home. As we reached the suburbs of Cordoba, the streets turned into rivers. The intersections were the most trecherous, as these street-rivers joined and compounded their effect. We saw many that had become stuck in the rushing water. Adding to the situation, the electricity was out and so there were no traffic lights. But the Argentinians didn't seem to let the lack of traffic signals stop them, and pushed through intersections agressively. Often, getting speed was necessary to get through a water-logged intersection. Any dips in the road were full of rushing water, and we all cheered Max on as he got through each one. More than once, the water breached the car floor, leaving us with wet feet. But the old beater car kept rolling.

 Click to watch video: Navigating the crazy river-streets of Cordoba

Well, it kept rolling as far as it could. We eventually found an obstacle we could not traverse. We didn't even try, for fear of becoming one of the many immobilized cars. Once again, we had to stop and wait, hoping the water level would fall enough to give us a fighting chance.

Click to watch video: We finally found an obstacle we could not traverse

The water finally receded a little. We were back on the road. After a very long day, we eventually made it back to Cordoba, safe and sound! It was quite an unexpected and unforgettable adventure.