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After a second waterfall, I was grateful for my long pants when we had to wedge ourselves through a narrow opening, knees and elbows scraping against the rough rock. The keyhole opened into a large cavern, several stories high, with a deep pool. There was a natural rock platform high above the water that my companions climbed up like mountain goats. With shrieks and laughter they plunged into the water below. I sat and let my wobbly
legs rest and longed for a cup of chamomile tea.
When we started out of the cave, I was at the front of the line. Going back was marginally easier than going in, at least I knew what was coming. When I could see the literal light at the end of the tunnel, I started to relax. This awful part of the day was almost over. Soon I would be able to change into dry clothes, eat my well-deserved sack lunch, and then walk among the mystical turquoise pools I’d come to see. In the ankle-deep water, I stepped on a wobbly rock, reached for the cave wall to steady myself, but it was just inches beyond my grasp. I crashed, slamming my back against a rock.
Tears of pain and shame sprung to my eyes. I sat for a moment assessing the damage. I hadn’t hit my head. My back hurt, but I thought I could get up. I rose slowly. I clenched my teeth at every step out of the cave and down the path. I stood shivering in the changing room, unable to change out of my sodden clothes. I could barely move, bending at the waist was out of the question. I asked a stranger for help who turned out to be a nurse from Australia. She assessed my back, reassuring me that I hadn’t done any permanent damage. Knowing the narcotics the nurse offered for the muscle spams would make me nauseous, I stuck to Advil. I could walk slowly, stairs were difficult, bending over was impossible.
On the shuttle to Flores, I had to concentrate on maintaining my balance on the seat that always ended up being mine – the jump seat that folded down from the second bench in the van. I grimaced at every bump, jostle, and ditch.By the time the van arrived in Flores my jaw was locked in a tight grimace.