“There’s a storm coming up. You can hear the sheep crying.”
Larry returned to the hotel at three o’clock. At four o’clock, Larry and Catherine left
for the caves. A troubled wind had sprung up, and to the north large thunderheads were
starting to form, erasing the sun from the sky.
The Caves of Perama lie thirty kilometers east of Ioannina. Over the centuries
tremendous stalagmites and stalactites have formed into the shapes of animals and palaces
and jewels, and the caves have become an important tourist attraction.
When Catherine and Larry arrived at the caves, it was five o’clock, one hour before
closing. Larry bought two tickets and a pamphlet at the ticket booth. A shabbily dressed
guide came up and offered his services.
“Only fifty drachmas,” he intoned, “and I will give you the best guided tour.”
“We don’t need a guide,” Larry said, curtly.
Catherine looked at him, surprised by his sharp tone.
He took Catherine’s arm. “Come on.”
“Are you sure we shouldn’t have a guide?”
“What for? It’s a racket. All we do is go inside and look at the cave. The pamphlet
will tell us anything we need to know.”
“All right,” Catherine said agreeably.
The entrance to the cave was larger than she had expected, brightly lit with flood
lamps and filled with milling tourists. The walls and roof of the cave seemed to be
crammed with heroic figures sculpted out of the rocks: birds and giants and flowers and
crowns.
“It’s fantastic,” Catherine exclaimed. She studied the pamphlet. “No one knows how
old it is.”
Her voice sounded hollow, reverberating against the rock ceiling. Over their heads,
stalactites hung down. A tunnel carved into the rock led to a second smaller room that was
lit by naked bulbs wired near the ceiling of the cave. There were more fanciful figures in
here, a wild profligate display of nature’s art. At the far end of the cave was a printed sign
that read: Danger: Keep Away.
Beyond the sign was the entrance to a yawning black cavern. Casually Larry walked
over to it and looked around. Catherine was studying a carving near the entrance. Larry
took the sign and tossed it to one side. He walked back to Catherine.
“It’s damp in here,” she said. “Shall we leave?”
“No.” Larry’s tone was firm.
She looked at him in surprise.
“There’s more to see,” Larry explained. “The hotel clerk told me that the most