Isla de Mona is an island roughly halfway between the Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola. It is part of Puerto Rico, which is a territory of the United States.
And it takes a boat to get there, and after many hours on that boat you see..
And it takes a boat to get there, and after many hours on that boat you see..
A ship wreck in front of the numerous cave entrances on Isla de Mona.
The island is a mostly flat-topped mesa in the middle of the sea, with a lot of caves.
And there is a bit in common with the comics about a deserted island, which is different from a desert island. This is a desert island, and has lots of cactus and otherwise spiny plants to demonstrate such, but other than a biologist and a guard is also a deserted island..
And there is a bit in common with the comics about a deserted island, which is different from a desert island. This is a desert island, and has lots of cactus and otherwise spiny plants to demonstrate such, but other than a biologist and a guard is also a deserted island..
Spiny cactus and sharp limestone make walking interesting.
But we were fearless and hit a lot of caves while there (this was back around the year 2000)
Off to Agua Cave
Agua Cave is a rather small cave, but one of the few caves on the island that goes down to water. Don't slip on the trail!
Pretty stuff in Agua Cave
And the blue water at the bottom of the cave.
But there are dozens of caves. I will end this with a couple pics from Erickson Cave.
Rex looking at a wild pile of stal.
Rex on a trail. These caves were mined heavily for guano back in the day, and lots of reminders of such are still there.
And there are a number of caves with artwork. Here, still in Erickson Cave, is a bit where fingers smooshed some art on the walls. This is unique in the Caribbean to my knowledge.
And this seems like something of note. There is a likely pre-Colombian artwork here with a bit of mud over-scribbles that looks like a crucifixion (the arms out are clear in the larger-sized pic). Or something. Both Pre-Colombian art and early post-Colombian art seem present in this room.
And while all these caves seem like they should be connected, some are not. From Erickson Cave, there is a high-level route to get to Surprise Cave. And I end this post with a photo of Matt on this rather exposed bit.
Matt crossing the exposed section of trail after working in Surprise Cave
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