Forty minutes later, she came out pasty white and had to leave because she had become seriously ill. With that lingering in the back of my mind, I was fitted with a helmet, and we were given a guide that took us to the entrance. Full of respect, we entered the belly. As the cave opened up, we had to traverse carefully over the river that ran through the bowels of the earth. The locals, as our guide explained, believed the sanctuary to be the home of the Gods.
Many people come here to make wishes.
Our guide told us to extinguish the lights and to make a wish. We sat in silence for over 15 minutes as each of us pondered our one granted wish. I could have stayed there indefinitely if not for our guide returning the gift of light. He led us back to the entrance until we came to a large patch of mud. He told Kirstie and me that it was custom to paint each others faces before exiting Cecilinda.