Spelunking the Cueva del Puerto

We decided to try something totally new and different. We went to explore some of the caves in Murcia. There is a cave system which is over 5 kilometers long called the Cueva del Puerto. They are located in Calasparra and approximately 5 kilometres of the caves have been mapped. Nearly all the caves in the Murcia Region are formed by limestone or dolomite,

We drove with friends to the mountains in Calasparra and arrived at the caves visitor centre.

We were met by our two guides who would be leading the exploration of the caves. We went into a change room to change into our cave gear.  We wore coveralls, rappelling gear, and a helmet with light.

Once everyone was dressed we walked up a trail which brought us  to the entrance to the cave system. There we had a finale review of our equipment and then headed inside the caves.

In the entrance of the cave is an area for tourist to explore a small section. We headed along that pat then headed down into other areas of the caves not open to tourist.

It was a frightening and exciting experience at the same time. We climbed down through some small crevices working our way through the caves. We repelled down sections of the cave, sometimes over 20 feet at a time.

There were times when we had to literary crawl on our stomachs to get through some of the openings. It was not an activity for the faint of heart or for anyone who is claustaphobic. We would stop every once and a while to take a photo and rest.

We entered areas of the caves which opened up into larger caverns. Some of these caverns were quite large and impressive while others were so small you could not even stand completely upright.

It was a very challenging exploring the caves and after four hours, we reached the exit of the caves again.

It was a very physical and long day,  but it was very rewarding and enjoyable.

“Adios y tenga un grand dia”