There were many caves in the park areas and one of the most well known ones offers a view of millions of bats that come out of the caves at 6:00 pm to hunt for dinner. I have never seen so many bats before!! They can eat 12 tons of insects per night and up to 3 times of their body weight. No wonder there were much less mosquitos than anticipated at the park. I guess the bats offer so much to the nature, including its guano (dropping) that is harvested for fertilizer.
The next day, after the river boat rides to more caves, we had to backpack all our two nights' clothes, water and bedding (wilderness camping style) to the camp. It took three hours to walk to the camp. This was one of the rough walking conditions we encountered. Not only the backpack was heavy, heavy rain came half way and the trail turned into river. Even with a heavy poncho, we were soaked top to bottom. Worst still, we were full of leeches. These blood suckers were particularly active during raining times and once they attached to you, they start sucking and their body size multiply at least 100 times!! It was very difficult to get rid of them because of the triangle shape of their mouth and their slippery body. It didn't help when our fingers were wet and we had no salt with us. I was so dramatized - one of the worst travel experiences for me. We did not know the trail was full of leeches. Worst still, once you take these suckers off, bleeding from their bite continues for two or more hours.
The camp site was very basic, hostel style. Our group of 5 slept in the same room. No electricity in the room or connection to the wifi. We were very grateful to discover, after our arrival, that cold shower is available at the camp as we were told when booking the tour that shower was not available (funny how you come to appreciate life's small pleasures after you had a different experience).
The next day climb to the Pinnacles was MUCH tougher than expected. It took us a total of 9 hours for the climb to the top and back to the camp. It was not so much of the distance as it was only 2.4 km from the camp. It was the trail condition that made it very challenging. The climb was vertical right from the beginning - 1100 m gain. Worst still, the rocks were sharp and can easily cut into your skin if not careful. Due to the rain that came in the last few days, the trail was also very slippery, especially when climbing down. I fell a few times and was very thankful that I was not hurt ( but bruised and scratches to show). The heat and humidity also made the climb difficult for us. I have never sweated SO MUCH and did not know that sweat can come down like rain from your face. My muscles were hurting all over the next day and I had to walk gingerly like an old woman :).
One of the reasons why the Pinnacles are so popular had to do with the unique shapes of the rocks. The limestone is very fine and uniformly grained. Over time, water and topsoil eroded the limestone to the shapes and rainfall continue to carve them into the current classic tall, thin, blade like formations called Pinnacles. People from all over the world visit the park wanting to climb up to see these amazing formations.
Despite all the challenges, I was glad that I have reached to the top and experienced one of the toughest trips in memory. I think I have stretched my boundary and had put my endurance and strength to their limit. We were told that only 60% people who have attempted the climb have successfully reached to the top and we made it!
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