mickan in world

The water is clear and turqoise, cold but not to cold; refreshing. I sink down to my chin to get used to it before I climb up on my inflatable tube and grab the line which will take me into the cave. My feet touch the water and it feels good on my toes which are hot from biking. I turn on the flashlight, take a deep breath and start to pull the line. Surprisingly easy I move into the cave. Soon there is no more daylight and the only sound I can hear are our own breaths and the drip, drip, dripping of the water. I feel alone eventhough both Andrew and our guide is with me, but alone in a good way; the same kind of loneliness I feel when I'm out jogging on a cold, dark and rainy November evening. It is a feeling I enjoy and I allow myself to sink into it to better be able to grasp the beauty of the surrounding cave.
We leave our tubes on a little sandbank and preceed by foot or rather on our hands and knees. We crawl deep into the tunnel under the mountain, there is water everywhere. One time we stop to marvel at the sight och the light from our flashlights reflected in a million tiny drops of water in the cave ceiling. It looks like a starry winter sky and I stop breathing for a moment. We move on and follow the small canals that has formed the tunnel, we see stalactites and stalagmites in curious shapes and colours, in some rooms the walls sparkle from minerals that I cannot guess the name of. We don't speak.
After what might have been half an hour we come back to our tubes and preceed to paddle our way deeper into the waterfilled tunnel that forms the left part of the cave. The water is so cold and it clears your head and mind. We paddle for about ten minutes in the dark and I cannot keep myself from singing. What begun as a shy humming echoes out in the cave, the sound of the water accompanies my song and I feel very relaxed and content. I look up into the cave ceiling and dream about everything and nothing. The thought hits me that this must be what people seek when they meditate; the serene emptiness that is given to me by the beauty of this cave. Tham Loob.