Day 5: Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico

It is pouring when we cross the border from Texas to New Mexico and enter a new time zone. We hardly see the road. I correct: we don't see the road and I'm scared we might be run over by a truck or capsize because of the slippery pavement. If ever I was frightened, this is it. Eventually, the downpour subsides as we get to the Carlsbad Caverns National Park and we are lucky to take the mandatory pictures at the entrance of the park. Back in the car and the rain returns.
It is a very slow climb to the summit of the Guadalupe Mountains where the gate to the netherworld of the caves is. Heavy, heavy rain.

The caves are famed as a natural wonder of stalactites galore and one of the largest caves in the world. I hear my Tesla-geek husband mumble something about these caves being as impressive as the Portuguese caves at Mira d'Aire, his element of comparison. I smile at the disproportion between these caves and the ones at Mira d'Aire but nothing like a first hand experience to better judge the comparison.

We take the long trail because we want to be stunned by the cavern. It's 1.25 miles and my brain immediately converts the distance to metric. Let the show begin!
We wanted to be stunned. We were stunned. The cave is epic in size and in the amazing amount of stalactites and stalagmites and all formations possible. One cannot help but feel dwarfed when we think about the eons of Time that it took to shape the caverns. Our jaws drop at every instant, at every footstep that gets us deeper and deeper into the bowls of the Earth. There's so much to marvel at that there comes a point when you just feel overwhelmed and it's as if you cannot process any more visual information. A sense of being out of this world in some alien planet is probably what best describes the experience.
When you resurface from the depths, the sun is out. Down below is the vast expanse of the Chihuahan Desert. Your eyes get accustomed back to light and you wonder if what is below the ground is truly true...