I walked to the mouth of the cave with my guide. I looked ahead and saw drama... I love an adventure.
I was expecting to enter the cave with my guide but she refused to go any further and stayed behind as I walked past her. I didn't know why she was afraid to go with me. She said nothing of the potential danger. Besides, the location was inviting me to explore it. And so, I kept walking.
I was mesmerized by the lighting and texture of the cave which kept me walking farther inside until I realized that I was all by myself. I stopped. "Boy, this is so perfect," I thought. "Here I am with my tripod and no people!"
I started setting up for a shot. My camera readied on the tripod when all of the sudden, the ground started shaking. I had no clue how big the quake was. I was inside the mountain; it surrounded me above, below and on both sides. It was so solid that it muffled the sound of the moving earth - it was just me and my camera trying to stand still. I was shaking and my camera was shaking. And I didn't know where to go. I didn't know how far I was in the cave.
This was a moment to remember.
When everything became still I remained where I was. Shortly thereafter, the guards found me and immediately escorted me out of the cave. When I found my guide, I asked her, "Why did you let me in?" She didn't have an answer. I fired her on the spot and hired a ride back to the city.
Later I found out that the earthquake was so big that the local tribes were badly affected. I was lucky to have been inside the cave because it was very safe. Yes... it was another solo magic moment!
