
Left: Georgia showed no signs of being scared inside the caves. Evil spirits or not! Right: A carving left behind by the Tainos. - photos by Norman Grindley /Deputy Chief Photographer
Standing
there in the middle of the 200,000-year-old cave as two black bats swooped dangerously
close to my head, I started to feel a bit woozy. Dozens of these creepy black
bats circled above me and were shrieking relentlessly as small, colourful bees
competed with them for air space.
The cave was pitch black and smelled like a cross between wet carpet and cheap perfume.
Tiny drops of water were falling in single file from the roof of the cave into the murky water below. Nothing else moved.
"You don't look so good, let's go back outside," said the perky woman with a concerned look in her eyes. To my great displeasure, however, that look of concern seemed more like a mocking smirk once we got back outside the cave.
"I never feel uncomfortable or afraid in the cave. I could spend all day in there and I'd be alright," said she, my glaring eyes having no effect on her. "Even in the night I would come here and just relax," said she with a smile.
I was standing just outside the Two Sisters Cave in Hellshire, St. Catherine with this woman, and I started to seriously contemplate how I could convince her that I was not afraid of being in the cave. "Neither am I. I ahh, just wanted some ahh fresh air," was the best I could come up with, under pressure. She mumbled a response and I knew my plan hadn't worked.
Now the Two Sisters Cave isn't any old hole in the wall. Of course, it's not one of the most famous spots on the island, but it's very popular in St. Catherine as a hang-out spot for nature lovers and for many others who just want a spot to relax with that special someone.
Characters
and plots
The stories that surround the caves are too many to mention here, but somewhere in the midst of all the stories, a few of the same characters and plots keep popping up.
Legend has it that late one night, two slave sisters, their names forgotten with time, made a daring escape from a sugar plantation and headed for the hills. After days of running through the bushes and climbing some rather rocky mountains, the siblings ended up in Hellshire. There, they discovered the two ancient caves which, though a few feet away from each other, are linked by a single stream. The sisters, injured and frail after days of running barefoot across rocks and bushes, settled in the caves. Several days passed with the sisters unable to leave the caves, even as they knew that the men their slave master had sent in search of them were hot on their trail.
Eventually, early one morning the sisters heard the shouts of their approaching hunters and knew that they were about to be discovered. But instead of accepting that they would have to return to a life of servitude, the sisters decided that they would make the ultimate sacrifice. The story is that the sisters held hands and jumped into the black waters of the caves to their ultimate demise.
But like any good story, the tale of the sisters doesn't end there. Since the drowning incident, many persons claim that the spirits of the sisters still roam the caves, especially at night.
But when photographer Norman Grindley and I visited the caves one afternoon, we met no ancient spirits, just a friendly woman named Georgia. She had a big smile and said she knew a lot about the caves. "Follow me down there and I'll tell you about them," she said as she led the way down a rocky path.
The caves were first inhabited by the Tainos and even today, there are carvings and drawings on the walls of the caves that show that they were there. "Everton was here 1970," was another carving inside the cave. But that one told a different tale.
As we got into the cave and our eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness, Georgia started to talk about some of the stories that have been going around about the Two Sisters Cave.
Lurking
evil spirits
"People say all kinds of things about this place. They say that people have disappeared there and all kinds of things, but you never know what is true," she said. "People even tell me not to come down here because there are evil spirits lurking around. But I don't pay that any mind. I spend a lot of time down here and I'm alright," she said.
Georgia pointed out that there were several rats and certain kinds of fish in the waters of the cave. But even that, she said, doesn't stop the crowds from flocking to the area.
"People come here just to have a place to relax. If you climb to the top of the cave you can see as far as Port Royal," she said. The caves are what are known as dormant caves and are believed to be more than 200,000 years old. "Scientists are still studying them to learn more about them." Georgia took a deep breath as she spoke. She seemed to like it there. I, on the other hand, wasn't doing too well and upon realising this, the woman escorted me out.
Not a minute too soon for my liking, but I will admit that evil spirit or no evil spirit, the Two Sisters Cave is truly a spectacular cavern.
Lost treasure! A book lying in the middle of nowhere inside the cave. Who knows how long it's been in there or who left it there?
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