Journey

Kenny covered my eyes and gave me headphones. I described my journey to him as it happened.

Entered former woodpecker nest in the saguaro
At the end of her short roots, tunnel began

Traveled down for a while and then horizontally
It wasn't absolutely dark and I could see the walls of the tunnel
Moved through the tunnel for a long time

Then I was in a huge, dark space and couldn't see anything
The air felt wet
I walked forward and reached an area of loose, fist sized rocks
A little farther on, I could see that some of the rocks were wet, then I saw running water
An empty canoe was floating with the current

I stepped into the water until I was in deep enough to grab the prow of the canoe
Canoe spun around in the current
I didn't know how I'd get into the canoe, so I let go of it
It followed the current and I watched it move away

I kept walking upstream, between the walls of the enormous cave
Light came from above on the far side (left) of the river
I climbed some large rocks on the right that reached the roof of the cave (30 feet up?)
Then I jumped across the river to get to a rock below the opening the light was coming from
The opening was the size of a manhole and grassy at the edges
I climbed out

My vision was very narrow
I could see the grass under my feet and in front of me and the ocean below a cliff edge
I listened for the waves, but couldn't hear them
I wanted to look around and be sure of my environment, but I was a little afraid to do so
I got on my hands and knees and crawled toward the cliff edge
I looked down and saw water hitting rocks

I backed up and turned around
There was an uphill slope covered in grass and a ruined, stone church
I stood up and walked toward the church

The wind was strong and my hair flew around my eyes
A shadow suggested that bird had just flow overhead, but I didn't see the bird

After I reached the top of the hill, I came to a very small, short building
It was round and had a sharply slanting, slate roof and sturdy stone walls

Beyond it, the large church had no roof
I entered and saw that the altar was still there
The floor had been built at several different levels

I walked clockwise around the outside of the church
There were lots of windows on the left
There were no windows at all behind the altar
There had been fewer windows on the right side even before the wall had begun collapsing
Below and in front of the church the ground dropped quickly
I was a stone pillar that might have been part of a low wall at some time

I walked to it and looked and the rolling land below
It was strangely devoid of life; there should have been sheep or something

I wanted to go to the beach and look at the ocean
I turned back and walked passed the church on the left (opposite the side I'd come from)

A few yards beyond the church, I could see the ocean
In the distance, there was a steep path down to the water

The drumming rhythm changed and it was time to go back. I didn't want to go.

I passed the church and then the sweat lodge
Instantly, I was entering the grassy hole
There was enough light to see that the walls of the cave were a greenish stone
I jumped across to the other rocks and climbed down to the river
Walked downriver then turned left into the darkness of the cave
Wondered how I'd find the tunnel back since it was pitch black
Decided to guess and then I was in the tunnel
Movement was difficult, much slower than coming had been

Suddenly, I was standing outside the saguaro.

Kenny thought it was great that I could feel moisture in the air
It's interesting that an empty canoe appeared
The cave, river, and light are like the Nine of Water in the Gaian Tarot
The grassy opening at the top of a cliff above the ocean is straight from The Wicker Man
It's interesting that I could not hear the waves or the wind
The landscape, sweat lodge, and church seemed to be in Ireland
Although I saw a moving shadow, the place seemed completely lifeless
Odd that I'd see a church and odd that the altar of such a ruin was intact
The different levels of floor seemed intentional and significant
It was strange that there was no window behind the altar