Descent Into Darkness

Today was a day for facing fears head on.

We met up with our guides at the train station bright and early. Both students, Egene is born and raised in Odessa, and his girlfriend Olena graciously provided the transportation for the day. If she could predict the future, she may have rethought that a bit.

We headed outside the city - although the catacombs run under the city as well, many of the entrances here are either very touristy or are used by homeless or thieves and can be very dangerous. As the catacombs run 2500 km through Odessa and the neighbouring countryside, it is safer to venture outside the city boundaries to the more remote entrances.

Eugene has been exploring the catacombs for about 5 years, both alone and with friends. He knows the passages by heart now and sometime goes in for two or three days, sleeping inside the maze of tunnels, trying to find new entrances and mapping out new routes for further exploration. If anyone was going to get us in there and back out safely it would be Eugene.

We parked down a dirt sideroad in a town called Linka (sp?) and started a long walk to the entrance we would use. A photo taken by Photomat is posted of what we entered through, nothing more than a hole in a hillside - something that most people would just walk by. Eugene and Olena had brought jumpers to wear inside - giving us an idea of the sort of exploration we were in for - but having shown up in Ukraine by plane, we could only bring so much with us so in we went in our own protective gear of jeans, jackets, hiking shoes, hats, and head lamps.

I can completely understand how someone can get lost in these tunnels. Without a lamp it is pitch black inside. The tunnels were initially carved by hand and were used as a stone quarry with the limestone used to build most of the original buildings in Odessa. In the 60s, machinery was brought in to carve out additional tunnels and cut out the limestone pieces. The mine closed down in the 70s as there was no more limestone to cut out and the catacomb maze was just too big.

Eugene took us through too many branches of the maze than I can count. I also stopped counting the amount of time that I hit my head on the limestone jutting down from the ceiling, which wasn't all smooth or the same height. Luckily I wore a hat or my head would have been bleeding a little, I think. In some places you could stand tall, in some you had to crouch a bit, and in some you were almost on your knees as you went through the main tunnels. My back aches just thinking about it now. The only animal we saw in there was the occasional fleeting bat and it was having a much easier time getting through than we were.

My moment of sheer fear came when we seemed to hit a complete dead end and Eugene motioned to the small hole in the bottom of the wall, just big enough for someone to crawl through on their knees or belly. Visions of the movie The Descent flashed through my mind - the spelunking movie where they also have to crawl through small holes in the rock just to wind up dying at the hands of some weird cave monster. I wasn't worried about the monster, just having to crawl through tiny holes. My claustrophobia bells were going off like a bad car alarm. But, I sucked it up and just did it. What choice did I have? I can wimp out and force the whole group to go back just because I can't overcome a simple, crippling fear of dying while stuck in a limestone rock hole, or I can use mind over matter and get over my fear of small enclosed spaces and go forward. I was amazingly proud of myself for going through that hole.

Throughout the rest of the journey through the maze of tunnels, Eugene showed us several interesting sites such as a room that was used as a stable for the horses that were in the mine, a well that no longer held water, and an opening in the ceiling that we climbed up and led into a farm's root cellar - complete with 2 jars of pickles. We couldn't leave the catacombs through that exit as the woman who lives there hates explorers because they steal her pickles so she'd be quite angry if she saw us come out of her root cellar.

My second moment of "what the hell am I doing?" came when we approached a pile of limestone rocks with a tiny opening in the top. When I was told that we would be not only climbing into that opening but then continuing along a tunnel that was just as small for a bit of time I thought that there was no way I was going to make it. How could I possibly scramble along on pointy, hard limestone rocks on my stomach, pushing my gear ahead of me, sandwiched with rock above and rock below, for 15 feet or more? Easy - everyone went ahead of me so I had no choice but follow or I'd be stuck by myself in a maze of tunnels not knowing where I am or how to get out. Fear can be crippling and it can be a great motivator too. And if Photomat can do it, then so can I. I was amazingly proud of myself for making it through without breaking down.

I wasn't so thrilled that we had to do it again at least 5 times.

When we finally got out of the catacombs, it was raining outside and I managed to get my jeans covered, front to back, top to bottom, in mud. Heavy, wet, thick mud. Photomat managed to not get a bit on himself. Unfortunately for him, Olena's car was now good and stuck in the mud on the path that we had taken down to the entrance of the catacombs. We managed to get turned around but that was about it. With Eugene and Photomat pushing the car, everyone managed to get it to the main road but it took quite a bit of effort and we had to go about 50+ feet in the puring rain and mud. Olena kept flooring it and not only was the car covered in mud from top to bottom but so were Photomat and Eugene. It was in their hair, on their clothes, and even inside Photomat's ear. We felt so bad for Olena - when she picked us up her car was pristine, by the time she dropped us off at the hotel it was covered in mud.

This is one adventure that we will never forget. Eugene and Olena were fantastic guides and I amazed myself at what I accomplished both physically and mentally within those limestone walls.

The entrance to the catacombs

It was a completely insane adventure! Olena will tell you all about it later.