We visited this area with James and his two boys, Caiden and Brendan, who joined us from Calgary.
Pozalagua Auditorium is just outside the caves, sculpted in a former dolomite quarry. It hosts concerts and operas up to 2,000 people.
The cave was accidentally discovered by workers blasting at a nearby quarry in 1957. Despite a blast exposing the chasm, the mining company continued working until 1976. The original blast hole is still used today to enter the Pozalagua Caves as there is no exterior entry to the caves.
The temperature is a consistent 13°C inside the caves.
Pozalagua is a cave system containing one of the largest concentrations of helictites (aka eccentric stalactites) – they defy gravity by growing in any direction) in the world.Scientists still do not understand how these eccentric stalactites are formed. Some theories include capillary forces acting on the water droplets, changes in the crystallization axes, impurities, and air currents.After learning about helictites, it was time to release some energy.Lookout over the hilly region.We decided to do a short hike up into the mountains.Looking back at the Pozalagua Auditorium.Which way?At the pass between two mountains.Of course, the kids had to climb as high as possible.The mountains are scattered with limestone rocks, sinkholes, and other geological formations. There are more than 200 caves and underground chasms in the area.Neil and 2 kids are up there.Can you find Felix?One of the more colourful snails we encountered.2km hike – looks like we crossed the boundary between Cantabria and Basque Country.
