The Cave Of The Dragon: Majorca
By C.A. Hill.
The information that the Balearic Islands comprise Majorca, Minorca, Iviza and Fomentera will surely recall an echo of bygone school-boy days, when dry-as-dust facts such as these had to be committed to unwilling memories. If we, as school boys, had been taught that the island of Majorca contains two magnificent caves, the Cave of the Dragon and the Cave of Arta, our interest would have been stimulated and our memory for geography improved. But in those days the science and sport of Speleology had not been evolved.
During the winter of 1907 a desire to see fresh foreign lands, and incidentally to “follow the sun,” led my wife and myself to the Balearics, the more so as the ignorance of my youth had now been corrected by maturity, and I had discovered that Majorca is an island of limestone, and that it contains caves. The attractive title, of the Cave of the Dragon set us wondering whether that mythical and probably extinct monster still lurked in its recesses, [1] and of the Cave of Arta we learnt after much research that it was said to be the most wonderful cave in the world, with the exception of certain caverns in New South Wales.[2] This also suggested great possibilities, and the knowledge that M. Martel had been there on an exploring expedition was a further stimulus and a guarantee that the journey would not be fruitless. Altogether Majorca offered a sufficiently appetizing bait for an ardent speleologist seeking “pastures new.”
The Balearics can be reached either from Marseilles or Barcelona, but whichever way you go the Mediterranean has to be crossed. An old writer has left it on record that the thing which chiefly repented him in his life was having gone anywhere by sea when he might have gone by land, but since it is decreed by fate that a steamer is the most reliable method of reaching an island, aeroplaning being as yet an uncertain means of conveyance, it is better to choose Barcelona for the starting point, as the passage is distinctly the shorter. The steamers, though not so big as the Transatlantics, are sufficiently comfortable boats and land you at Palma within twelve to eighteen hours. On the night of our crossing the Mediterranean was in a chastened mood, so that the firmest devotee of stable equilibrium had nought to complain of, but the return journey was quite another story.
Palma, the chief port of Majorca, is a city of surprises: a quaint mingling of the antique and the modern, the Moorish and the up-to-date Spanish. On arrival, installed in a modern hotel of the type to be met with everywhere abroad, and not knowing a word of Spanish, we despaired of obtaining reliable information about caves, but the head waiter fortunately solved the problem, for not only was he endowed with a fluent knowledge of the English language, (acquired, by the way, at the Trocadero Restaurant in London), but also with a stock of information about the caves and the best means of reaching them. We learned that the Cave of the Dragon, or El Cueva del Drach, to give it its Spanish name, was a day’s excursion of about twelve hours from Palma, but that it was impossible to do the Cave of Arta without spending a night in the wilds of a Mallorcan “fonda” or inn.
Palma lies on the west coast, and the caves are on the southern coast, close to the sea; so that to reach either of them a train journey of uncertain timing has to be taken as far as a town called Manacor. Thence one has to drive for an hour along villainous roads in a covered-in cart, known locally as a galmeta, the propulsive power of which consists of a couple of mules, as far as Porto Christi, the port of Manacor, close to which is the Cave of the Dragon. The Cave of Arta, however, is eighteen miles away, so that it is impossible to combine a visit to both in a single day’s outing from Palma, and very reluctantly we had to write the latter off our programme.
The Cave of the Dragon, called also the Cave of Manacor, has been known for centuries but was never properly explored until 1896, when M. Martel spent four days there, (Sept. 9-12), and in company with his friend, M. Louis Armand, and others, worked out the cave thoroughly and completed its survey. Only one previous exploration had been attempted, in 1878, when two Spaniards from Barcelona succeeded in completely losing themselves for a whole day and became half dead from hunger and fright. The despairing inscription they wrote upon the wall of the Salle des Egarés, a chamber so called after them: “Ya no hi ha esperanza” (“There is no longer any hope”), is still legible.
The French exploration was undertaken at the invitation of the Archduke Louis Salvator of Austria, who owns large estates in the island, and proved eminently successful. The known extent of the cave was more than doubled by the discovery of a new portion which measures 500 m. in a straight line and contains the largest underground lake in the world, Lake Miramar, measuring 570 ft. in length, 100 to 125 ft. in width, with a depth varying from 15 to 30 ft.
Martel considers that the Cave of the Dragon now ranks among the finest in Europe, and compares favourably with Padirac, Dargilan and the Aven Armand in France, the Hansur-Lesse in Belgium, and the Adelsberg in Austria.
The cave is about a mile and a quarter in extent and lies close to the sea, with which it communicates through narrow clefts impracticable to man. It is in fact a sea-cave, of unusual size, excavated by the waves of the Mediterranean out of the folded limestone strata which have been contorted as a result of lateral pressure into a series of synclines, and anticlines on a small scale.
Besides Lake Miramar there are three smaller lakes, known as the Lake Negro, the Lac des Délices and the Lac des Merveilles, all of them at sea level, though they do not communicate one with the other by any visible channels. Their level rises and falls according to the variations in the Mediterranean caused by the south-east winds. As a result the water in the lakes, though fed largely by drippings from the roof, is not quite fresh but slightly brackish ; chemical analysis showing it to be a mixture of three parts of fresh and one part of salt water, and comparative analysis that the salinity diminishes with the distance from the sea.
The entrance to the cave is in a depression at the highest part of a smooth plateau, about 70 ft. above the adjoining sea. Descending a long flight of steps one enters a chamber known as the Vestibule, which roughly divides the cave into two halves, one to the right and the other to the left, (see Sketch Plan). That to the right, which comprises the Cueva Negra and the Cueva Blanca, each terminating in a lake, is the portion of the cave usually shown to tourists. That on the left comprises first the Cueva Louis Salvator, also ending in a lake, called the Lac de la Grande Duchesse de Toscane, and beyond, the Grotte des Français, first discovered and explored by Martel, the first section of which includes Lake Miramar.
Although it was winter when we visited the cave we were struck with the high temperature of the interior. It was about 90° F. and very stuffy, so that after spending some hours inside the atmosphere outside seemed quite cool in spite of it being quite a warm day, a fact which cave explorers in this country will appreciate, as it is altogether the reverse of what they are accustomed to.
Returning now to the starting point at the foot of the stairway in the Vestibule, a chamber of lofty dimensions though sadly the worse for wear, two passages between large boulders lead downwards into the Cueva Negra, the first portion of which is called the Palmera, (or Hall of the Palm Tree), so named from one of the largest and prettiest pillars which adorn this chamber. At the end of the Palmera a passage to the left descends into the second chamber, terminating at the first of the lakes – the Lago Negro – where, in spite of the smoky condition of the walls and roof, the stalactites still retain much of their pristine beauty and hang down in thick clusters of delicate needles over the transparent waters of the lake.
From the right hand corner of the Palmera a narrow exit gives access to the Cueva Blanca, which, previous to 1896, was the most interesting part of the cave. The Cueva Blanca comprises several chambers, the largest of which is known as Covadonga, a great hall with a comparatively low roof. On the right hand side a steep descent of about 50 ft., impossible to negotiate without a rope ladder, leads to the beautiful little Lac des Merveilles, a miniature lake entirely blocked with masses of stalactite and stalagmite of an absolute whiteness.
In the left hand corner of Covadonga, close to a fine column called the Pillar of the Virgin, is a sharp descent leading into the Salle des Egarés, the chamber whence the lost Spanish explorers of 1878 were rescued and where their writing on the wall is still to be seen. Beyond this lies the Salon Royal, out of which a slope in either of two directions brings one down to the shores of the wonderful Lac des Délices. This is quite the finest piece of underground scenery I have ever had the good fortune to behold. From the roof depend millions of long delicate crystalline needles, all thickly clustered together and reflected most exquisitely from the surface of the clear water. When lit up by magnesium the effect is most brilliant. Curious islets of stalagmite are dotted about everywhere in the lake, one of them being in the shape of a cross.
This profusion of thin delicate stalactites is quite the most characteristic feature of the Cave of the Dragon, and is particularly noticeable over the surface of the lakes, as, owing to their inaccessible position, the formations have escaped damage, whereas in the other more accessible parts they have been badly hacked about and removed wherever within reach. This exceptional growth in pipe-stem form is evidently due to ‘ the peculiar softness of the limestone, which allows the rainwater, by percolating freely, to take up an excess of carbonate of lime, and, by dripping through the roof from innumerable points in a condition of super-saturation, to deposit its excess of calcite quickly.
The Cueva Louis Salvator is the first section of the half of the cave to the left of the Vestibule. It consists practically of one large chamber, the Salle des Colonnes, a hall filled with numerous columns. There are several exits from it, all of which end blindly in small chambers or impenetrable fissures, excepting that on the extreme left, where a long slope leads down to the level of the Lac de la Grande Duchesse de Toscane. This was the farthest limit of the cave until Martel’s exploration opened out the long series of galleries beyond now known as the Grotte des Français. This lake is very beautifully ornamented both above and below. Its waters are in communication with Lake Miramar, but it is quite impossible to make a direct connection between the two owing to the numerous columns which stretch from the roof to the islands of stalagmite and effectually bar a passage.
The new extension was discovered in 1896 quite by chance. One of the exploring party, whilst climbing on the left side of the Lac de la Grande Duchesse, caught a glimpse through an opening in the rock, (marked “Window” on the Plan), of an immense sheet of water stretching out, illimitably as it seemed, into the darkness beyond. (Plate 1, No. 1.) A Berthon collapsible boat was got through and floated on this water, and the explorers, by climbing round one of the stalagmite pillars, were able to achieve the exploration of this extremely interesting and remarkable subterranean gallery.
Of course it is quite impossible to traverse Lake Miramar without the aid of a boat, as the depth of water varies from 15 to 30 ft., and I am consequently unable to give any personal description of this part of the cave as it is not shown to visitors. Thanks, however, to the kindness of M. Martel, who has not only furnished me with the photographs which illustrate this article, but has also allowed me to make use of his account of the exploration published in Spelunca (No. 32, Feb., 1903), I am enabled to continue the description, which I have rendered into English :-
“The Grotte des Francais consists of three portions: (1) Lake Miramar and the Dôme Moragues, an immense chamber caused by a fall of the roof, which fills up a portion of the lake at its widest part; (2) the Salle des los Herreros; (3) the Salle Armand. Its total length is about 500 m. in a straight line, (i.e., well over a quarter of a mile.)
“Lake Miramar measures 177 m. from the foot of the Window to the end of the elbow which it makes towards the west; its least breadth is 30 m. and its depth varies from 4 m to 6 m., reaching 9 m. at its deepest point. In the water, which is clear and saline, a chaos of immense slabs of rock lie engulfed, and in the roof one can see the gaps made by the detachment of these blocks. This vault is only moderately high, about 6 m. to 8 m., but this produces one beautiful effect-one is able to admire better the thousands, perhaps millions would be more correct), of slender stalactites which are so thickly crowded together. These seem like the tears of weeping diamonds clustering so close to the water that they are reflected to perfection, so that the boat seems to travel between two forests of hoar-frost needles. The general effect is all the more fantastic since the clearness of the waiter shows the whole bottom of the lake. Here and there an island of carbonate of lime has sprouted in the lake like a reef of white coral. Certain of these islands, ever increasing in size, less quickly no doubt than the madrepores but rising higher, have effected their junction with the stalactites from the roof, thus forming lovely fluted columns whose facets had never glittered in any light save ours. Several squat pillars reminded me greatly of the decorations in the subterranean temples of India – Kailaca for example – except that here the freakish crystallization has multiplied the trunks and ears of the elephants. Others seemed like a scaffolding of Egyptian capitals, pyramids of lotus flowers fitting one into the other.
“Amidst these islands, between these pilasters, under this dais of precious stones we voyaged onward; mute, almost afraid, fearful lest the lightest of our paddle strokes might break off some of this delicate lacework.
“At the south-east angle of Lake Miramar the roof rises and a cupola opens widely out. Stretched above a beach of white sand is the enormous Dôme Moragues, a cavity produced at the widest part of the lake which has here been filled up. An immense, almost circular, cone of boulders, about 50 m. in diameter, has been formed at the expense of the strata detached from the roof. The roof here is about 16 m. to 18 m. above the level of the lake, so that the thickness of the ground above cannot be very great at this point, as the plateau outside is only 22 m. in height, and the lake is at sea level. The Dôme Miragues is closed in on every side and without doubt marks the original extent of Lake Miramar, as two small pools of deep water still remain on the north-east side.
“At the north-east side of the Dôme the finest stalagmite formation in the whole of the Cave of the Dragon is found, in the Chapel, a kind of square enclosure entered from several sides through a regular scaffolding of concretions, 6 m. to 12 m. in height. One of these is very characteristic. Around a niche festooned with the slenderest arabesques of calcite are two bundles of delicate columns supporting a dais, beneath which the statuette alone is wanting; one would call it the sanctuary of a chapel, the stately canopy of an altar, 7 m. high. From the two neighbouring sides, in front and behind, cascades of marble, like the pipes of an organ, curtains of guipure or pendants of brilliants, flow down from the walls and roof further than one can see beyond the limit of the magnesium light. Of one material alone are all these splendours made-carbonate of lime; a single artist has chiselled them – a drop of water.
“The prolongation of Lake Miramar consists of a straight canal along which we had great difficulty in getting our Berthon boat. This canal is 46 m. long, and its right wall is bespangled with stalactites which dip right into the water. In two places hang down a triple drapery of transparent calcite and a sort of large fir-cone attached to the end of a slender stem. It was only with great trouble that we got round these obstacles which it would be difficult and even dangerous to break off and allow to fall.
“At the end of 46 m. navigation was stopped by a “gour,” i.e., one of those curved stalagmite barriers one meets stretching across all subterranean watercourses and pools. It was about half a métre high, and we had to land in order to get over its crest. The canal continues beyond, but its left bank ceases to be a perpendicular wall. We climbed up to a height of about a dozen métres by the aid of the roughness of the ground and came out into a new marvel, a veritable “Virgin Forest,” where the trees were palms of calcite spreading their branches to the roof of the cave. It was impossible to count them; they were spaced less than a métre apart on the average; their diameter varied from one or two inches to several feet. All the usual forms of limestone concretions were thickly clustered together in this sumptuous labyrinth-tapers and organ pipes, curtains and streamers, sea-urchins and corals of a richness and variety quite indescribable. It was truly painful to us to be obliged to break several of these carvings in order to open out a passage through their crowded network.
“We did not succeed in discovering an easier way to the Dôme Moragues than that by the canal. I was able also to take only a hasty sketch of the topography of a neighbouring maze. It adjoins another vast dome flanked by several lateral chambers and descends gently to the east. The whole forms a large oval-shaped hall whose irregular floor and shelving ridge is nothing else than the product of a partial collapse of the roof. Along this ridge a series of large boulders and stalagmite pillars divide the hall into two almost parallel longitudinal galleries; that en the left is the larger and the easier to traverse; that on the right, or south, inclines abruptly towards the canal which stretches out along its base.
“I have named the whole the Salle de los Herreros, from the name of one of my companions. At the eastern extremity an expansion of the canal forms a small lake, (saline), on the borders of which stands a small column, or rather wand, of White crystal which extends upwards to the roof. It is 8 m. high and 10 cm. in diameter. It is difficult to understand how it remains upright, the least push would certainly break it. The Salle de los Herreros measures 100 m. in length. Its shape, the convexity and aspect of the roof, the presence of the talus of boulders and of the water which surrounds its base, prove without doubt that here also was formerly a lake now filled up, just as in the case of the Dôme Moragues.
“Beyond the Salle de los Herreros our exploration was limited to the extent of what we could see. Behind the small lake there stretched out again a third hall, very large but possessing no formations worthy of remark. The canal continued, quite straight, along one side of an oval shaped hall which was almost entirely filled with a mountain of glistening clay, so sticky that its exploration was very laborious. At the end there was no exit, the clay appearing to have choked up every opening. Here also is a great lake that has been filled up. Armand and M. de los Herreros after five hours’ work have sketched in the approximate outline from which, in my plan, I have drawn the Salle Armand bearing west and east, at least 200 m. long and 50 m. broad.
“It would be an easy and not a costly matter to provide the public with access to the end of the Salle de los Herreros, as boats could be navigated easily over the dazzling Lake Miramar. It would only be necessary, by means of grilles and balustrades, as is done in Adelsberg, to protect the beautiful formations from the depredations of curiosity hunters, and also from blows of the oars. Petroleum lamps should be rigorously forbidden so as not to tarnish the immaculate whiteness of the Chapel and the Virgin Forest. In default of electric light, candles and magnesium only should be allowed in this sanctuary of scintillating crystals.”
In the earlier part of this article reference was made to the Cave of Arta, which we were unable to visit owing to its remote situation. Judging from the account Martel gives of it we did not miss very much. It has an imposing entrance situated high up above the sea on the face of a cliff, the opening measuring 22 m. to 25 m. in height and 90 m. in breadth. The cave extends downwards in a series of chambers for a distance of 188 m. until it reaches sea level, but there is no lake at the bottom. The inside is as black as a chimney, the whole place being covered with a thick layer of soot derived from the smoke of the resinous torches used for illumination, so that any beauty the cave may originally have possessed is now completely destroyed. It has been visited for hundreds of years, and there is an inscription inside dated 1517.
At a distance of 4 k. to the north of the Cave of the Dragon are two small caves, the Cueva del Pirata and the Cueva del Puente, which are worthy of brief mention, as they are very analogous in structure to the Cave of the Dragon. The depth of each is from 30 m. to 35 m., and they both end in small lakes of brackish water. The Cueva del Puente, (the Cave of the Bridge), finishes in the Lac Victoria, (Plate 1, No. 2), which Martel describes as one of the most entrancing underground landscapes he knows. The profusion, delicacy, dazzling whiteness and capricious shapes of the stalactites have nowhere their parallel, and their reflection in the limpid water redoubles their exquisite beauty.
In the illustration a number of eccentric stalactites will be noticed standing out at right angles to the main mass. I have never yet met with an adequate explanation of this phenomenon. There are quite a number of similar formations to be seen in the Mitchelstown Caves and elsewhere, but I am dubious whether currents of air are the real disposing cause. Besides the caves I have touched upon there are a number of others known but quite unexplored, and in the mountainous district in the north of the island are several genuine pot-holes. Should the Club therefore ever think of holding the Annual Meet abroad, I would strongly urge the claims of Majorca as a suitable place for an interesting holiday.
Note by the Editor.-There is a well written account of the Cave of the Dragon and the Cave of Arta in Mrs. Mary Stuart Boyd’s “The Fortunate Isles.” (Methuen & Co., London.)