My first OpenCache.

As very much a newcomer to the world of Geocaching, it was perhaps natural that my attention had been purely focussed on the biggest and best known of the Caching websites and I wasn't even aware of the existence of OpenCaching until a few short weeks ago.

It was also perhaps natural that the person to lift the veil of ignorance and nudge me in the right direction was Abanazar himself.

At the time, I was in the process of attempting to decode the instructions for two of his other cave-based caches (maybe best described in a lazy, shorthand way as 'Dragons and Hell') and once I became aware of Il Nono Cerchio it just HAD to be done ...

... Correspondingly, Paulicus (that's me), the Uxor and the seven year old Filius entered into Hell on Saturday 9th January and made our way to Lasciates final chamber.  We had obviously read and digested the instructions for Il Nono and also looked at the earlier Logs on this website and decided that the final two levels of Hell would be a bit too, well, hellish for a seven year old and an Uxor carrying a little Nasciturus so whilst they lit the candles and unwrapped the sandwiches, I continued solo.

First, a little disclaimer:  I'm a neither especially fit or particularly athletic middle aged man but I do have a lot of caving experience (albeit from twenty years ago) and am entirely comfortable in underground confined spaces and this is the only reason that Il Nono wasn't the physical ordeal for me that it has been for others: in many respects, I feel I have 'cheated'!

There is something about a knotted rope hanging over a mysterious rift that is akin to a siren call (as Amberel has already mentioned) and just DEMANDS exploration and so ... I was off ...

I really didn't want to leave the other two alone for too long (it was only their second 'real' cave, after all) and the urge to get back to them acted as a rocket up the backside for the whole (hot and sweaty) trip!

Previous Logs have described the terrain better than I ever could so all I'll say is

                   - Ouch! I wish I had worn knee and elbow pads! -

The nicely hidden cache container was soon reached, a candle lit in respect of those partying above in Lasciates, the log signed and the somewhat unsettling password noted before starting the return.

The return trip was enlivened by the plastic wallet that I was carrying splitting open and emptying all its contents (UV light, iPhone etc) down through stacked boulders that I had just climbed up; thankfully, everything was retrievable but I suspect that even Hell was shocked by the language used!

Back at the base of the rift up into the Lasciates chamber I shouted up, asking if everything was OK; there was an indecipherable muttered reply.  Hmm, struggled up the rift and out into the chamber to find that the Uxor and the Filius were busily engaged in making mud sculptures and so engrossed that they barely noticed my return ... I know my place!

A super trip and (obviously) worthy of any number of recommendations (that I can't yet give).