the adventure

1. THE ADVENTUREGOA MARIA
Gua Maria Tritisbecomesone of the natural cavesina line of karsthillsinGunungkidul whichturnsout
to be a sacredplace for Catholicpeople forpraying.The name tritisistakenfromJavaneselanguage,
tumaritiswhich meanswaterdrop.Inthiscave,there are alwayswaterdropsfrom the stalactitesfrom
the above.It usedtobe a veryquietandspookyarea,so onlyfew people dare tocome.Inthe past,this
cave was usedas a place for asceticismpractice of some princesfromMataram Kingdom.Itstartedto
be knownby the Catholicpeople in1974 whenitwas usedforChristmasEucharist.Nolongerafterthat,
itsname,Gua Tritis,was alsogivenname Maria.In otherwords,Gua Maria Tritisbecomesafavorite
place for the pilgrimstoprayor do meditation,especiallytoworshipmotherMarry.
To get to the cave,we needtowalkacross hardwoodplantationthroughcurve pathbetweenthe barren
rocky hills.Youmayhave tworoutesto reach the cave,theyare the longroute (1.5 kilometers) andthe
short one (500 meters).Forthose whowantto doJalanSalib(a Catholicrite ina formof shorttrip to
commemorate JesusChrist’scrucifixion),theyusuallychoosethe longroute with14 stopsof Jesus
Christ’smiseryjourneybefore beingcrucified.Inthe 12th stop,there are 3 crossesas a signthat Jesus
was crucifiedwith2criminals.
I was almostinthe duskwhenI arrivedat the parkinglot.There wassuch a quietplace andonlythe
soundof insectand the windblowaccompaniedus.We wentthroughthe longstonypathin frontof us
until we couldsee the cave.A huge statue of motherMarry in prayingpositionwaslocatedonone of
the corner of the cave.Inthe middle,therewasastone altar withflowerdecorationonit,and there
were alsonochairs for the visitors,onlycarpetonthe floor.We couldreallyfeel the senseof nature and
simplicitythere.