Monday, March 27, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Cave(rn) dive in Dream Gate
Dreams don't come cheap. There's a steep 250 Pesos entrance fee, to be paid at Hidden World. And we're only allowed to dive this cenote because Che used to work for them.
Dream Gate is located north of Tulum, on the jungle ranch bordering Dos Ojos. It's a collapsed roof cenote, with an iron ladder leading down to a wooden platform.
We're the only ones here. With another dark cenote close by and several air pockets, it's being sold as a cavern dive. Though that depends on your definition.
The left cavern loop is very nice, with lots of decorations. Unfortunately the water is a bit blurry today, due to a higher-than-usual halocline. It doesn't prevent me from shooting a six minutes video-clip sequence though!
Mid-way the right cavern loop Che closes the gap to a cave line which we follow for a short while before turning around.
Back in the cenote we circle it and do the left cavern loop once again in the other direction. Besides a cave fish I also spotted some pretty big cenote shrimps.
Dream Gate is located north of Tulum, on the jungle ranch bordering Dos Ojos. It's a collapsed roof cenote, with an iron ladder leading down to a wooden platform.
We're the only ones here. With another dark cenote close by and several air pockets, it's being sold as a cavern dive. Though that depends on your definition.
The left cavern loop is very nice, with lots of decorations. Unfortunately the water is a bit blurry today, due to a higher-than-usual halocline. It doesn't prevent me from shooting a six minutes video-clip sequence though!
Mid-way the right cavern loop Che closes the gap to a cave line which we follow for a short while before turning around.
Back in the cenote we circle it and do the left cavern loop once again in the other direction. Besides a cave fish I also spotted some pretty big cenote shrimps.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Cave dive in Bob Zoot
Bob Zoot is Maya and means "swimming bat". Can bats swim? Well, actually they can, as witnessed by yours truly. Sometimes when they drop from the ceiling, they take a plunge into the water. Not because they want to, but because they did not manage to take flight in time. They then quickly flap over the water's surface to the nearest wall. Believe it or not.
Bob Zoot is the bat shit cenote I mentioned yesterday that Che is exploring. A privilege really to be one of the first five or so to dive it. The bat shit is not as bad as told. We only have to wade through 25cm of the smelly substance for about 10m before being able to submerge in deeper and clearer water.
The soil is very black. As soon as we're on our way, after a quick underwater bubble check, I get to see something quite unusual: there are at least half a dozen cave fish in the dark anteroom, besides other cave dwelling species. Whow! Unfortunately, the cenote fish are there too, using our lights to hunt by without mercy.
Another sign that the cave has only been dived a few times, is the percolation caused by our bubbles. At some point the ceiling even seems to puff out white smoke. Weird.
It's a very shallow dive and the ceiling's often pretty low. Speleothems are brownish. We pass several T's, each marked by Che so as not to get confused on the way out. We come across a small earthen jar, besides a heap of debris. Way into the cave... Strange. But I guess it got washed up here at some point? Though there's barely any current now.
Che calls the dive after 39' as there's a major restriction ahead requiring side-mounts. Though he says I could probably wriggle through it.
Bob Zoot is the bat shit cenote I mentioned yesterday that Che is exploring. A privilege really to be one of the first five or so to dive it. The bat shit is not as bad as told. We only have to wade through 25cm of the smelly substance for about 10m before being able to submerge in deeper and clearer water.
The soil is very black. As soon as we're on our way, after a quick underwater bubble check, I get to see something quite unusual: there are at least half a dozen cave fish in the dark anteroom, besides other cave dwelling species. Whow! Unfortunately, the cenote fish are there too, using our lights to hunt by without mercy.
Another sign that the cave has only been dived a few times, is the percolation caused by our bubbles. At some point the ceiling even seems to puff out white smoke. Weird.
It's a very shallow dive and the ceiling's often pretty low. Speleothems are brownish. We pass several T's, each marked by Che so as not to get confused on the way out. We come across a small earthen jar, besides a heap of debris. Way into the cave... Strange. But I guess it got washed up here at some point? Though there's barely any current now.
Che calls the dive after 39' as there's a major restriction ahead requiring side-mounts. Though he says I could probably wriggle through it.
Dip dive in Angelita
Angelita's a 60m deep sink hole. There's nobody at the gate yet to collect the 125 Pesos entrance fee, so I can take a quick dip for free.
It's smaller and more overgrown than I remembered. And it feels kind of strange and a bit scary to step in, knowing there's no immediate bottom.
Slowly I let out the air from my wings, hugging the wall so as to keep a visual reference.
Big rough stalactites loom out of the darkness. Around 18m, my eyes adjusted to the twilight, branches appear in the middle of the sink hole, followed by the island in the mist.
I stabilize at 30m, just above the sulphurous cloud, circling the island for some quick snapshots. It's a bit too early still for the sun to shine all the way down. But hey, I got to take a look.
Time to ascend again. Che is waiting in the car for a real cave dive.
It's smaller and more overgrown than I remembered. And it feels kind of strange and a bit scary to step in, knowing there's no immediate bottom.
Slowly I let out the air from my wings, hugging the wall so as to keep a visual reference.
Big rough stalactites loom out of the darkness. Around 18m, my eyes adjusted to the twilight, branches appear in the middle of the sink hole, followed by the island in the mist.
I stabilize at 30m, just above the sulphurous cloud, circling the island for some quick snapshots. It's a bit too early still for the sun to shine all the way down. But hey, I got to take a look.
Time to ascend again. Che is waiting in the car for a real cave dive.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Cave dive in Chan Hol
We're heading south again this morning. A good way past cenote Cristal but before cenote Angelita, there're a couple of cenotes located not far off the road. Che is exploring one of them.
In order to get in you have to plough yourself through half a meter of bat shit. Small price to pay to go where nobody else has gone before :o) However, we're not diving that smelly cenote today, but walk off to Chan Hol in stead. A short march from the parking spot along highway 307.
Just a couple of meters into the jungle is yet another crack hole in the earth's crust. No entrance fee. It's a rather tight squeeze through to get in, but the cave immediately opens up in a black soil room, where we go left at the T and again left at another T 5' later. A short-cut according to Che.
At first we dive through a tunnel like passage, which later on widens out in vast decorated rooms with some pretty tick columns here and there. A real dungeon cave. Where you get a bit of everything.
I call the dive after 46', as I've pretty much reached 1/3 of my air and 1/2 of my light's burntime.
Back in the entrance room, Che shows me two clay jars. Who knows how long they've been lying there...
A very enjoyable 84' dive. And as usual there're plenty of side jumps for more.
In order to get in you have to plough yourself through half a meter of bat shit. Small price to pay to go where nobody else has gone before :o) However, we're not diving that smelly cenote today, but walk off to Chan Hol in stead. A short march from the parking spot along highway 307.
Just a couple of meters into the jungle is yet another crack hole in the earth's crust. No entrance fee. It's a rather tight squeeze through to get in, but the cave immediately opens up in a black soil room, where we go left at the T and again left at another T 5' later. A short-cut according to Che.
At first we dive through a tunnel like passage, which later on widens out in vast decorated rooms with some pretty tick columns here and there. A real dungeon cave. Where you get a bit of everything.
I call the dive after 46', as I've pretty much reached 1/3 of my air and 1/2 of my light's burntime.
Back in the entrance room, Che shows me two clay jars. Who knows how long they've been lying there...
A very enjoyable 84' dive. And as usual there're plenty of side jumps for more.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Cave dive in Dos Ojos
While I've guided open water divers in Dos Ojos (entrance: 80 Pesos) quite a few times in the past for cavern tours, I can't remember ever having dived the cave system here...
But today I get the chance to do just that, with Che, who knows the system pretty well as he used to work as a guide for Hidden Worlds.
Dos Ojos has turned into a real tourist circus, with people crawling and splashing everywhere. What a contrast with yesterday!
Luckily we're off to a rarely dived downstream passage off the Green room and soon leave all the daylight bound recreational divers behind.
It's a shallow dive following a string of various cenotes, some partially open to the sky, some with just a small chimney through which sunlight shafts pour in, and several dark air chambers.
We surface in one of the cenotes for a quick peek around. A monkey is making wooping sounds somewhere. Bats flap around. We submerge again in silence. The bottom is dark with decomposing leaves and branches. Easily stirred up by our fin kicks.
We pass rooms full of tree roots hanging from the ceiling, giving the whole dive a wild & primitive feeling. The stalactites look ancient, but then, considering their age, that's not very surprising I guess.
I spotted quite a few small (2cm) and large (6cm) cenote shrimps scurrying around or dropping from stalactites, and two kinds of cavern fish that I haven't seen in other cenotes. Nice dive.
But today I get the chance to do just that, with Che, who knows the system pretty well as he used to work as a guide for Hidden Worlds.
Dos Ojos has turned into a real tourist circus, with people crawling and splashing everywhere. What a contrast with yesterday!
Luckily we're off to a rarely dived downstream passage off the Green room and soon leave all the daylight bound recreational divers behind.
It's a shallow dive following a string of various cenotes, some partially open to the sky, some with just a small chimney through which sunlight shafts pour in, and several dark air chambers.
We surface in one of the cenotes for a quick peek around. A monkey is making wooping sounds somewhere. Bats flap around. We submerge again in silence. The bottom is dark with decomposing leaves and branches. Easily stirred up by our fin kicks.
We pass rooms full of tree roots hanging from the ceiling, giving the whole dive a wild & primitive feeling. The stalactites look ancient, but then, considering their age, that's not very surprising I guess.
I spotted quite a few small (2cm) and large (6cm) cenote shrimps scurrying around or dropping from stalactites, and two kinds of cavern fish that I haven't seen in other cenotes. Nice dive.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Deco cave dive in Cenote of the Sun
It's just Nadia and me this morning, as Olli just didn't show up. Nights can be rough around here... After stowing our gear in the Dodge, we head out south to systema Naharon, where we enter the gate for cenote Escondido, but we keep driving further into the jungle until a small clearance on the left, just big enough to park one car.
Nadia steps out and almost disappears in the jungle along an imaginary path. When I catch up with her, she proudly presents me the Cenote of the Sun. Whoever named this cenote must have had a peculiar sense of humor - cause the sun can't really be said to illuminate this little crack. But do we love this kind of entrances! Super cool indeed.
The rocks are slippery and it takes some careful maneuvering to slip into the water with 40+kg of gear on our back. Bloodthursty mosquitoes are buzzing around our heads, eager to collect their entrance fee, so we don't loose too much time and quickly let ourselves sink down before running out of blood money.
Soon after descending we meet a T and go right, towards cenote Jailhouse. As expected, the passages are mostly dark here, brownish-black from tannic acid. Speleothems seem to be huddling together in a few places, but otherwise the main attraction here is the halocline located between 15-17m. Especially where the tunnel widens up in spacious rooms, the sight is quite something, like flying just over or below a lake's surface.
46' into the dive we turn around, about 25' away from cenote Jailhouse. It would be possible to do a traverse dive, but that's not our plan, so back we go. The return is against the current, and I can notice it. I only used 50bar on the way in (as planned), but I need 70bar to get out - even though the return trip is actually 5' shorter.
3m away from the surface I pause for a short 7' deco stop. Max depth 20m. Bottom time 92'.
Nadia steps out and almost disappears in the jungle along an imaginary path. When I catch up with her, she proudly presents me the Cenote of the Sun. Whoever named this cenote must have had a peculiar sense of humor - cause the sun can't really be said to illuminate this little crack. But do we love this kind of entrances! Super cool indeed.
The rocks are slippery and it takes some careful maneuvering to slip into the water with 40+kg of gear on our back. Bloodthursty mosquitoes are buzzing around our heads, eager to collect their entrance fee, so we don't loose too much time and quickly let ourselves sink down before running out of blood money.
Soon after descending we meet a T and go right, towards cenote Jailhouse. As expected, the passages are mostly dark here, brownish-black from tannic acid. Speleothems seem to be huddling together in a few places, but otherwise the main attraction here is the halocline located between 15-17m. Especially where the tunnel widens up in spacious rooms, the sight is quite something, like flying just over or below a lake's surface.
46' into the dive we turn around, about 25' away from cenote Jailhouse. It would be possible to do a traverse dive, but that's not our plan, so back we go. The return is against the current, and I can notice it. I only used 50bar on the way in (as planned), but I need 70bar to get out - even though the return trip is actually 5' shorter.
3m away from the surface I pause for a short 7' deco stop. Max depth 20m. Bottom time 92'.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Cave dive in Nohoch Nah Chich
I finally got to dive Nohoch Nah Chich! The name means "Giant bird cage" in Maya. It used to be an off-limits system for Aktun dive center and others not belonging to a certain cave clan. However, things have changed, and whoever is willing to pay 150 Pesos is now allowed to enter this vast underground system.
We left a bit late this morning, but Nohoch is only a short 10' ride up north from Tulum (the entrance road is marked with a sign for cenote Caracol and the Labna Ha exploration), followed by a bumpy 6' of dirt road into the jungle. The cenote's entrance is, just like Grand cenote, a collapsed roof. Wooden stairs lead to the water.
Though there's actually not so much daylight seeping in, the cavern's snorkel area is quite big, and many tourists are brought in by truck loads. A real money making machine for whoever owns this piece of land.
Fully geared up, I stumble over the rocky path towards the stairs, located on the far side of the cenote's opening, and as usual, I'm really happy to splash into the cool water. Bubble check over, Nadia leads the way in, towards the permanent cave line that starts way into the cavern zone. I'm second, followed by Olli.
15' into the dive we jump off to the left. Now we're truly in the cave, away from the cavern zone's busy commotion. Nohoch truly has some wonderfull passages. The ceiling's low, but the tunnels are very wide. Full of slender columns. Sometimes there're so many of them it looks like a fantastic rain forest. After 28', we encounter our first T and go right.
Some of the formations seem to be taken out of fairy tales. Our planned dive time being 2 hours, I had to take my less powerfull but long burning light with me and unfortunatly I can't take pictures with that one :o( Too bad too sad. We pass a big petrified waterfall. After 43' we pass yet another T and go left till the end of the line. Nadia closes the gap and goes left, but not for long as Olli calls the dive shortly after.
I've barely used 50bar, thanks to Nohoch's average depth of only 5m! Still, we're one hour from the entrance. Slowly and carefully we swim back. Most of the formations are extremely fragile and damage by less cautious divers is alas clearly visible in some passages. Total bottom time 117'.
We left a bit late this morning, but Nohoch is only a short 10' ride up north from Tulum (the entrance road is marked with a sign for cenote Caracol and the Labna Ha exploration), followed by a bumpy 6' of dirt road into the jungle. The cenote's entrance is, just like Grand cenote, a collapsed roof. Wooden stairs lead to the water.
Though there's actually not so much daylight seeping in, the cavern's snorkel area is quite big, and many tourists are brought in by truck loads. A real money making machine for whoever owns this piece of land.
Fully geared up, I stumble over the rocky path towards the stairs, located on the far side of the cenote's opening, and as usual, I'm really happy to splash into the cool water. Bubble check over, Nadia leads the way in, towards the permanent cave line that starts way into the cavern zone. I'm second, followed by Olli.
15' into the dive we jump off to the left. Now we're truly in the cave, away from the cavern zone's busy commotion. Nohoch truly has some wonderfull passages. The ceiling's low, but the tunnels are very wide. Full of slender columns. Sometimes there're so many of them it looks like a fantastic rain forest. After 28', we encounter our first T and go right.
Some of the formations seem to be taken out of fairy tales. Our planned dive time being 2 hours, I had to take my less powerfull but long burning light with me and unfortunatly I can't take pictures with that one :o( Too bad too sad. We pass a big petrified waterfall. After 43' we pass yet another T and go left till the end of the line. Nadia closes the gap and goes left, but not for long as Olli calls the dive shortly after.
I've barely used 50bar, thanks to Nohoch's average depth of only 5m! Still, we're one hour from the entrance. Slowly and carefully we swim back. Most of the formations are extremely fragile and damage by less cautious divers is alas clearly visible in some passages. Total bottom time 117'.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Cave dive in Grand cenote
It being my first dive with Nadia, a freelance cave guide recruted by Xibalba, and Olli, a German cave diver, we keep it simple: Grand cenote's main line. And beyond. Cool with me, as I haven't actually dived Grand cenote's vast cave system yet on this trip.
After checking our gear and doing an S-drill, we head for the main tunnel. About 25' later we pass cenote Ho-tul and reach the end of the main line where Nadia closes the gap to the Cuzan Ha loop. Shortly after we pass another unnamed cenote. Though I remember some of the passages, there's places that seem totally new to me. Sac Aktun is truly a great system, with some wonderful formations.
Olli calls the dive, less than 10' from closing the loop. Being the last one in, I'm now leading the dive out. And of course everything's different when seeing it coming from the other direction. Nice and easy 80' dive, with plenty of air left, thanks to a maximum depth of only 13m.
After checking our gear and doing an S-drill, we head for the main tunnel. About 25' later we pass cenote Ho-tul and reach the end of the main line where Nadia closes the gap to the Cuzan Ha loop. Shortly after we pass another unnamed cenote. Though I remember some of the passages, there's places that seem totally new to me. Sac Aktun is truly a great system, with some wonderful formations.
Olli calls the dive, less than 10' from closing the loop. Being the last one in, I'm now leading the dive out. And of course everything's different when seeing it coming from the other direction. Nice and easy 80' dive, with plenty of air left, thanks to a maximum depth of only 13m.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Xibalba dive center
I moved my dive gear down the road from Aktun to Xibalba dive center. This new cave diving school is run by Robbie, ex Aktun instructor and active explorer of the region's many underwater cave systems.
Robbie set up his own dive center about two years ago and recently equiped it with a pretty impressive brand new and almost silent compressor.
From what I can see they're quite busy - unlike the other dive centers in town. Robbie employs several enthusiastic freelance cave explorers who know a lot of cenotes I don't, so I plan on doing some guided dives in caves I haven't seen yet.
Robbie set up his own dive center about two years ago and recently equiped it with a pretty impressive brand new and almost silent compressor.
From what I can see they're quite busy - unlike the other dive centers in town. Robbie employs several enthusiastic freelance cave explorers who know a lot of cenotes I don't, so I plan on doing some guided dives in caves I haven't seen yet.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Cavern tour in Grand cenote
Another photo dive, this time in Grand cenote. With all its white limestone decorations it's a great place to try out some shots, even though the sun's hiding behind some clouds this morning.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Cavern tour in Carwash
After drying out for three days I badly needed to get wet. Attila having a day off, I'm taking Petra, a German woman, for a photo dive in cenote Carwash.
Getting there however turns out to be a bit harder than anticipated. Halfway between Grand cenote and Carwash, Aktun's monster truck starts coughing and then just stops in the middle of the road...
Out of gas I guess? The gas gauge doesn't work so it's hard to tell. There being only jungle in front and behind us, I start walking back. It's almost noon and the sun is blazing.
But I'm lucky, the second car passing by actually stops at my hand signal and drives me to Aktun dive center. Where I'm lucky again as there's a half-full jerry-can with about 10l of gas waiting for me. I then quickly jump into a taxi for the short ride back to the waiting truck.
An empty Gatorade bottle and my dive knife come in handy to make an improvised trough to feed the thirsty monster. It's not that easyly satisfied however and it just refuses to start. Probably the greedy monster is hoping for more gas...
Opening the hood turns out to be impossible without some secret knowledge. So I can't try to pour a bit of gas directly into the carburator, as suggested by the taxi driver before he left in a hurry, fearing I guess to be asked to give it a friendly push. (Optimistically assuming I would have been able to tell which weird piece of the engine is the carburator.)
After several unsuccessful tries to get the monster to roar, Petra gently pushes it back and forth, and yes, the monster is actually lulled into a better mood and finally starts up!
When we finally arrive at Carwash I'm pretty hot and in desperate need to submerge into the cool water, for a soothing hour in the cenote's dark embrace.
Getting there however turns out to be a bit harder than anticipated. Halfway between Grand cenote and Carwash, Aktun's monster truck starts coughing and then just stops in the middle of the road...
Out of gas I guess? The gas gauge doesn't work so it's hard to tell. There being only jungle in front and behind us, I start walking back. It's almost noon and the sun is blazing.
But I'm lucky, the second car passing by actually stops at my hand signal and drives me to Aktun dive center. Where I'm lucky again as there's a half-full jerry-can with about 10l of gas waiting for me. I then quickly jump into a taxi for the short ride back to the waiting truck.
An empty Gatorade bottle and my dive knife come in handy to make an improvised trough to feed the thirsty monster. It's not that easyly satisfied however and it just refuses to start. Probably the greedy monster is hoping for more gas...
Opening the hood turns out to be impossible without some secret knowledge. So I can't try to pour a bit of gas directly into the carburator, as suggested by the taxi driver before he left in a hurry, fearing I guess to be asked to give it a friendly push. (Optimistically assuming I would have been able to tell which weird piece of the engine is the carburator.)
After several unsuccessful tries to get the monster to roar, Petra gently pushes it back and forth, and yes, the monster is actually lulled into a better mood and finally starts up!
When we finally arrive at Carwash I'm pretty hot and in desperate need to submerge into the cool water, for a soothing hour in the cenote's dark embrace.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Hard work...
...decompressing at the beach, trying to avoid getting: sunburned, dehydrated, hit by wild coconuts and over-stressed by another day-off's many tasks.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Deco cave dive in Muchachos
It's late afternoon when Hannes, Attila and me decide to head out for an easy -let's check out that cave- dive. Located on the Santa Cruz ranch, just before Carwash, is the systema Camilo (entrance: 80 Pesos), currently consisting of 6 cenotes, 3 of whom are reachable from the dirt track: Calavera (another one than Temple of Doom), Mud (guess where that name comes from!) and Muchachos.
After gearing up in the middle of a jungle clearing, we head for the latter, a small pool barely big enough to accomodate all three of us. But a soon as we submerge, the tunnel opens up wide and large, into a huge dark tunnel decorated here and there with big old stalactites, stalagmites and columns. Quite a sight.
We follow the main line for about 18' before jumpimg off to the left towards the Black Forest. The tunnel here is lower, but still wide, with lots of dark decorations. We continue till the end of this side line, close a gap and go right. The path gets more restrictive, and with a depth of around 18m, this is no longer a short easy dive. We'll get into deco for sure. I check my gauge again and call the dive, 45' away from day light and free air.
When we finally reach the small entrance hole again, I've got a 35' deco penalty at 3m... That's a very very long stop when you can't move around, there's nothing to do or see and you're tired from two long dives in one day. But, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime!
As the sun sets, day light slowly fades away. When Attila and Hannes exit, thanks to less restrictive dive computers, mine still tells me to wait 20'! Every now and then my body shivers with cold tremors. Time barely seems to pass. It's a question now of controlling the mind's endless spinning. There's only my respiration and the noise of my bubbles rolling along the ceiling, escaping the cenote's hold as I can not yet. Catfish start to check out my face and hands as I lay still and wait. And wait. Till suddenly my time's up and I'm allowed to re-surface as a free man. Mañana descanso!
After gearing up in the middle of a jungle clearing, we head for the latter, a small pool barely big enough to accomodate all three of us. But a soon as we submerge, the tunnel opens up wide and large, into a huge dark tunnel decorated here and there with big old stalactites, stalagmites and columns. Quite a sight.
We follow the main line for about 18' before jumpimg off to the left towards the Black Forest. The tunnel here is lower, but still wide, with lots of dark decorations. We continue till the end of this side line, close a gap and go right. The path gets more restrictive, and with a depth of around 18m, this is no longer a short easy dive. We'll get into deco for sure. I check my gauge again and call the dive, 45' away from day light and free air.
When we finally reach the small entrance hole again, I've got a 35' deco penalty at 3m... That's a very very long stop when you can't move around, there's nothing to do or see and you're tired from two long dives in one day. But, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime!
As the sun sets, day light slowly fades away. When Attila and Hannes exit, thanks to less restrictive dive computers, mine still tells me to wait 20'! Every now and then my body shivers with cold tremors. Time barely seems to pass. It's a question now of controlling the mind's endless spinning. There's only my respiration and the noise of my bubbles rolling along the ceiling, escaping the cenote's hold as I can not yet. Catfish start to check out my face and hands as I lay still and wait. And wait. Till suddenly my time's up and I'm allowed to re-surface as a free man. Mañana descanso!
Staged cave dive in Carwash
Hannes small rental car packed full with cave diving gear we head out to Aktun Ha (entrance: 100 Pesos) for an extended -one stage- cave dive. The objective being some video shooting in one of the more remote passages.
At the cenote we meet Steve Gerrard, Yucatan's cave guru, busy teaching two students in the art of cave diving. We take our time gearing up, as there's no point in getting overheated, splash in, do a final gear check and slowly submerge. I lead the way in, laying the primary line to the cave's main guide line, which starts way back beyond the cavern zone, in order to avoid tempting inexperienced divers into the cave's total darkness.
About 22' later, shortly after passing Luke's Hope, we each drop our stage tank, then jump off the main line through a short restriction, emerging in the Crystal Palace's lower section. Continuing past the Room of Tears, into a narrow tunnel, where we get to practice our maneuvering skills. Shortly after we reach a T, mark our incoming path, go left a few meters then immediately jump off again upwards.
At some point we find ourselves so shallow that the water turns greenish-brown from tannic acid. Formations here are colored brown too. And there're lots of them, whole armies of ancient stalactites drooping down. Guarding the gates to Dreamland. 55' into the dive we reach the end of the line. After having passed another T and probably a couple of other jumps.
We're about 800m into the cave. Time to turn around. When we finally surface it's two hours later in the world of humans. But for us, the experience was timeless.
At the cenote we meet Steve Gerrard, Yucatan's cave guru, busy teaching two students in the art of cave diving. We take our time gearing up, as there's no point in getting overheated, splash in, do a final gear check and slowly submerge. I lead the way in, laying the primary line to the cave's main guide line, which starts way back beyond the cavern zone, in order to avoid tempting inexperienced divers into the cave's total darkness.
About 22' later, shortly after passing Luke's Hope, we each drop our stage tank, then jump off the main line through a short restriction, emerging in the Crystal Palace's lower section. Continuing past the Room of Tears, into a narrow tunnel, where we get to practice our maneuvering skills. Shortly after we reach a T, mark our incoming path, go left a few meters then immediately jump off again upwards.
At some point we find ourselves so shallow that the water turns greenish-brown from tannic acid. Formations here are colored brown too. And there're lots of them, whole armies of ancient stalactites drooping down. Guarding the gates to Dreamland. 55' into the dive we reach the end of the line. After having passed another T and probably a couple of other jumps.
We're about 800m into the cave. Time to turn around. When we finally surface it's two hours later in the world of humans. But for us, the experience was timeless.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Deco cave dive in Temple of Doom
Cave dive with Hannes for some more video shooting. And we're lucky, for we're the first ones in today, meaning visibility should be perfect. After carefully lowering the video camera into the water, we splash in ourselves, a 2m jump, do a quick gear check, then slowly descend into Calavera's dark water.
I lay the short line to the Madonna passage's main line, after which we slowly continue along, going right twice at the T's, thus performing a short circuit dive. Having plenty of air left we decide to check out another narrower tunnel too. And just as last time I also get to try out some video shooting. Hannes fully built his housing and lights himself, and the camera glides through the water almost by itself. Nice piece of workmanship indeed.
Bottom time 73', including a short 5' deco stop at 3m. That's two deco dives in a day, so tomorrow I'll be taking it a bit easier again :o) FYI: It's 30°C in the shade.
I lay the short line to the Madonna passage's main line, after which we slowly continue along, going right twice at the T's, thus performing a short circuit dive. Having plenty of air left we decide to check out another narrower tunnel too. And just as last time I also get to try out some video shooting. Hannes fully built his housing and lights himself, and the camera glides through the water almost by itself. Nice piece of workmanship indeed.
Bottom time 73', including a short 5' deco stop at 3m. That's two deco dives in a day, so tomorrow I'll be taking it a bit easier again :o) FYI: It's 30°C in the shade.
Deco cave dive in Cristal
Photo dive with Hannes leading the way in and doing the two planned jumps - twice to the left. The tunnel after the two jumps is quite nice and not as dark as the main tunnel. Most of the time we were diving right below the halocline. Pretty cool.
Average depth being 20m, with an actual bottom time of 80' (excl. deco), that means there's a relatively long deco stop of about 23' at 3m. Luckily the entrance pool is a really nice place to hang around and watch the many little fish dart about, constantly looking for some tasty morsel.
Cenote Cristal (entrance: 100 Pesos) is part of Systema Naharon, just like cenote Escondido.
Average depth being 20m, with an actual bottom time of 80' (excl. deco), that means there's a relatively long deco stop of about 23' at 3m. Luckily the entrance pool is a really nice place to hang around and watch the many little fish dart about, constantly looking for some tasty morsel.
Cenote Cristal (entrance: 100 Pesos) is part of Systema Naharon, just like cenote Escondido.
Thursday, March 9, 2006
Cavern tour in Grand cenote and Temple of Doom
Holidays? Not this morning. Attila didn't feel too well after a rough night out in Playa del Carmen and asked me if I could take two divers for a cavern tour in Grand cenote and Temple of Doom. So before I knew it I stepped into my old role as cavern guide, breefing an Australian with South-African roots and an American with Asian roots about diving in cenotes and leading them around in two of Yucatan's underwater wonders. Besides getting two free dives, I also got paid for the trouble :o)
Monday, March 6, 2006
Cave dive in Kalimba
It's late afternoon when we finally head out for a second dive. Hannes has some takes in mind he wants to try out. Attila, Aktun's current instructor & guide, and me join in as 'actors' and wannabe 'underwater movie makers'.
Again we stick to the main line to keep it simple. Hannes directs the dive in. Stopping us to position himself before signalling us to perform the scene. On the way back, first Attila then I get to handle Hannes video camera to try out some more takes. Quite a lot of fun actually. And for a first try the results are not too bad. At least Hannes got some footage with himself in it now. Stalagmites are great of course, but a diver in the picture always adds some perspective and a sense of dimensions.
Kalimba (entrance: 100 Pesos) is a low cave system with some tight vertical passages, ideal for photo and video shoots. But also a very fragile environment requiring a lot of caution and perfect buoyancy control. It's located along the road to Coba, and connected to Grand cenote. Bottom time 84'. After which I'm just wiped out. Two long task loaded cave dives in a day was a bit too much too soon for me. So tomorrow I'll be taking a day off...
Again we stick to the main line to keep it simple. Hannes directs the dive in. Stopping us to position himself before signalling us to perform the scene. On the way back, first Attila then I get to handle Hannes video camera to try out some more takes. Quite a lot of fun actually. And for a first try the results are not too bad. At least Hannes got some footage with himself in it now. Stalagmites are great of course, but a diver in the picture always adds some perspective and a sense of dimensions.
Kalimba (entrance: 100 Pesos) is a low cave system with some tight vertical passages, ideal for photo and video shoots. But also a very fragile environment requiring a lot of caution and perfect buoyancy control. It's located along the road to Coba, and connected to Grand cenote. Bottom time 84'. After which I'm just wiped out. Two long task loaded cave dives in a day was a bit too much too soon for me. So tomorrow I'll be taking a day off...
Cave dive in Minotauro
After some driving back and forth along highway 307, about half an hour north of Tulum, being sent in opposite directions each time we ask somebody, we finally find the entrance to cenote Minotauro (entrance: 60 Pesos only).
It's in fact located right after the entrance to cenote Taj Mahal and before a new Pemex gas station. Just as with Taj Mahal the cenote lies in the middle of the jungle and an off-road car is recommended though not necessary.
Hannes and me are the only ones there. Surrounded by the jungle. Huge butterflies flying around. As there's no cavern zone to speak of, it's a cave divers only place. It being almost noon, the sun's bright and hot above us. And once suited up, we hurry to the cenote's cool water to avoid overheating.
Buddy check over we submerge and follow the main line in. There's quite a lot of jumps into other passages and one of them should allow for a circuit dive. But which one?
Minotauro is clearly related to Taj Mahal. Formations are similar, colored brown by tannic acid, some of them collapsed in big heaps. It's quite a nice cave actually, with a halocline around 12m, at some point in a narrow tunnel, giving the sensation of flying above a river.
This time I also have my camera with me. And it's indeed possible to take some snapshots using the light of my new HID with flood reflector, that is, if the subject is not too far off, meaning less than 2m away. Video-clips seem to be a bit easier to take than pictures. But I'll have to practice a bit more and check the results on a PC.
Bottom time 96', to the end of the main line and back. Not bad.
It's in fact located right after the entrance to cenote Taj Mahal and before a new Pemex gas station. Just as with Taj Mahal the cenote lies in the middle of the jungle and an off-road car is recommended though not necessary.
Hannes and me are the only ones there. Surrounded by the jungle. Huge butterflies flying around. As there's no cavern zone to speak of, it's a cave divers only place. It being almost noon, the sun's bright and hot above us. And once suited up, we hurry to the cenote's cool water to avoid overheating.
Buddy check over we submerge and follow the main line in. There's quite a lot of jumps into other passages and one of them should allow for a circuit dive. But which one?
Minotauro is clearly related to Taj Mahal. Formations are similar, colored brown by tannic acid, some of them collapsed in big heaps. It's quite a nice cave actually, with a halocline around 12m, at some point in a narrow tunnel, giving the sensation of flying above a river.
This time I also have my camera with me. And it's indeed possible to take some snapshots using the light of my new HID with flood reflector, that is, if the subject is not too far off, meaning less than 2m away. Video-clips seem to be a bit easier to take than pictures. But I'll have to practice a bit more and check the results on a PC.
Bottom time 96', to the end of the main line and back. Not bad.
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