Ponderosa and Gran(d) Cenote

Hello again, I'm back in Aventuras Akumal staying in Villas de Rosa on another of Connie LoRe's cave diving weeks. This is a larger group (9 divers total, split into two teams) and competence level on both teams appear to be pretty good.

Our first dive this morning was at Ponderosa (as cave divers call it, or "Garden of Eden" as it is marked on the signs) which is a relatively large cenote and a rather plain cave. There are virtually no formations along today's route, but our destination which is called "The Chapel" made up for that, and more! The Chapel is an air dome formed from a breakdown. The water is about 20 feet deep, and the dome itself is a mere 3-4 feet above the waterline. The roof is totally coated with stalactites! Thousands and thousands of them. And they are still growing. It was an awesome experience to lie on my back in the water and float around, watching a whole carpet of stalactites drifting past my field of view. Connie said that the cave diver legend is that if you catch a drop of water in your mouth as it drips off the end of a stalactite, you'll be blessed with long life. I was able to get drops to fall, but only by blowing on them to agitate them. That may have been cheating, I dunno.

Our dive time at Ponderosa was 86 minutes, almost exactly 43 minutes in and 43 minutes out. With a 20 minute break inside the air dome. Dive was called on end of plan, and thirds. One of the most memorable aspects of this dive was the water temperature! The salt water layer, which starts at -38 feet, was measured at a scorching 84 F ! That may be the warmest water I've ever experienced in a cave. There was not a well defined halocline in this cave. I don't know if it was because of all the divers agitating it, or if the freshwater flow is just stronger in this cave.


The afternoon dive was at Gran (or Grand) Cenote. Here the two teams went mostly the same plan: Gran Cenote, past Ho Tul Cenote and then around Cuzan Ha Loop. Both teams were supposed to go up the line in the middle of the Loop, but since we were the first team in the water and the last out, I didn't see Connie's group. Our team also did a jump up the La Boca line (which the other team didn't plan to do), to go until 3rds were called. We made it maybe 500 feet along the line before 3rds, which is respectable considering the distance and tight passageways. We did the Cuzan Ha loop clockwise this time, which was maybe only the 2nd time I'd gone that direction. I have to say that going counter-clockwise is more dramatic.

Tomorrow is Labna Ha day. More later!

The majesty of Calimba

Calimba (sometimes spelled Kalimba or Kolimba) is a tiny entrance to Sistema Sac Aktun, the same cave system that Grand Cenote is part of. Calimba has had its run of bad luck recently: a collapse of the entrance (due to natural causes or landowner carelessness I am not sure) and subsequent problems with the quality of the water have made it a questionable place to dive. Although it is easily accessible from the highway, the landowner is not usually there and special arrangements must be made in advance if you want to do any diving. Fortunately, Connie has this down with military precision and our plan to do Calimba to cenote Bosh Chen on Wednesday went off without a hitch.

Now, those of you who have read my blog from last month and last year will note that this was my 4th time into Calimba, and my 3rd attempt at getting to cenote Bosh Chen. The other two times I ended up in groups that turned the dive far short of the goal. Today... YES... Today, I saw Bosh Chen for the first time and it was absolutely glorious -- not to see it, but to have finally accomplished that goal. And there are two large rooms full of the most beautiful stalactite formations I hadn't seen before that... well... gasp... were truly breathtaking.

On this dive there were only four on the team. The other two opted to do a land tour which left (in this team order) Connie, myself, Dusan and Bill. As seems to be the case with me, the smaller the team the more fun I have on the dive. I think with very little question even though the week is not finished, this will be my Best Cave Dive of the Week.

Not only that, I have spectacular VIDEO of the dive!! What a fantastic souvenir to take home after the trip. Almost 30 minutes of digital video, mostly from the jump from main line to Bosh Chen and arriving at Bosh Chen itself, and then a good deal on the way back. I know most of my friends reading this probably aren't into this Cave Diving thing, but if you're at all interested to see it, it's quite good footage. Really gives you a feel for what Cave Diving is like. Dusan watched it today and wants a copy. I will probably edit out the part when I got impaled on a stalagmite because I was distracted filming. :-)



This little blip of video shows us going down the Bosh Chen line back to the Paso de Lagarto line. Although it is difficult to tell in the video, I am making a drop from about 25 feet to 40 feet here.

Passageways in this cave tend to be VERY narrow and quite often we have to squeeze between two stalactite pillars barely a shoulder width apart, all while trying not to touch either one, the floor, or the ceiling. (There are special techniques you learn in cave training for this kind of thing.) While I am in this cave, my attention is first and foremost on my body movement and maintaining perfect buoyancy. Filming and attention to the camera is always, always secondary. The quality of the video suffers because of this, but it is very important for the preservation of the cave.

Footnotes

• Cave Diving is dangerous! Please don't dive into a cave without proper training. Or at least make sure there is water in the cave before you dive into it.
  
• Cave Diving involves encounters of Spectacular Beauty. Please remember to breathe while you are underwater.
  
• Don't get impaled on a stalactite or stalagmite. It can hurt. (Fortunately I was only mildly surprised, not hurt in the least. The stalagmite is OK too.)
  
• If you plan to take a camera into a cave, I strongly recommend two things: (1) get familiar with your camera/video gear in open water FIRST -- if you can manage your gear in coral caves with no problem you are probably good enough to do it in a cave; (2) don't take a camera on your first visit to a cave. Tour the cave first to know what to expect, then take the gear on the 2nd visit.
  
• I want to add this advice: (3) If you want to take good pictures in a cave, practice your photography / videography on night dives first. The conditions on a night dive are much closer than daytime diving in terms of exposure, lighting and dealing with switches/knobs/bells/whistles on your housing in the dark.

Statistics and Facts

• The dive time was 92 minutes. Calimba to Bosh Chen was 44 minutes, Bosh Chen to Calimba was 48 minutes which included a 3 minute safety stop.
  
• Maximum depth was 45 feet
  
• There is a section we passed on the Calimba line just before the Lagarto main line called the "Boa Constriction" and as you can imagine, it is a series of minor restrictions. They are quite fun to negotiate. Remember playing "limbo" where you cannot touch the bar? Imagine doing that in 100 lbs of scuba gear while cave diving.
  
• There have been two deaths in Calimba that I know of, and photography was a contributing factor. This fact is consciously on my mind every time I dive here.
  
• There was one primary light failure on this dive. Dusan's quit probably because of a low battery.
  
• I now carry TWO primaries after learning from last month's fiasco.