Nohoch Nah Chich

And so... so... suddenly it seems! The last full day and last dives of the trip. Connie always seems to do Nohoch on the last day of her cave dive weeks. As I've mentioned before on this blog, I've probably done cave diving at Nohoch more than any other cave except for Aerolito on Cozumel. So I don't have a lot new to say.

For the first (very long) dive, I went in the large group of six divers led by Connie up Charlie's and Parker's lines. Up past the small cenote back on the main line where you can still find the coffee cups left as markers by the original explorers. The dive was turned at the cenote (on end-of-plan) and back down the main line, with a quick stop at the NatGeo platform. Then nine minutes back to Nohoch main entrance. The dive time was a short 89 minutes.

Jim and I wanted to go back in and do a different line as a team of two, with possible adventuring on side passages as we came across them. As only one other team of two were going for a (different) 2nd dive, and that we were going to use the same tanks it was to be a shorter dive... but of course I wanted to make the most of it! (Hey... it was going to be my last cave dive for a few months and this was the first opportunity for just Jim and I to go on our own. The others who didn't dive could just get eaten by skeeters while I enjoyed the cave!)

First things first, Sandra's 21 Watt Sartek was assuredly at the end of its battery life. It had been typically quitting on me after about 100 minutes so I needed to change out. My 10 watt corded light was in the van which would have meant 10-15 minutes delay to get it, but Sandra generously offered me use of her Super Power 35 Watt Salvo HID. Oh! What a light! I'd been coveting it since I first dove with Sandra two years ago. So, a quick switch on primaries while still in the water and off we went!

Our plan was to do the smaller passage line that led downstream from the cenote, with me as lead diver. Starting gas was a bit over 2,000 psi. This is the same line that I discovered with Glenn several years ago by accident. We had a great time! I passed about three jumps, including the reach-gap I recognized as the one that led to a very shallow and moderate flow downstream. Flow like that we really didn't want to get caught in -- I'd warned Jim about watching for the reach gap and I referenced it when we passed.

We passed about two more jumps that went right, then arbitrarily I chose the 4th jump to the right as a change in our route. Jim agreed and soon Sandra's 35W sunbeam was showing me new passage I'd never seen before. We went thru a stalactite/stalagmite restriction, then came across one of the weirdest speleothem formations I'd ever seen. It looked like honeycomb lattice into which delicate stalactites had grown and woven their way through. Then the bottom of the lattice washed away so the whole wall of the stuff was suspended from the ceiling. Awesome!!! Yet another place I have to bring a camera next time.

We took several more side jumps in rapid succession, ending 20 or 50 feet from the previous jump. Twice I am sure we hit the main line and then I realised we were in the same maze of jumps that Bill and I visited last January. We exhausted these as reels allowed, having lots of fun, for another 15 minutes or so then called the dive on time. We both still had lots of air time. We hit the main line one last time, on a long jump very close to the NatGeo platform. This is where we officially called the dive on end-of-plan. I think this jump had been cut back several feet from where it used to be. It wasn't a reach gap before, but now it is difficult to spot from the main line. I wonder why they cut it back so far...? And who is "they" anyway?

On the way out we passed a group of snorkelers touring the cavern zone with flashlights. They seemed obnoxiously excited to see cave divers in full gear. (Note: snorkelers are not permitted to have fins in Nohoch, I guess so they can't get themselves in any real trouble in the cave.) I honored their shining lights in my eyes by patently ignoring them as we passed. We returned to the cenote after 61 minutes, maximum depth of 21 feet and a temperature of 77 degrees F.

Nohoch Nah Chich

Our last dive of the week was in the highly decorated Nohoch Nah Chich ("Giant Bird Cage") named probably because of the rooms separated by walls of stalactites found along Parker's Line, which is not far from the Rancho San Felipe cenote entrance.

Connie usually takes a group up Parker's line to Charlie's Line, then past Drippy Dick and eventually meeting up with the main line for a return back to the cenote. I've seen Parker's and Charlie's a number of times so my desire was to go explore elsewhere. Part of my goal was also to have a longer dive than Connie would likely plan, so partnering with Dusan and/or Bill would mean more air time and possibly new things to see. Dusan opted to go with Connie as he wanted an easy and shorter dive, but Bill was keen to try an adventure.

Bill and I made our plan to go straight up the main line to about the 4th arrow where there is a jump to the right at a distinctive formation I would recognize. I knew from past dives there were awesome formations on this line but hadn't taken it very far. From there we'd just wing it, deploying and reeling up to 2 more jump spools as air and interest dictated.

It'd been a year since I last led a dive in Nohoch so I was very pleased when my memory of how to find the main line was spot-on. It is in the cavern zone but pretty far from the entrance. Along the main line we went, past the Nat-Geo platform, past Disneyland, past enormous rooms filled ceiling-to-floor with every large and small stalactite/stalagmite combination imaginable. The 3rd arrow was at a reach-gap I remembered well, but continued on to the 4th. I referenced the formation to Bill and then spooled the gap to the right as planned.

Ten minutes later we were passing what looked like a statue garden. Odd-shaped stalagmites in bizarre shapes appeared out of the darkness to awaken the imagination. One looked like an eagle or a hawk, beak forward and wing back. Another looked like a horse and rider. Then... my spiney spines! I'd taken pictures of these last year but there they were in all their glory. These are thin stalactites with spines that stick up and out of them like upside-down pine trees. And yes, the spines actually pointed upwards towards the ceiling!

On we went, and more stalactites had even more unusual bits "growing" on them. The line wound around, and I used both spools jumping to "T"s both times. We investigated all directions but these were all loops or dead-ends. I hit the main line twice. Doing all this back-and forth was totally enjoyable, not monotonous at all in case you were wondering. I could tell Bill was enjoying the maze as well.

Eventually the dive was called on "no more reels" or "no more lines we hadn't visited" and we un-jumped, un-spooled and started heading back. We opted for one last deviation when we hit the 3rd arrow (the reach-gap I mentioned before) but it turned out, as I suspected, to go right back into the same maze a short way in.

Total time on the dive was 97 minutes and Connie's group was already out of the water and mostly finished disassembling their gear. Amazingly I still had 1800 psi in my doubles when I was done! We accomplished all the goals of the dive and had a GREAT time exploring.

Footnotes

On this dive I had my yoke-type regulator on the right post, to replace the regulator I suspect is in need of service. Everything was flawless -- no leaks, no hisses, no problems whatsoever. Now I have to decide whether to have the DIN regulator serviced here in Cozumel or wait until I return home and send it back to the manufacturer.

I wasn't concerned about having one yoke regulator on this dive because Nohoch nah Chich is generally a big cave and I was sure there were no restrictions in the areas we'd be exploring. This was a safe bet, but I wouldn't want to take yoke regulators to Calimba, Blue Abyss, Minotauro or Labna Ha.