Instructor expenses can be added with every agency. But not every instructor does it. And almost no instructors can earn a good salary from only teaching, even not if expenses are paid by students. As I already said before: you need to teach all, because you cannot fill 3 weeks a month with just 1 basic course and get it full with 3 students all times. But even if you can teach the whole range from open water till full cave, and full trimix and ccr, it is really hard to earn a good salery. That is why most instructors also own a diveshop.
But if courseprices go up, I think there are less cavedivers, but on the other hand there will become more untrained cavedivers that just try it, or let's say self trained. It is the gaussprincipe: With price X everybody will try. But you cannot give any quality, the instructor must be volunteer. With price Y you get diver who choose for training, and most divers will not try it 'at home'. And with price Z the amount of divers taking a course is low, and more divers will choose to become self educated.
The last thing is not wrong with a specialty, but I think most don't want it with basic full cave courses or trimix courses. But it will happen if prices rise too much.
What is the best place to learn cavediving in the world? I don't know. I learned it in Thailand. Warm waters, no gloves and hood needed. Then went back to Europe and started some 4-6 degrees cold water minediving. No problems with that. Then went to France. I teach cave in the Lot region. Sometimes I go in the Jura. Jura is 4-10 degrees, caves are most times short and narrow. Most are not suitable to teach. The Lot is much better: Caves are there 13 degrees C, not the most difficult in navigation, and long enough to reach gas limits.
Then from France I went to Florida for my ccr cave instructorcourse. Never dove high flow caves. But with starting in Little River, I liked it from the first dive, the way out was really fun. Where pull and glide is a technique only from books in most caves or regions, here you need it. From Florida to Malta as there is also cavern and intro teached, but there is nothing more than caverns, it is too small to teach intro to cave. But you have haloclines. Then to Mexico. All done, all survived.
The main differences: The stop don't go further signs are not in Europe and Thailand found. Mainlines in France start from surface. Normally no reeling needed (but we do in courses). The mainlines can be everything from a yellow line to a steel chain cable to climbing rope. A mix of T's and jumps found, I think 80% is T's. Jumps are marked with 2 arrows. Midpoint I can only show the one between Cabouy and Pou Meyssens in a course. NO change of directions. Almost all caves have distance markers with the distance in meters to exit.
The mines in Germany can have T's and jumps, and be marked with 1 arrow or 2 arrows. Felicitas has all jumps marked with 1 arrow.
On of the best caves in France, Font Estramar has sadly now be closed, but this cave has sometimes 2 lines above each other, so you have to look what is your line. When I was there only white lines.
Yellow gold line is not the norm in France. It is just a line or a steel cable.
In the opal mine in Slowakia they have used a really thick line and ask to use the line to pull you around when turning. The mine is sooo extremely sensitive that even a wrong finkick will disturb it. And the tunnels are not that wide sometimes. And extremely cold, 3 degrees C. But viz is over 100m. This is not a mine to teach cave.
Florida: almost no T's. I know some in Little river and one in a narrow sidetunnel almost at the entrance of Devil's. But almost only jumps are used, with 2 arrows. Distance on markers in ft to exit. You don't have the mainline starting from the surface, but to find the line, it is in the cavern. A lot of experienced cave divers don't run a reel anymore. Peackock 3 was my first real downstream cavedive. In France all caves have an outflow normally. And the one I know that has a tunnel with inflow has signs of danger, don't go in, etc, so I never tried that tunnel of course.
Mexico: mainline can be hidden far away. But it differs from cave to cave. You have upstream and downstream lines in the cenote. Sometimes different colors for upstream and downstream lines are used. Jumps are mostly 1 arrow. And you can see change of directions, the arrows pointing to the exit have most times a different color then. And it is a playground for jumps. I really enjoyed the dives where we entered with no plan, just follow the lines that looked great. Distance markers are not there, only knots on lines. The haloclines are nice here. The best I have ever seen. The only halocline in my country is found in a lake, it is not a straight layer, but milky as the salt water pushes out of the ground. The haloclines in Malta are not that big layers as in Mexico.
So what is the best? I don't know. I like caves everywhere. There are differences, but not that much that you cannot go diving from Mexico in Europe. For some divers a buddy or guide that knows the region will be better, but it is not needed for every cave diver, a lot depends on the experience you already have. But where you can hit and kick stones in France or Florida, you will break stalagtites in Mexico or Thailand.
But if courseprices go up, I think there are less cavedivers, but on the other hand there will become more untrained cavedivers that just try it, or let's say self trained. It is the gaussprincipe: With price X everybody will try. But you cannot give any quality, the instructor must be volunteer. With price Y you get diver who choose for training, and most divers will not try it 'at home'. And with price Z the amount of divers taking a course is low, and more divers will choose to become self educated.
The last thing is not wrong with a specialty, but I think most don't want it with basic full cave courses or trimix courses. But it will happen if prices rise too much.
What is the best place to learn cavediving in the world? I don't know. I learned it in Thailand. Warm waters, no gloves and hood needed. Then went back to Europe and started some 4-6 degrees cold water minediving. No problems with that. Then went to France. I teach cave in the Lot region. Sometimes I go in the Jura. Jura is 4-10 degrees, caves are most times short and narrow. Most are not suitable to teach. The Lot is much better: Caves are there 13 degrees C, not the most difficult in navigation, and long enough to reach gas limits.
Then from France I went to Florida for my ccr cave instructorcourse. Never dove high flow caves. But with starting in Little River, I liked it from the first dive, the way out was really fun. Where pull and glide is a technique only from books in most caves or regions, here you need it. From Florida to Malta as there is also cavern and intro teached, but there is nothing more than caverns, it is too small to teach intro to cave. But you have haloclines. Then to Mexico. All done, all survived.
The main differences: The stop don't go further signs are not in Europe and Thailand found. Mainlines in France start from surface. Normally no reeling needed (but we do in courses). The mainlines can be everything from a yellow line to a steel chain cable to climbing rope. A mix of T's and jumps found, I think 80% is T's. Jumps are marked with 2 arrows. Midpoint I can only show the one between Cabouy and Pou Meyssens in a course. NO change of directions. Almost all caves have distance markers with the distance in meters to exit.
The mines in Germany can have T's and jumps, and be marked with 1 arrow or 2 arrows. Felicitas has all jumps marked with 1 arrow.
On of the best caves in France, Font Estramar has sadly now be closed, but this cave has sometimes 2 lines above each other, so you have to look what is your line. When I was there only white lines.
Yellow gold line is not the norm in France. It is just a line or a steel cable.
In the opal mine in Slowakia they have used a really thick line and ask to use the line to pull you around when turning. The mine is sooo extremely sensitive that even a wrong finkick will disturb it. And the tunnels are not that wide sometimes. And extremely cold, 3 degrees C. But viz is over 100m. This is not a mine to teach cave.
Florida: almost no T's. I know some in Little river and one in a narrow sidetunnel almost at the entrance of Devil's. But almost only jumps are used, with 2 arrows. Distance on markers in ft to exit. You don't have the mainline starting from the surface, but to find the line, it is in the cavern. A lot of experienced cave divers don't run a reel anymore. Peackock 3 was my first real downstream cavedive. In France all caves have an outflow normally. And the one I know that has a tunnel with inflow has signs of danger, don't go in, etc, so I never tried that tunnel of course.
Mexico: mainline can be hidden far away. But it differs from cave to cave. You have upstream and downstream lines in the cenote. Sometimes different colors for upstream and downstream lines are used. Jumps are mostly 1 arrow. And you can see change of directions, the arrows pointing to the exit have most times a different color then. And it is a playground for jumps. I really enjoyed the dives where we entered with no plan, just follow the lines that looked great. Distance markers are not there, only knots on lines. The haloclines are nice here. The best I have ever seen. The only halocline in my country is found in a lake, it is not a straight layer, but milky as the salt water pushes out of the ground. The haloclines in Malta are not that big layers as in Mexico.
So what is the best? I don't know. I like caves everywhere. There are differences, but not that much that you cannot go diving from Mexico in Europe. For some divers a buddy or guide that knows the region will be better, but it is not needed for every cave diver, a lot depends on the experience you already have. But where you can hit and kick stones in France or Florida, you will break stalagtites in Mexico or Thailand.
