OK, you buncha sickos...I'm talking cave diving here, not porno, so get your minds out of the gutter and back on the topic! Ha!!!
Last night we checked out a few shops and Zinc showed me his expert skill at haggling prices with the locals. Let me tell you, he is one tough negotiator. Our last stop was at a jewelry store on the square where one of the salesmen had been drinking tequila, for awhile apparently, and offered Zinc and I a couple of shots. Of course, it would have been rude to turn down his hospitality, right? What good Texan would behave like that?
So, I joined him for a shot of his favorite tequila. Since the guy was three sheets to the wind already I figured I had a chance at negotiating a decent deal with him, so we started talkin'. I imagine I got taken anyway, but at least I got a couple of shots of good tequila and some pretty funny stories from the fellows in the shop out of the deal.
I slept well (funny how that happens with a couple of shots of tequila).
German was there again this morning picking us up at 7:00 a.m. We spent some time in the "classroom" discussing various potential failure points, decompression techniques (some specific to the cave environment), line jumps and T's, and how to survey and map caves. Very interesting lessons to say the least. I had been wondering how cave divers actually put together an accurate map of a cave...any cave. Today I found out. In fact, I've learned a tremendous amount from German
every day.
This is a great place to stop and give kudos to our instructor. He was recommended to Zinc and me by several different people we respect...some who are
very hard to impress. Fact is, German Yanez is an absolute wealth of diving, especially cave diving, knowledge. He's been cave diving for twenty years. Sections of caves are named for this guy. He has discovered, mapped and explored numerous caves in Mexico. The coolest thing is that the guy is completely modest. They only thing he hasn't been humble and quiet about is his 20-year-old girlfriend. Then again, how many 41-year-old men wouldn't be talking big about about their young, hot girlfriend!?
But, he rarely even mentions her...unless Zinc or I bring it up and rib him about it a little.
Bottom line is the guy is one very cool individual who seems to be a bottomless vessel of cave diving knowledge.
OK, back to the fun stuff...
Today was the first day we actually penetrated the cave to a decent depth. We also had another fellow with us today who was just wrapping up his Full Cave certification...Alfredo...a newly certified PADI (Pay And Dive Immediately) Instructor. After this Alfredo is off to Belize to skydive down to Blue Hole where a boat will be waiting with his gear so he can scuba dive the site soon after he lands. What a life, huh??
Anyway, I ran the line into the cave to the permanent line. Alfredo followed to do line support and Brandon brought up the rear. This was all part of the cave we have dove six times already, so it was pretty familiar and all went without incident.
I tied off the primary line off on the permanent line and we followed German down the permanent line past several jumps indicated by double line arrows (A jump is where a separate line has been laid leading to a different tunnel. It's called a jump because it is not a continuous line. Instead there is a gap between it and the permanent line...sometimes a foot or two, sometimes several feet.) We passed more life than I would ever have imagined could be in such a dark place...an endemic species of brittle star was everywhere, as was an endemic species of snail...small with a pink and white shell. There were also several white clams with red feelers shooting through the water. We saw a big red and white sea star and lots of fire worms. There were even a few fish I didn't recognize...not many though.
Eventually, we stopped at a point on the line where a jump was indicated. I placed an arrow on the permanent line, then tied my jump reel off on the arrow. Next we moved off the permanent line in search of the separate line German was looking for. We found it quickly, tied off on it, and continued. The line took us through a passage that lead us past fallen stalactites, narrow passages and fissures in the rock. Finally, we arrived at our destination. A place called Sulphur Falls where a white bacteria grew loosely on the wall. Heated water moved it around gently making it look like white fire. Very cool...I've never seen anything like it...ever.
Shortly after this stop we turned the dive, retrieved the jump reel and exited. We practiced a primary light failure drill on the way out, which went smoothly for all. I felt like I had just been in a lost world...an environment like no other I had ever witnessed. Wow! ...and we had only penetrated the cave 1500 feet or so. This cave system is comprised of over 60,000 feet of tunnel. I wonder what else is in there? No tellin', man...
Our second dive was fairly short. After debriefing on our first dive we prepared to practice surveying the cave from the entrance to the permanent line. We followed German back into the cave and started surveying from the end of our primary reel line. German collected the reel and line while Zinc, Alfredo and I noted distances between tie-offs (stations), compass headings, depth and comments for each station. When we got back to the surface we compared notes. Most of our info was pretty close. The fact is, it takes months and even years to complete an accurate map of a cave. Our little drill was was just a way to get our minds around the difficulty of mapping as well and the potential hazards.
We get a break tomorrow as German is not picking us up until 9:00 a.m. I think Brandon and I will sample the nightlife around here a little and see if this place is hopping at all...that is if the rain will let up long enough for us to do that.
Safe diving!!
