Mexico cave diving trip report, Nov 2018

[elgoog]

Hi -

I just got back from a week of diving in Mexico - this was my first trip after my Intro to Cave class and I dove with Under the Jungle once again. I was going for easy and convenient so didn't rent a car and stayed in the rooms above the dive shop. Dove with @sea_otter who also finished her Intro class a couple of days before I got there.

We spent the first couple of days at familiar sites doing a combo of fun dives and refresher skills - Tajma Ha (goldline) and Mayan Blue (A and B tunnels). It was really cool to be in familiar passages, recognize features on the lines and, most importantly for me, anticipate what was coming up. Yay for super detailed notes from my last trip!
In the B Tunnel dive, a team before us had silted up parts of the mainline pretty significantly - this reduced visibility but created an amazing effect in the halocline that looked like a ghostly mist floating over the sparkling blue water that gives this cenote its name.
After the Mayan Blue dives, we were the only ones left at the cenote and I got a chance to get some photos of this absolutely gorgeous place.

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The next day was Otoch Ha, we did the classroom and field drill part of how to work with Ts from the Full Cave course as there's a one pretty much right at the entrance with the mainline coming out to open water. At my current level, I can only do this dive with a Full Cave instructor (which we were with) as you need to be at least Full Cave or GUE C1 to even get the key to the gate from Zero Gravity. I think this was one of my favorite caves of this trip - I'd definitely want to come back here. The drive to it is pretty useful as well if you want your internal organs rearranged a little bit.

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We did one dive at Dos Palmas the next day and that introduced us to flow. Nothing compared to what's in Florida but medium-high by Mexico standards. It was really interesting experiencing it first hand as it does things I did not expect it to .i.e push you every which way down the passage except where the line is going and push your fins up on the way out so it feels like you have a bunch of gas trapped in your legs as you desperately try to vent. Great learning experience and I can't wait to dive the real flow in Florida caves now ​

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The last day was at Nohoch Nah Chich where we dove Alberto's Line and then the Upstream Mainline for another long photo session.

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Continued in next post as I hit my limit on number of photos I could upload.

 

[elgoog]

The big adventure of this trip were the Yucatan sinkholes! I mean, I'm a baby cave diver and all cave dives are adventures but still ...

We drove to Izamal where we spent the night and then headed into some remoter parts of the Yucatan. Our first destination was Chin Dzonot which introduced some new cave gear and associated skills - poop boots and how to use them to navigate through a field of semi-solid-mostly-liquid cow poop. For extra credit, I did the same walk in my drysuit and managed to only slip once into ankle deep mush. This was probably the most interesting dive I've never done, even on top of the field-of-cow-poop-dreams navigation. We lowered our tanks into the water with a rope and pulley and then scrambled down a slippery slope to get into the water. The dive itself had a really creepy ambience as it was green and murky which made the tree roots and rock formations in the water look really eery. Also, the lined passage was the tightest I've been in but it didn't take away from how beautiful the black rock with gold striations was. Oh, and absolute cutest pupper kept us company the entire time we were by our truck - loved playing with our REMs

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Next sinkhole we went to was Xoch. This one had a much more civilized entry with a few ladders going through the rock that dropped us off onto a nice little platform by the water. This was mostly a blue water dive along the walls of the cenote with a few overheads as we went past a couple of bell shaped ledges.

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Amazing trip overall and great experience dives post-class. Can't wait to go back again!! More details, inane rambling and few more photos (most importantly, of the pupper) on my blog.

- elgoog

 

[Jack Hammer]

Nice write up, glad you enjoyed the trip. Those are some awesome caves. I think you'll really enjoy the Florida caves too.

 

[jadairiii]

Otoch Ha is an awesome cave. Had the opportunity to dive it right after the Landowner re-opened, no gate, no lock and no divers. Next time, bring a scooter. There is so much to see in that cave.

 

[Preach]

looks good! I was in Mexico at the same time, but my team had zero gravity as diving school. Mexico is really amazing, missing the caves and beautiful nature already! . Planning to go back November next year.

We did mayan blue a tunnel and then made a jump to a deep salt water passage somewhere. The a tunnel itself is boring, toke us 25 min to get to the good blueish part.
Next year i should try the b tunnel instead.
One of my favorite dives was from cenote santa cruz to the black forest line, some parts have black decoration and white sand on the bottom.

Are you planning to go for full cave in the future?

 

[mddolson]

Great write up & fantastic photos, thanks for posting

 

[kafkaland]

Were you there when the accident at Kalimba happened? I haven't been to MX when a fatality actually occurred, but once very shortly thereafter. And the mood in the community was very much depressed, mixed with some anger at whoever broke the rules (which may not have happened in this particular case). It just cast a pall over everything. The caves were just as beautiful as always, but diving them just didn't feel the same. This sad feeling faded in time, though, and on my next trip everything seemed back to normal, except that some landowners decided to tighten up their rules, requiring local guides and shutting out independent divers like me.

 

[elgoog]

I think you'll really enjoy the Florida caves too.

I'm trying to squeeze one in soon. They're calling me ...

Are you planning to go for full cave in the future?

For sure but might be a few more trips before that.

Were you there when the accident at Kalimba happened? I haven't been to MX when a fatality actually occurred, but once very shortly thereafter. And the mood in the community was very much depressed, mixed with some anger at whoever broke the rules (which may not have happened in this particular case). It just cast a pall over everything. The caves were just as beautiful as always, but diving them just didn't feel the same. This sad feeling faded in time, though, and on my next trip everything seemed back to normal, except that some landowners decided to tighten up their rules, requiring local guides and shutting out independent divers like me.

Yes, this happened in the middle of the week I was there and the tension in the shop after it was palpable. There was already talk of even Gran Cenote being closed for diving already (unconfirmed) and some local news articles are pointing the finger at the Kalimba landowner.

 

[kafkaland]

Yes, this happened in the middle of the week I was there and the tension in the shop after it was palpable. There was already talk of even Gran Cenote being closed for diving already (unconfirmed) and some local news articles are pointing the finger at the Kalimba landowner.

This would be a travesty. If not only Kalimba, but also Grand Cenote are closed for good, one of the best sections of Sac Aktun would be no longer accessible. I would hate to see that happen. And holding the land owner of Kalimba responsible is just crazy. Unless something has changed, you have to pick up the key for Kalimba (at a place that you need to know about, so a random yahoo wouldn't know where), sign a log, and present your card unless they already know you. What else should a land owner be expected to do? Review your dive plan? Which wouldn't make any sense as most divers know more about dive planning than a land owner or their designee.

 

[Preach]

Were you there when the accident at Kalimba happened? I haven't been to MX when a fatality actually occurred, but once very shortly thereafter. And the mood in the community was very much depressed, mixed with some anger at whoever broke the rules (which may not have happened in this particular case). It just cast a pall over everything. The caves were just as beautiful as always, but diving them just didn't feel the same. This sad feeling faded in time, though, and on my next trip everything seemed back to normal, except that some landowners decided to tighten up their rules, requiring local guides and shutting out independent divers like me.

After the accident at Kalimba, i had to sign extra liability forms at taj mahal. But i didn't have any trouble entering other cenote's. Some cenote owners didnt even ask to see
my diving certifications. It's a strange feeling tho when something like this happens when your diving over there.

This would be a travesty. If not only Kalimba, but also Grand Cenote are closed for good, one of the best sections of Sac Aktun would be no longer accessible. I would hate to see that happen. And holding the land owner of Kalimba responsible is just crazy. Unless something has changed, you have to pick up the key for Kalimba (at a place that you need to know about, so a random yahoo wouldn't know where), sign a log, and present your card unless they already know you. What else should a land owner be expected to do? Review your dive plan? Which wouldn't make any sense as most divers know more about dive planning than a land owner or their designee.

I agree that it's crazy that cenote owners are responsible for the cave divers safety.