I arrived late Friday night, May 5th at the Cancun International Airport from Miami on Mexicana Flight 310 at 6:45 p.m. I successfully completed and passed the 15-day TERRESTRIAL and COASTAL NAVIGATION course and the 5-day METEOROLOGY course at the Professional Maritime Training Institute in Ft. Lauderdale. In June, I return to finish my three remaining courses out of the required 18 courses. Damn, I was happy that nightmare was over as I was very happy to be home.
Saturday evening I return to the Cancun International Airport to pick up three cave divers for nine days of fantastic cave diving. They are MARTY REID of St. Mary’s, Georgia, BRETT SUNDERLAND of Atlanta, Georgia and WAYNE KINARD of Ft. White, Florida who works at CAVE EXCURSIONS EAST located near Ginnie Springs in Gilchrest, Florida. This is Marty’s fourth trip to RIVIERA MAYA, Brett’s third and for Wayne his first trip. We arrived in Puerto Aventuras at 9:15 p.m. and we went straight to the FILO Sports Bar and Restaurant to catch the last quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers/Phoenix Suns NBA basketball game #7. Both Marty and I were rooting for the Suns. As it turned out, the Suns won in a blow-out over the Lakers being one of the few teams in NBA history to come back from a 3 – 1 deficit to win a 7 game play-off series.
We had dinner at the restaurant and afterward I took the guys over to the MAYA QUINTA Condominiums on the beautiful Puerto Aventuras beach. These are new luxurious condos, which is one if not the only condo building in Puerto Aventuras that features an elevator. The condo building was impressive and their condo on the third floor had a great balcony view of the beach and the Caribbean Sea. The next morning we met at the CAFÉ OLE Restaurant as they had breakfast. Our plan for the day was simple, stay close to Puerto Aventuras since were having a late start for the day of cave diving.
SUNDAY, MAY 7th.
Our first dive was a shake-out dive at SISTEMA CHAC MOOL. Because this trip was a multi return trip for Marty and Brett, I wanted to offer something new type dives and something that had large passageways. Typically, most cave divers swim downstream to visit the MONSTER ROOM. We swam the upstream side 2,000 feet. The guys were very impressed with the first room at 300 feet and the second room at 1700 feet that provides a dazzling display of decorations and speleothem features. For Wayne, this being his first cave dive in Mexico, at the point where we called the dive Wayne swam over to me and vigorously shook my hand. That’s all I needed to see to be reassure he wad one very HAPPY cave diver.
After the dive we drove over to the XPU HA beach and had a great lunch at Leon’s CAFÉ DEL MAR. Leon treated us with exceptional personal care, the food was delicious and our tummies were full. Everyone enjoyed the sights on the beach. We drove across the street to Marco Rotzinger’s CUZEL air/gas station to switch out our double tanks. Wayne was very interested with inspecting this business and how it operated. Because Wayne has worked for BILL RENNAKER and CAVE EXCURSIONS at Laraville, Florida during the past eight years and now work at the CAVE EXCURSIONS EAST dive store, I was curious to see his reaction. I personally consider the CAVE EXCURSIONS air/gas filling station the one of the very BEST in the United States if not the Western Hemisphere. I cannot think of any business that pumps more EANx for recreational diving and one of the few that sells the gas by the cubic foot. Wayne was satisfied and content in what he saw at CUZEL. With fresh tanks loaded, we drove the short distance next door to SISTEMA AKTUN KOH and enjoyed a very relaxing dive upstream. The gold circuit line is still a circuit but rerouted in a more direct way around the Cenote Bear’s Den. I showed the huge slabs of rock that had collapsed and buried the gold permanent line caused by the massive 60 inch plus rains that occurred during Hurricane Wilma on October 21 & 22, 2005. The guys were amazed at the size of rock that fell in Cenote Bear’s Den. In fact, we all got nervous when looking up at the ceiling and viewing what appeared to be “fresh” cracks.
MONDAY, MAY 8th.
I picked up the team at 8:30 a.m. with eight sets of doubles and our four baskets of gear loaded including oxygen bottles, first aid kit and a cooler with plenty of water, Gatorade, and a few soft drinks. We drove south to Tulum as our first dive was at SISTEMA CAMILO. Unfortunately, the gate was locked and no one was home. We honked the horn and waited 15 minutes. We decided to dive CENOTE TEMPLE of DOOM – Sistema Sac Aktun or known as Cenote Esqueleto or Cenote Calavera (flip a coin). The dive was 87 minutes. Wayne was impressed as he claimed it was one of the best cave dives he had seen in his 35 years of cave diving. I quickly reminded him that it was going to get better – soon.
We had lunch at the Aktun Dive Center with everyone thoroughly enjoying the BEST Chicken Fajitas in the Riviera Maya. We got the key for the gate from Lena as our second dive of the day was at CENOTE CALIMBA – Sistema Sac Aktun. We swam to Cenote Bosh Chen and back. When we surfaced at the end of the dive Wayne was astonished as he was overwhelmed by the constant beauty of decorations and speleothems. Bottom time was over 110 minutes. With Day #2 completed and four outstanding dives logged, everyone was very content and happy.
TUESDAY, MAY 9th.
I picked up the team at 8:30 a.m. with eight sets of doubles, four stage bottles and our four baskets of gear loaded including oxygen bottles, first aid kit and a cooler with plenty of water, Gatorade, and a few soft drinks. We drove south to Tulum as our first dive was at SISTEMA TORTUGA. Our mission was swimming to the Black Hills Forest and beyond using stage bottles. In addition, I was taking photos of a six foot fossilized sea turtle shell that located in 39 feet of water. When the dive started I discovered that my strobes were not synchronized with the shutter speed of the NIKON 100D camera. At the first “T” intersection 8 minutes swimming in I decided to clip off the camera to the permanent line and abandoned the idea of capturing photos and concentrate strictly showing the turtle shell and swim as far possible beyond. The mission was a huge success as the team was super impressed with the six foot fossilized sea turtle shell and we swam another 1200 feet beyond. On the return swim Wayne and I discovered a second fossilized sea turtle shell probably 80 feet away from the first one. The dive was over 100 minutes bottom time with 86 feet maximum depth and we all had 60 minutes of required decompression on our computers. That was the longest deco stops I have performed in recent years. Because of the longer times not anticipated we blew off a second dive. The guys were really impressed with the variety of the dive.
On Tuesday Night, I drove up to Playa Del Carmen and met my friends BARRY and RUTH GUIMBELLOT of Ft. Worth, Texas. They were in town for the week writing a photo journal story for DIVE TRAINING MAGAZINE. We had dinner at my favorite restaurant – LUNA MEDIA (Half Moon). They were guests of YOLANDA at the YUCATEK DIVE CENTER. I have known Barry and Ruth for over 10 years as Barry always was rebuilding my Nikonis V cameras. We both now use the NIKON Digital camera systems.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10th.
We spent the entire day at the LABNA HA MAYA MAGICO PARK as guests of SERGIO GRUNNUCI and PEPE LINARE. Our first cave dive in SISTEMA CARACOL was 2000 feet upstream the “main” line with me shooting photos the entire dive. The camera system worked great! It was 110 minutes at 29 feet maximum depth. We had a fantastic barbeque MAYA lunch consisting of Maya bread; two differently prepared types of chicken, huge black beans, salad and ice tea. We were given a personal tour by PEPE & SERGIO of the ”ZIP” cable ride lines and the 300 meter boardwalk tour of the dry cave traverse. My guys were really stoked with the personal attention given by SERGIO and PEP. Our second cave dive in SISTEMA CARACOL was another upstream line that SERGIO rarely shares with cave divers that he informed us to dive. Half of this line was explored a year and a half ago by Bob Thorpe, Ken Bosko and I. It was 97 minutes of bottom time. We decided it was the better of two gorgeous, beautiful dives. Sergio informed me that he found an area about 1800 meters upstream containing huge fossilized animal bones that he plans to show me next week.
THANK YOU to SERGIO and PEP for taking care of us as KINGS of the underwater world!
When we packed the truck to depart the LABNA HA MAYA MAGICO PARK, I suggested we stop in the CHEMUYIL village and enjoy a great pizza at LEO’S PIZZA. We had an outstanding two pizzas that created a relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere of camaraderie and bond with our successful day of cave diving.
THURSDAY, MAY 11th
Our mission for this day was SISTEMA NARANJAL – CENOTE JAILHOUSE. We experienced a late start as we spent time reviewing the photos I shot at SISTEMA CARACOL at the Maya Quinta Condominiums. We had an excellent lunch on the Tulum beach at Nacho’s Latitude 20 Restaurant.
I suggested the CENOTE JAILHOUSE entrance as it is rarely dived and requires a minimum six minute hike. However, you can now drive directly straight to CENOTE JAILHOUSE as a new road is completed and the jungle has been trimmed surrounding the cenote. This made logistics much easier and less time consuming. Our goal was to dive a highly decorated passageway that is located off the downstream power passageway. The basin of the CENOTE JAILHOUSE was a nasty, algae bloom. I replaced the guideline in the basin as it was old and covered with algae. This dive requires three jumps that involved a “shortcut” to this beautiful passage. Our dive was a huge success as we made it to the end of the line including a new 100 feet of line into a low bedding plane. Bottom time was 97 minutes with a maximum depth of 89 feet.
FRIDAY, MAY 12th
This day was planned for Wayne and Brett to take the day off and be tourists visiting the TULUM RUINS. Marty wanted to return to CENOTE JAILHOUSE in SISTEMA NARANJAL and for me to take photos of him in the same gorgeous passage. We repeated the same dive we performed the day before and I shot over 130 photos with my NIKON Digital 100 camera system. The dive was very successful and I captured many good photo images.
SATURDAY, MAY 13th
I picked up the team at 8:30 a.m. with eight sets of doubles and our four baskets of gear loaded including oxygen bottles, first aid kit and a cooler with plenty of water, Gatorade, and a few soft drinks.
We drove south beyond Tulum as our first dive was at SISTEMA CHAN HOL. This cenote is right next to Highway 307 in a dry basin with a limestone overhang. The small pool of water can handle only two cave divers; however the land owner has now enlarged the pool of water into a bigger area. The bad thing was the dirt and soil that now instantly created zero visibility (chocolate milk). This entry is a tight minor restriction to enter the cave system. I explained to the team to keep the guideline on your left side swimming in and definitely keep the guideline on your right side when exiting. There is so much silt that the first room at the beginning now becomes blitz. I took my camera system with us to capture more photos as this cave system is an incredible beautiful cave. Our dive was very successful though we were challenged with the zero visibility with four cave divers negotiating the tight minor restriction to get out of the cave. I was last to exit the cave as my first words when I surfaced was “FUCK ME” as that restriction with no visibility and carrying the camera system was not fun.
We returned to the AKTUN DIVE CENTER more delicious POLLO FAJITAS for our mid-day meal. LENA informed us that she successfully SOLD the AKTUN DIVE CENTER business to the ALLTOURNATIVE ADVENTURE COMPANY. We congratulated her on her successful business transaction. She was very happy and we were happy for her.
During lunch I called the YUCATEK DIVE CENTER in Playa Del Carmen. YOLANA had informed me on Friday morning (while I was selling 10 of my books to her) that the fisherman had called her from ISLA HOLBOX and had seen eight great whale sharks two days before. This was unusual as it is usually not until JULY when the Whale Sharks appear. They had a group drive up to the north coast of the Yucatan peninsula on Friday to snorkel with the Whale Sharks. It was confirmed as their group swam with eight sharks that included BARRY and RUTH GUIMBELLOT who were writing a story for DIVE TRAINING Magazine. We decided we would drive up early Monday morning, take the ferry and hire a boat to take us.
Our second afternoon dive was at the SISTEMA CAMILO. This cave system is basically a power size cave. Explored by the CAMBRAIN FOUNDATION team organized by TERRENCE TYSALL, this 30,000 foot plus system is now set up with easy accessibility provided by the land owners.
There are tables for assembling equipment with a sheltered roof and a wood deck platform with ladder creates a safe and very comfortable entry into a small pool of water. Because the cave entrance is smallish the first fifty feet, we had to be extra careful with communication working with four cave divers. However, this cave quickly turns into the huge power size passageways that allowed plenty of room to swim. Our plan was simple, follow the main line until we hit thirds. We discovered that someone had removed the 25 foot jump 1500 feet into the cave system and made it one continuous guideline. I thought this was great as it made NO sense at all to have a jump where a continuous guideline made the dive simpler and safer. Our bottom time was over 70 minutes. Everyone loved this dive.
WE return to LEO’s PIZZA in Chemuyil for more great pizzas that Saturday night!
SUNDAY, MAY 14th
We spent the entire day at CENOTE NOHOCH NAH CHICH diving the upstream area in the morning. We took my camera system as we swam on Parker’s Line, Charlie’s line, Alberto’s line, Bill Carlson’s line, Ron Winiker’s line, J’J’s Loop, Joanie’s line, Disney line including HEAVEN’s GATE. I shot over 140 images. The guys were stoked and Wayne was in heaven.
“DON” Pedro’s wife provided us with an outstanding MAYAN Buffet lunch, all you can eat. The guys were stunned by the personal attention provided by ‘Don” Pedro’s family. I have known the family since 1988 and they always take care of me with special thoughtfulness.
Our second dive was a downstream 3900 foot swim to CENOTE NATURAL BRIDGE. Brett decided not to dive. It took us 55 minutes to reach CENOTE NATURAL BRIDGE on 1000 psi. Marty and Wayne were numbed by the beauty. The dive was two hours with a maximum depth of 18 feet.
MONDAY, MAY 15 – GREAT WHALE SHARKS DAY!
I picked up the guys at 4:50 a.m. as it is a three-hour drive up to catch the ferry to ISLA HOLBOX. We hired a special ferry ponga boat for 350 pesos and got in touch with CAPTAIN WILLIE. We were dropped on the beach at the village on the Gulf of Mexico side of the island. CAPTAIN WILLIE arrived with his 30 foot boat with twin Yamaha 80 horsepower motors. We bought sandwiches in town and walked around for 45 minutes to tour. Four wheel ATV’s and Golf Carts were the normal transportation.
We loaded our gear and our cameras on CAPTAIN WILLIE’s boat and we traveled for over an hour along the north coast of ISLA HOLBOX to the east end. We were about 8 miles offshore and sure enough we found a 15 foot baby Whale Shark. We took turns, two at a time snorkeling with the shark. The shark would slowly swim along the surface gobbling plankton water. His slow speed was a challenge for us to keep up. The visibility was about 15 feet. We found a second shark, who was about 18 feet in length that swam slower and sometimes stopped. I shot over 40 photos. Three dolphins showed up circling the shark. We found a third shark and we shot more photos. In JULY there are more sharks. CAPTAIN WILLIE informed us that on average he would have 20 – 25 sharks in one day. The best day ever was over 50 Great Whale Sharks – fricking unbelievable.
We were in hog heaven! It was a great day where everything fell into place to make it an outstanding success. On our return ride we stopped along the beach to observed 100 pink flamingo birds and we spotted two large loggerhead sea turtles. When we reached the west end of ISLA HOLBOX we asked CAPTAIN WILLIE to take us across the channel to the mainland and we would pay him extra. No one turns down cash.
To cap off our great day, I suggested we stop at COBA and have dinner at the CLUB MED Archaeological Hotel that overlooks one of the seven lakes that surrounds the COBA MAYAN RUINS. The guys were super impressed with the quality of the hotel, the restaurant & food and the service. This was my MOM’s favorite restaurant and hotel to visit. Everyone agreed that this was the crowning jewel to a perfect nine days of outstanding diving.
For WAYNE KINARD, he was in constant joy and overwhelming amazement of what he saw and experienced. In Florida at home Wayne dives regularly with the famous JIM LOCKWOOD of High Springs, Florida and BILL “HOGARTH” MAIN. WAYNE showed me his personal log book where BILL MAIN playfully writes down “put me down” witty lines or statements. Therefore, I adopted one of BILL MAIN’s lines that he writes in Wayne’s log book. Cave diving with WAYNE KINARD, “I WISH I HAD STAYED HOME!”
In all seriousness, I could not ask for a greater three cave divers to take diving in the Riviera Maya.
TUESDAY, MAY 16th
I picked the guys up at 9:00 a.m. and drove them to the Cancun International Airport. We squared up our bill for the guiding, tanks, dive site fees, fuel, etc. In addition, I got a great “TIP”! Thank you.
I know they will return for more as I have plenty more of outstanding caves to show them.
Maintain and be safe.
STEVE
stevegerrard@cavediver.com
www.steve-gerrard.com
La Costa Condominiums #103
Puerto Aventuras, Q. Roo
77750 MEXICO
(011-52) 9 84 87 35037 HOME PHONE
(011-52) 044 9 84 127 1550 CELL PHONE