Dawn
04-19-2006, 05:51 AM
Towering speleothems, sparkling white walls, and complex lengthy cave passages winding their way beneath the jungle floor: these are all images that come to mind when one thinks about cave diving in the Yucatan. However, in the Northwestern corner of the peninsula, there lie caves of a completely different description. Here, the large boring tunnels plunge deeper, the walls are darker, and there are few decorations; virgin cave passages outnumber those with laid line.
The invitation
In the spring of 1999, researchers from Texas A&M University contacted several members of the Woodville Karst Plain Project regarding exploration of several caves around Merida, Mexico. The primary purpose of this planned expedition would be to explore, map and document the tunnels that ran from Cenote X’lacah, located in the center of the ancient Mayan ruins of Dzibilchaltun.
Prior to making plans with the WKPP, Dr. Thomas Iliffe and Brett Dodson of Texas A&M were conducting biological research dives in the system. After their last trip to X’lacah, Dr. Iliffe sent an email describing the passages as, “20- to 30-meters wide, by 10- to 13-meters high, phreatic tube running horizontally at a depth of 50 to 57 meters, heading towards the coast located 15 km away.” At this time, the two had explored approximately 300 meters back, with no side passages seen but also no end in site.
So, after a flurry of phone calls and email exchanges, the invitation to return to Dzibilchaltun was happily accepted by a group of willing and excited divers from the WKPP. Jesse Armantrout, Brent Scarabin, George Irvine, John Rose, Bill Mee, Ken Sallot, Derek Hagler, Chuck Noe, and I boarded a plane in Miami for a quick jump over to the Yucatan. Meanwhile, the Texas A&M group consisting of David Sweetin, Dr. Iliffe, Brett Dodson, and Michael Loeffler took the longer route by driving two cargo vans filled with the expedition’s dive gear from Houston, Texas to Merida.
After making it through customs…
Luckily our new friends from Texas A&M agreed to carry the majority of the dive gear with them in their vans. Approximately 100 stage and decompression bottles, 15 sets of doubles, nine Gavin scooters, and boxes of regulators, lights, miscellaneous dive gear, and lab equipment were loaded before the Houston crew left home. Thus, passing through airport customs in Cancun was significantly easier for the WKPP part of the crew.
The city of Merida is a bustling international city with a population of just over one million. Everyone we met, from our first day in the city, was extremely outgoing and helpful towards this crazy bunch of cave explorers. In addition to being a central location to the caves in the area, there are numerous restaurants, shops, and dance clubs to fill the hours when we were not diving, filling bottles, or sleeping.
Arrangements were made with local cave diver Robert Hashimoto of the Asociacion Yucateca de Espeleobuceo to obtain oxygen and helium ahead of time for bottom and decompression mix fills. Air fills were made available through what may have been the only fill station in the city at the time with Mike Dutton. We also received gracious assistance regarding cave logistics and exploration permits from Fernando Rosada, president of the Asociacion Yucateca de Espeleobuceo and from Carlos Vasquez Evan of the Secretaria de Ecologia.
Amid the mystical ruins
On day 1, the team headed straight for Dzibilchaltun, approximately 15 km North of Merida, where we immediately took in the magical history of the ruins and Cenote X’lacah. Under the direction of the Mexican National Archaeological Institute, the ruins have been kept well preserved and protected. Dzibilchaltun is thought to be one of the longest occupied Mayan settlements, having been occupied around 1000 B.C. and remaining under Mayan control until the Spanish Conquest in 1540 A.D. The name "Dzibilchaltun" means 'the place where there's writing on the stones' and it refers to the entire settlement whose center is the Cenote X'lacah.
Permission to dive the site was rarely granted up until the point of our project, and was made possible with the additional help of Roger Medina with the Department of Ecology, University of Yucatan. In agreement with the permit arrangements, we worked hand-in-hand with Roger and his students collecting water samples during the week of exploration.
It did not take long for the team to start assembling gear after taking a tour of the ruins and looking into the cobalt blue water of the cenote. As the vans were unloaded, teams were assigned and plans were made.
On the first dive of the day, George Irvine and Brent Scarabin went in for a reconnaissance dive. Half an hour after they left, Bill Mee, John Rose, and Jesse Armantrout departed and quickly met Team 1 as they returned to deco. Team 1 said they tied off at a “restriction”. In view of this, a third team of Chuck Noe, Derek Hagler, and Ken Sallot altered their dive plan to scour the walls for additional leads.
Well, it turned out the “restriction” was only relative to the usual Tallahassee “Power Cave” the guys were used to diving…meaning the guys could only pass through 4 abreast instead of 8! When Team 2 returned and reported that the cave did indeed go beyond the restriction, the project members were more than enthusiastic to get back in for another round of dives. Team 2 actually went back that afternoon and returned to deco with an empty reel. At the end of the first day, Cenote X’lacah totaled 1,300 meters of passage in its single conduit, at an average depth of 55 meters!
Following a successful first day, the team conducted subsequent dives at Dzibilchaltun for exploration and to collect water samples at various parts of the cave for the University of Yucatan, including in and around the halocline which is present throughout the cave. A little over 100 meters of additional line were added, bringing the total to 1,400 meters. At this point, the cave showed serious breakdown and was becoming more fragile. Sidemount techniques were used to attempt access to the downstream portions of the cave, but success was limited.
Numerous reasons to return
In addition to Cenote X’lacah, the team made visits to several other dive sites consisting of smaller caves with passages running around 50-100 meters in length. With the assistance of Carlos Vasquez Evan and local community leaders, the project members were also introduced to a number of sinkholes that had never been dived.
Although their tunnels look different in so many ways, the caves just outside of Merida and those found along the East Coast of the Yucatan create the same awe-inspired curiosity in the divers passing through their tunnels. Between the dozens of virgin caves, the magnificent ruins, and the wonderful hospitality of the locals, we are all anxious to return to this mystical part of Mexico.
The invitation
In the spring of 1999, researchers from Texas A&M University contacted several members of the Woodville Karst Plain Project regarding exploration of several caves around Merida, Mexico. The primary purpose of this planned expedition would be to explore, map and document the tunnels that ran from Cenote X’lacah, located in the center of the ancient Mayan ruins of Dzibilchaltun.
Prior to making plans with the WKPP, Dr. Thomas Iliffe and Brett Dodson of Texas A&M were conducting biological research dives in the system. After their last trip to X’lacah, Dr. Iliffe sent an email describing the passages as, “20- to 30-meters wide, by 10- to 13-meters high, phreatic tube running horizontally at a depth of 50 to 57 meters, heading towards the coast located 15 km away.” At this time, the two had explored approximately 300 meters back, with no side passages seen but also no end in site.
So, after a flurry of phone calls and email exchanges, the invitation to return to Dzibilchaltun was happily accepted by a group of willing and excited divers from the WKPP. Jesse Armantrout, Brent Scarabin, George Irvine, John Rose, Bill Mee, Ken Sallot, Derek Hagler, Chuck Noe, and I boarded a plane in Miami for a quick jump over to the Yucatan. Meanwhile, the Texas A&M group consisting of David Sweetin, Dr. Iliffe, Brett Dodson, and Michael Loeffler took the longer route by driving two cargo vans filled with the expedition’s dive gear from Houston, Texas to Merida.
After making it through customs…
Luckily our new friends from Texas A&M agreed to carry the majority of the dive gear with them in their vans. Approximately 100 stage and decompression bottles, 15 sets of doubles, nine Gavin scooters, and boxes of regulators, lights, miscellaneous dive gear, and lab equipment were loaded before the Houston crew left home. Thus, passing through airport customs in Cancun was significantly easier for the WKPP part of the crew.
The city of Merida is a bustling international city with a population of just over one million. Everyone we met, from our first day in the city, was extremely outgoing and helpful towards this crazy bunch of cave explorers. In addition to being a central location to the caves in the area, there are numerous restaurants, shops, and dance clubs to fill the hours when we were not diving, filling bottles, or sleeping.
Arrangements were made with local cave diver Robert Hashimoto of the Asociacion Yucateca de Espeleobuceo to obtain oxygen and helium ahead of time for bottom and decompression mix fills. Air fills were made available through what may have been the only fill station in the city at the time with Mike Dutton. We also received gracious assistance regarding cave logistics and exploration permits from Fernando Rosada, president of the Asociacion Yucateca de Espeleobuceo and from Carlos Vasquez Evan of the Secretaria de Ecologia.
Amid the mystical ruins
On day 1, the team headed straight for Dzibilchaltun, approximately 15 km North of Merida, where we immediately took in the magical history of the ruins and Cenote X’lacah. Under the direction of the Mexican National Archaeological Institute, the ruins have been kept well preserved and protected. Dzibilchaltun is thought to be one of the longest occupied Mayan settlements, having been occupied around 1000 B.C. and remaining under Mayan control until the Spanish Conquest in 1540 A.D. The name "Dzibilchaltun" means 'the place where there's writing on the stones' and it refers to the entire settlement whose center is the Cenote X'lacah.
Permission to dive the site was rarely granted up until the point of our project, and was made possible with the additional help of Roger Medina with the Department of Ecology, University of Yucatan. In agreement with the permit arrangements, we worked hand-in-hand with Roger and his students collecting water samples during the week of exploration.
It did not take long for the team to start assembling gear after taking a tour of the ruins and looking into the cobalt blue water of the cenote. As the vans were unloaded, teams were assigned and plans were made.
On the first dive of the day, George Irvine and Brent Scarabin went in for a reconnaissance dive. Half an hour after they left, Bill Mee, John Rose, and Jesse Armantrout departed and quickly met Team 1 as they returned to deco. Team 1 said they tied off at a “restriction”. In view of this, a third team of Chuck Noe, Derek Hagler, and Ken Sallot altered their dive plan to scour the walls for additional leads.
Well, it turned out the “restriction” was only relative to the usual Tallahassee “Power Cave” the guys were used to diving…meaning the guys could only pass through 4 abreast instead of 8! When Team 2 returned and reported that the cave did indeed go beyond the restriction, the project members were more than enthusiastic to get back in for another round of dives. Team 2 actually went back that afternoon and returned to deco with an empty reel. At the end of the first day, Cenote X’lacah totaled 1,300 meters of passage in its single conduit, at an average depth of 55 meters!
Following a successful first day, the team conducted subsequent dives at Dzibilchaltun for exploration and to collect water samples at various parts of the cave for the University of Yucatan, including in and around the halocline which is present throughout the cave. A little over 100 meters of additional line were added, bringing the total to 1,400 meters. At this point, the cave showed serious breakdown and was becoming more fragile. Sidemount techniques were used to attempt access to the downstream portions of the cave, but success was limited.
Numerous reasons to return
In addition to Cenote X’lacah, the team made visits to several other dive sites consisting of smaller caves with passages running around 50-100 meters in length. With the assistance of Carlos Vasquez Evan and local community leaders, the project members were also introduced to a number of sinkholes that had never been dived.
Although their tunnels look different in so many ways, the caves just outside of Merida and those found along the East Coast of the Yucatan create the same awe-inspired curiosity in the divers passing through their tunnels. Between the dozens of virgin caves, the magnificent ruins, and the wonderful hospitality of the locals, we are all anxious to return to this mystical part of Mexico.