Going deeper underground

Location: Mexico

Date: October 6th, 2012

Here I am sitting on my bed, socks on, jumper on,......... shivering. Yup winter is coming ;). And we all know how I do with being cold!

I am chuffed to bits with my new wetsuit. It is semi dry and i actually feel warm now when coming out of the caves or cenotes. Which is on its own a miracle. However the fact that it rains a lot and the temperature has dropped significantly does not make me a happy bunny and out comes the jumper! At night it is around 23/25 degrees ...BRRRRRRRRRR

The last 3 days I have assisted Kim who is Jax' cave course instructor. The big difference being with her and my course is that she is doing it in backmount ( wearing two tanks on your back) where I did it in sidemount ( wearing 1 tank under each armpit). So i had to get used to my equipment again. Yes I use it to guide in the caverns but going into the caves I always take my sidemount tanks. It was awesome to see how cave courses are being taught when not being the student. This is my second assist and I hope to get many more in. Love it and i am learning every single day.

Sidemount rig

Backmount rig

Day 1 Normoxic Trimix course

However moving on from the assisting. It is time to be a student again ( why do i keep doing this to myself). I have decided to go for my Normoxic Trimix course. I know very expensive word for introducing helium into your breathing gas mix, next to having regular oxygen and nitrogin. Now of course there is a whole science and bucket loads of knowledge that goes behind it and today after a 5 hour theory session i have only been introduced to the basics. Basically diving on trimix allows you to go deeper. You can go deep on regular air if you want to but you’ll be narked as... F&^%^(). Narcosis is something that we divers are all too familiar with. Narcosis makes you feel.. well drunk. I have seen divers go into complete panic mode, be euphoric and just start to descend more ( not the best version of narcosis), look at you with dazed eyes and not being able to understand simple signals. Now when going deep this is not something you like to experience so by adding helium to the mix (a gas with no narcotic effect) you limit your narcosis to a certain extent.

 My instructor is Kelvin from New Zealand and has thought many technical courses in truck lagoon ( hello bucket list!) and Frank (my cave instructor, who is also a trimix instructor) is assisting as he wanted to see how Kelvin teaches this course. Which I think is really cool. So I have two instructors watching my every move. Not intimidating at all. Great well here we go!

After the theory session, which did not even leave me brain fried. Yey me! we continued looking at my setup - making changes where needed and analysed our doubles plus deco bottle. And around 4-ish it was time to it the water. Because I am a cave diver we are doing all the deep dives in the caves (yey scary dark black holes at depth.......). The plan of action at carwash cenote today was for me and Kelvin to get to know each other as divers. I find that every diver has a regular face and a divers face ;), it is cool to see how people change underwater and it is very important as divers to understand and trust your buddy. During the course Frank is going to be my buddy and Kelvin is going to play a "ghost" which will allow him plenty of time to mess around with me, as no doubt he will simulate many problems that could actually occur. In the water I practised sending sausages up ( boys) which I might add, is not my forte. bloody reels... need to buy bigger hands ;). We practised bouyoncy with deco tanks attached, taking off tanks and putting them back on and doing gas switches. Cool stuff. I felt comfortable and competent and i know now what to focus on and practise more.

We also did a little exercise how long we could hold our breath. Great exercises when you have 2 boys with you in the water. Yes i failed miserably!!! Or maybe not fail... i just can't hold it that long hahaha.

Protec Tulums mixing station - photo credit protectulum.com

Tomorrow more theory and a deco dive in "the Pit" :)

Ayo XOXO

Day 9: swimming 9000 feet in 1 day!

Location: Mexico
Date: May 12, 2012   


Day 9

Kim's army style setup

Today is the last day of my certification. Sad cuz it is going to be over and I had soooo much fun. Happy cuz now I can attack these mental caves myself ( sorry mom). So funny to think that dad would probably be thrilled to read all of this and mom would think "what did I do to make her like this???" . 


Today we spoke about Traverses and Circuits. A circuit is.. well a circuit ;) Traverse is basically one way in and coming out another Cenote. The later is something were planning on doing. In order to do a full traverse you need at least 2 dives. The plan was to go in Dive 1 ( also called the setup dive) at the Gran cenote side. We choose that because it needed more works ( 2 jumps including reel work) so it would cost more time and thus more air). We would than swim as far in the caves as our "thirds" would allow us as deco time was not an issue during this dive. Once we would hit our thirds ( basically means you have the same third to swim back and an extra third to,cover any emergencies), we would place a marker on which we wrote "Traverse 12/05/12 K & M" and turn around to exit at Gran cenote. We would get out of the water drive to the other cenote and enter from there and see if we would reach the marker within our thirds. Alrighty then, "game face on" as Kim would say.

the guys looking at the plan.

Calimba cenote at the top and gran cenote at the bottom

So we hit the water and started swimming down the lines. After placing the reels and markers we continued along the cave line. Lots of droopy stalagmites and tites, lots of flat surfaces and different colours in the formations. Flaky salty looking flakes on the bottom made you think you were on a glacier but then you look to another point and you are back in the cave. Amaazing! the inspiration I get from diving in caves is just insane. We had some restrictions but not real bad so we did not have to pull and push to much. There were a couple of jumps to other lines but we did ot take them since we wanted to connect to the Calimba Cenote. I could see loads of tunnels and interesting tubes where you could swim and I was thinking about those guys exploring the caves on their own. That must be such an adrenaline rush. Both Frank and Kim are part of exploring teams and it is really cool to listen to their stories and how passionate they are about it. 


Once we reached our thirds we turned around and swam back. I did achieve the name "tortuga" during my course here since I am just slower than slow however for this dive I picked it up a little bit knowing that at my original pace there was no way in hell we would be able to connect. haha Swimming back we would normally pick up the markers and reels but not this time as we will need them for dive 2. Coming back into the Gran Cenote cavern is just amazing and the light is sooo beautiful. I had to stop to take it in and I was praying that on the next dive I would be able to see this again. At this point i was slightly freezing as well... hey I just spend 100 minutes underwater in 25 degrees. Give me a break!!!!


Once we were out of the water we stowed our kit in the car and drove to the other cenote named Calimba. Calimba is basically a muddy-ish small hole in the ground which is very shallow. you can't see shit, and you literally have to dive under some stalactites to get into the cave where it is super duper clear again. This cenote as a completely different look and feel. It feels a bit more Dracula where Gran Cenote feels more fairytale. I actually preferred this end of the cenote, mainly because of the restrictions - SMILE - . Trying as hard as I could not to bang to much into the formations but I am still getting used to my new "dive size" having tanks dangling from the right.  I saw some funny little white/see through creatures one could resemble a little teeny tine lobster and some crabby-ish things. all not bigger than maybe 5 cm. Bear in mind that these guys have not ever experienced day light. Even the silt on the bottom has its own texture and looks so you don't want to disturb it that much. We reached a T and I knew that the marker was coming up soon and I wasn't even close to my thirds. My heart did a little jump of joy YEY I made it. Once I saw the little Swedish flag reflecting in my light ( Kim's markers are marked in a very swedish way ;) )I knew i was going to exit at the Gran cenote side again. WHOOP WHOOP.


we discussed in our briefing that at "turn around" point Kim would go in-front and I would go in the back which would mean I would stay the leader and pick up the markers and reels. Normally e.g. I would lead in and Kim would be behind me and than when turning around Kim would be in front and I would behind, that is how you would normally lead in and out.
 So now we are doing something I had never done before. Instead of turning around we actually went deeper in the cave to exit. Knowing very well we had more than enough air to do so but the feeling is kind of exiting ;). My awareness has improved lots and i immediately knew where I was and started recognizing when sharp angles to the left or right or even up or down were coming. Yey me! 
The boys heard a lot of Oooohh and Ahhhh's and even some giggles coming from me ( something that will probably follow me the rest of my cave diving career! hahaha) whilst admiring the cave formations. 


After 78 minutes we were back at the entrance of Gran Cenote and boy was it a beautiful sight. At this point the snorklers had gone and the light was slightly blue-er. Wow.. mesmerizing indeed! The feeling of accomplishment hit me as well as sadness cuz it was done now..... at the safety stop Kim held up his wetnotes that said: "Congratulations you are now a cave diver ".. Oh Yeah SWEEEEEEET.


Once we gave each other the "up"signal I let the boys pass me so I could just take it all in. 9 days of sweating, frustration but overall one of the best experiences i have had was over. I made it. It was an overwhelming feeling. I am now a good confident cave diver ( well I hope hahaha) thanks to a very tall Sweed and a crazy Guatemalan. Lucky Me :) Thanks guys!


Just today I spend 3 hours underwater and swimming a whopping distance of 9000 feet (2.7 km). Not even talking about the other days. Me carib "tortuga" girl is now Full Cave certified ( sorry mom). 

XOXO

Day 8: crawling like a crab

Location: Mexico
Date: May 11, 2012   


Day 8


Day started off with some more land drills, which basically means a lot of lines between the trees in front of the shop. I'll try to make some pics tomorrow. This time we navigated the different jumps one can encounter ( 4 different types of jumps). It is all about the clear communication and the way you reinforce your lines ( i know repetition!!). After that we headed to the cenote Mayan Blue. The cenote itself has a fairly big open water section and several tunnels. Tunnel A, B and the death zone. We went in tunnel A. As per usual I was leading the dive and after a bubble check, gear matching and an S-drill of we went. Today I was diving with a new configuration which is always a bit tricky in the beginning. STuff feels differently and we took our time tweaking it so that I was comfortable.


The plan was to do the first Jump to the left, first T to the left and if we had the time another T to the right. After I nearly missed the first jump I connected to the new line and off we went. At this time I was still adjusting to my new setup which could add some stress. My stress was limited ( otherwise I would have called the dive). Basic rule in cave diving is that anybody can call the dive for any reason without questions asked. it is just plain stupid to continue diving if you are not feeling it especially when penetrating into a cave system. This dive was also about restrictions. A restriction can be minor ( you will fit but one by one) and Major ( you most likely won't fit through the tunnel wearing back mount but will with side mount. It also means you sometimes have to start pulling yourself up gently using your hands as there is no space for using your fins. I was literally crawling over the rocks like a crab trying not to hit the sides and not breaking anything of my surroundings. So unbelievably awesome! I officially LOVE confined spaces. Once we came close to our turn around time I was kind of getting weary of the space and checking how further along I should continue and being able to turn around as well. Once I came to a somewhat open-ish space I decided to turn around and inform Kim that we were going "up". On our way back off course some drills were added ( did I really think I would have a dive without?). SO out came the blindfold again and I now had to navigate through the small spaces trying to fit through using my memory ( mental note when going in) and my hands. At one point i had to use my buddy behind me slightly and had him push me through since my hands couldn't find any stable rocks to pull me ( remember I could not see anything). 


Once we reached a our T he had left tank regulator free flow and i quickly turned it off. Only then was I allowed to take my blindfold off and all of a sudden it was dark again... grrrr he switched off my main light. Now remember we are very deep into the cave and without light it is absolutely PITCH dark. So using my backup light i continued. I am very aware of my divers behind me so Kim had to pll a little trick on me for him to disappear on me ( basically swimming backwards shining his torch on my but , so i was still seeing him behind me, and as soon as he had hit a corner he switched of his line. GRRRR. So as soon as his light disappeared i went looking for him using the "lost diver" drill. I managed to find my, by now slightly panicked, buddy and directed him to my recovery line that I had laid. He went up front and together swam to the main cave line again. Whilst I was reeling in Kim had quickly chaned one of my directional arrows so it was now pointing out the wrong way. Once I arrived at the arrow i looked an it and though "F&^^& did i do it wrong? Looked at the exit but was sure I came from the other side so I corrected him and said nope we are not following this arrow, we are going the other way. Once i started taking off the reel and arrow i noticed it was well tied up so surely one of my very beloved instructors had turned it around ( thanks boys thankfully I passed the test!). Going back Kim pulled another trick one me when he wanted to go down a wrong temporary T which Frank had placed there. I quickly said NO not ours and we continued using the right one. So my awareness is improving. This cenote was so bloody effing cool that I want to go back and push it more and go a bit deeper ( which basically I need to get my Caribbean ass sorted and swim faster!).  


Once outside the we practised some skills again and i squeezed myself through a little hole that required me to take one of my tanks off and keep it in front of me. I LOVE SIDE MOUNT!!!!


Tomorrow we are going to swim from one cenote ( calimba) and connect to another cenote ( grand cenote) using the cave lines. SWEET!!!!!! It is also my last day of training :( well for now ;) hahahah


XOXO


p.s i did pull a typical Marijke today... forgot my wetsuits at the shop!!! WHOOPS! luckily the cenote was nearby *blush blush* 

Day 7: all about the T's

Location: Mexico
Date: May 10, 2012   


Day 7


can't believe that it is already day 7. I have been diving my crazy ass off and looooving it :). The fear of being in the caves is slowly disappearing making place for respect and total AWE-ness.


Today it was all about learning how to read T's, how to properly navigate around them and about the awareness in the cave. I have the biggest respect for caves. I mean in the open water, generally when something is wrong you can go up... not so much in a cave since you will be hugging the ceiling or the stalactites. Now before i go on I will post a picture that says it all:

This sign is for all those divers that are not trained, not respecting the caves and not have the proper equipment. must admit seeing the signs kind of makes you go "oh boy". However I am following this course for a reason. To become a good safe and very aware cave diver. I did admit to Frank today that during dive 2 of the day I had this spilt second of "what the F am i doing". However that quickly went away once i saw the pretty-ness of the caves and remembered everything that I had learned so far. The 2 teachers I have could not be more different but I actually think that is a good thing. I am learning so much form both of them and then translating it to my own language. How do you like your tanks, how do you like your setup, where are your markers etc etc. Off course you do not adapt any of the basic rules. The only thing you adapt is how you wear it but not what you wear. 


Anyway where was I . Oh yeah T's. A T is a just like a T section in traffic. You have a choice and you either go right or left. In cave diving you reinforce your T's by marking it with your own "cookie"or "REM". Everybody's cave divers cookies and REM's are personal and you identify them by looking at them but also by touching them. E.g my name is on my REM and I have made 3 indents in them so that with low or no vis I can feel the cookie and say.. "oh yeah this is mine". Which is like a personal note attached the the traffic sign saying I came from this way. Now you don't want to trust a piece of plastic as my instructors say. My life is worth more than $2. So you need to remember where you went and make a mental picture of the situation. Both going in and looking back ( cave has 2 faces - going in and going out!!!!!) 


After practising navigating T's on land we drove to the Cenote "temple of Doom".  The entrance to the cenote requires a ladder ( yes i hear you - interesting when carrying tanks down!!!!!) Luckily I have 2 make instructors that helped me lower 1 of my tanks down and hauling them up using ropes. I did take 1 tank down the ladder myself because in the end I need to be fully independent ( yes it includes having very bruised shoulders).


The dive plan for the first dive was navigate the first T right, 2nd left and third right. Every T you encounter you communicate with your team mate saying ok we go right here and I am placing my personalised REM here. SO everybody is aware what is going on. I think i am saying this everyday now but I have lengthened my penetration again. We went 40 minutes into the cave now. It was soo pretty that sometimes i just had to stop and look around. wow so gorgeous. Beautiful hailoclines which made you think the surface was right there ( optical illusion), gorgeous decorations, little passages etc etc. It is so difficult to write this down cuz there is just no way to describe it. On the way back we did a blind exit ( surprise surprise!!) whilst airsharing. Which is great when you are upfront and your very tall Swedish instructor is pushing you forward... I'M FLLYYYYING!now remember you now have to navigate T's blindfolded... interesting. Especially when your other instructor all of a sudden introduces new lines which were not there on the way in.......


once the dive was over we got out and changed our tanks for new tanks and had a little break ( i seriously needed to warm up).


The second dive, Kim lead in the cave. As mentioned before - he is Swedish and tall. SO here I come with my Caribbean pace and shorter legs..... bearing in mind that he already slowed down hus pace to accomodate me hahaha. At some point i was just in awe and had to stop and look around to take it all in. So beautiful. This time we took a slightly different route with smaller passages which put my sidemount diving skills to the test. Trying out the different fin kicks etc.  Once it was time to turn around I had to lead us out. off course this is when the fun started for Kim and Frank cuz all of a sudden my equipment miraculous started malfunctioning. I had a hose pop, a free flowing regulator a self inflating BCD and light failure. This is just to test your awareness - to see how quickly you react and if you actually react doing the right thing. which I did.. PFFFFFFFFFEUH!.


after the safety stop we practised some skills such as opening your reg underwater ( e.g. when some silt comes in your reg it cold lead to a free flow so important for you to know how to solve it). after 83 minutes i was cold, had a sore back but was very satisfied. I am happy with my improvements however need to improve a lot still. Something I am happy with and confident in that I will.


Back at the shop we did an accident analysis. We talked about personal experiences, accidents that happened or could happen and how you can prevent them. Which would be a blog post of its own should I go deeper into it.


Frank has been filming lots so at one point I'll grab some video's and post them as well.


Tomorrow we are jumping :) 


XOXO