The excitement and challenge of deep technical diving is not the only force that drives us to the caves every day. Mexico is home to some of the most beautiful and extensive shallow caves in the world.
Leaving the twinsets at home and picking up the single 80´s Camilo and I decided we needed to relax and enjoy some sidemount only cave passages and headed to a cenote and system of lines run and recommended to us by a good friend.
There was much hilarity at the meeting to discuss the route. Having asked for a good sidemount cave it was suggested that we dive El Toh on a line that would lead from a relatively small opening in the ground to the main cenote. Off this line there are several jumps to explore. It was said of one: “Yeah, when we did this we couldn’t fit the camera through”. Our decision to just stick to the main line was met jokingly with: “What? You don’t want to do this jump? Why do you come to my house and ask me for this route? The main line here is bigger! Go and dive Nohoch!”. The decision to stick to the main line proved to be a good one for an ‘easy’ Sunday afternoon dive. Bigger meant we would just be able to fit under the ceilings and through some of the restrictions without removing tanks. Just.
Navigation was simple, a series of four T’s that would take us through some beautiful and varied cave. The location and condition of the opening spoke of a cave that was seldom dived. The water was brown, tannic and very shallow and there was much silt around the entrance. Having geared up and completed our checks in the water away from the main entrance we surface swam, descended, immediately found the line and went in.
Straight away it was evident that this is a sidemount only cave. Even getting in would be impossible with a twinset. Heading steeply down and into the first passage the murk cleared and the cave was revealed. Leading the dive I soon came to the “camera wont fit through” jump and pressed ahead slowly and carefully making a mental note to return and do that line. The depth is 20ft and would remain so throughout the dive meaning that without decompression issues the only thing governing our time was pressure, cold and our ability to fit through.
The route was exactly as described and breathtaking with formations such as I had not seen before in other caves. At points the ceiling would extend out into the darkness beside us forming long narrow vistas. Here we could see evidence of collapse from long ago as stalagmites had formed on the fallen rock. Then areas would narrow and require intricate maneuvering through columns under fine and delicate stalactites only inches above us. In places the ceiling became so low that progression was only possible in the head down position with careful pull and glide propulsion.
After around 50 minutes we came to a highlight. A passage described to us as follows: “You will like this, it’s like being in a pipe, it’s a sort of Z shape tube, you will be able to get through it without pushing a tank but you wont be as flexible. It’s great”. It was, it was excellent.
At 60 minutes we turned the dive ahead of our pressure and commenced the journey back. It was now my turn to go through everything we had experienced, this time as diver number two. In ‘the pipe’ I had a moment to reflect. There is nothing quite like being in a cave pushing through a tight space into which you don’t quite fit and hour from the surface in zero visibility. It’s just you, your training, the cave and the line, fantastic.
As I emerged from the tube and the visibility cleared I could see Camilo ahead waiting for me to come out. I knew he was smiling! I certainly was. He signaled to make sure I was OK, I replied and we pressed on. With the beam of his primary light ahead of me I saw the cave again in a completely new way as he highlighted the areas I would be squeezing through after him. Back at the surface it was a unanimous decision… “Ahhhh… That was a GREAT dive”
What’s next: We will be going back to complete the traverse to the main cenote and to see if we can fit where the camera wont
Paul Kirby
Photography: Paul Kirby
Video & Edit by Camilo Garcia
Mexico Cave & Tech Diving Blog 