Great diving is something to be shared with. It is so amazing and brings so much joy that it has to be shared...As often as possible...and if possible!
Why this tone, simply because finding the right person to share your diving experience with, is not always that simple. Ok, you may say why don't you share with your girlfriend or wife or best friend? Well, if it was that simple!
You have to understand that here, in the Mayan Riviera, we are privileged to dive the sacred fresh water sinkholes, all year round. From the cavern zone (natural light) to the cave hostile environement (artificial lighting) scuba diving take a new dimension. It is called, 'cave diving'. It is not for everybody and not everybody have the same approach. It's an universe full of competitivity with diver and 'diveresses' willing to show how good they are! So far, nothing out of the ordinary!
Training is a priority, too many divers, good ones, have died trying to explore those underground passages, even instructors with thousands of dives!
So once training is completed, its time to go and have fun! Because, as weird as it may sound, it is big fun to dive in those caves, real good! Again, we all have, regarding training agency, different protocols or views. Here starts the long search for the right 'buddy'! It is often someone who took the class or classes with you and with who you feel confortable enough to go on: 'The Dark Side of the Moon' line in Pet Cemetery Cenote.
So here I am, sitted in front of my computer, chatting on cave diving forums and other social networks, in search of the Graal; The Right Buddy! The one that fits in your level of confort with no desire in 'impressing' or overrind your dive plan.
Well, I found a buddy, her name is Lynne, she just completed her 'Full Cave' class and has the same desire to do simple but interesting dives.
What does that mean anyway?? Well, a lot of the cave divers have, as I was saying earlier, a different approach to what they call 'fun'. Mine, for now, is not to clip one or two tanks to my side and go and find the 'end' of the line...
My cave diving instructor once told me something like, 'go with progressive penetration and built confidence and expend your confort zone slowly.'
I must say, I'm not the most adventurous cave diver around but I love my girlfriend and my ginger cat and think about them when I feel the pressure of the cave... So progressive penetraion is right on for me and my buddy, Lynne, who has extremely good set of skills and no desire, for the moment, to go 'stage diving' or any further experience. Keeping in mind, that the caves here have huge possibilities to offer as little as twenty minutes into the dive, no need to go very far!
In the last three days, we've been diving, diving and diving again, it was great. My best dives since certification!
So we've done, cenote Chan Hol, famous for his ancient pots and human remains (+10000 y.o), Dos Palmas in the Dos Ojos system, very nice and first real 'flow cave' for me, with a travers to High Voltage and finally on wednesday we did Taxma Ha (another spelling option!!) where we followed the line towards Chinese garden but did not make it all the way there as I was with my video camera and prefered to keep dive simple!
It was a blast! No headaches planning as we were either on thirds or more conservative (for the flow cave) and just 'exploring' any jump, one after the other. We never did more than 2 jumps in a row and felt very confortable with it.
Our first dive together was Chan Hol...It was The Revelation. I had finally find The Right Buddy. The one, that I could only say good things about. Good and similar SAC rate (air consumption), very good trim and propulasion techniques with a consistency in safety procedure...remarquable!
All, in all it took a while to realise that it is possible to find the right buddy, it may take some time but, after all, this caves are not going anywhere! Few important tips are the questions and answers you will get from the first contact. Who did u train with, when, amount of dives and general dive experience. It is important to feel good about this 'procedure' as it will avoid any misunderstanding as of your ability to dive together. Meet up, have a drink or diner and get to know each other.
I hope this topic will interest and maybe help you with finding The Right Buddy.
See you!
