Dry Caves of Puerto Aventuras
By Fred Devos
I am a cave diver at heart and don’t wish to present myself as an authority
on dry caves. I have no formal training in Dry Caving and my methods are
certainly rudimentary and are tainted by my interest and experience in
underwater cave exploration.
Wet or Dry?
If you look at many dry cave maps, passages often end with a symbol for
water, and a question mark (?). Explorers had gone to the limits of the
dry cave and were surely disappointed by the passage ending in a pool
of water. Underwater cave explorers are similarly disappointed when they
find a passage filled with air rather than water. In Europe, cave diving
stemmed from dry cavers who donned tanks to continue exploration. Here
in Quintana Roo, the trend may be opposite. Cave divers will often shed
the tanks and explore dry caves.
Discovery
The fundamental driving forces in why people explore dry caves or wet
caves are the same: to discover and document a place previously unknown.
It’s not surprising that a dry caver takes an interest in diving or a
cave diver finds himself presenting the findings of a dry cave.
In the years I have lived in Puerto Aventuras, I have entered many nearby
cenotes and mapped out the underwater systems leading from them. Local
neighbors had also shown me many entrances with only a few inches of water
covering the floor of a dry cave. Some of these entrances continued into
spectacular passages and what coaxed me in was the hope that this would
lead me to a deeper, water filled section requiring diving equipment.
On these early excursions in dry caves, I carried a mask and scanned every
puddle.
His hope for dive-able passage was soon over-shadowed by the beauty
of the rooms and tunnels we traveled through. How could anyone be disappointed
by not finding water!
Local Awareness
Exploration and mapping of these caves has purposely included local neighbors
and several have taken a keen interest in learning more about and preserving
the beauty of the environment. Not enough can be said about the following
people.:
It is difficult to claim having been the first person to enter a drycave, but Jan, a Dutch cave diver installed a guideline in the South Cave. Andy and Heather Beltram have followed where Jan left off and become avid cave explorers. They have installed lights and a table in the cave entrance on their property and invite friends to a unique social setting.
Don Miguel is a heavy machine oporator who lives 50 meters from
one of the cave entrances.
Along with his son-in-law Tomas, they were active in some of the earliest
ventures.
Daniel Riordan is an avid dry and wet cave explorer.
Twyla Wasmuth is a cave diver who has also found beauty above the water line.
My loving girlfriend Angelica Chimal Teh has donned the knee
pads and helmut on more than one occasion. I`m sure a day of dry cave
exploration must be one of the most unique dates you can ask a girl on!
Carlos Marquez Rodriguez, better know as Werro, is a farmer living in the jungle near the poblado. No one knows the complex jungle trails better than him and he is always keen to postpone his chores to rummage around in a dark cave.
Orlando Garcia Villanueva is in charge of maintenance at a local guesthouse. On his second day of exploration he showed up with a notebook and pencil and took detailed notes and sketches of what he was seeing.
Jose Mis (photo at right) constantly reads up on dry caves and works as a guide at Actun Chen. He and I have explored several other caves near his hometown of Tinum, Yucatan.
These people are all residents of Puerto Aventuras.
Logistics
Dry cave exploration here is not reserved for an elite few who are technically
trained. These caves do not require technical equipment or skills. There are
few elevation changes and we have found that a helmet with headlight, hiking
boots and knee and elbow pads are sufficient equipment to safely enter the environment.
Exploration in this area can include people who may not have the means to be
an experienced cave diver,and this opens the door to building environmental
awareness within the local community.
This is not to say it isn’t physically depanding. It is much harder climbing through 1000 meters of rocks and mud than floating effortlessly during a cave dive. The saying holds true for dry caveing: Gravity Sucks!
Mapping
Grutas de los Aluxes consists of 4 Cave Systems with 18 entrances and 3,814
meters of known mapped passage. Most likely some or all of these may connect.
To map out the passages, we first entered laying out a thin cotton thread tying it taught at every change in direction. The distance and compass heading between stations were measured using a fiberglass tape and handheld Suunto compass. Depth or elevation changes were not recorded as their minor differences were not seen to greatly affect the big picture. Sidewall, and floor to ceiling measurements were estimated. VIEW MAP
Much of the passage has water on the floor. Depth ranges from
a few centimeters but in some areas is more than 1 meter in depth. Much
of the cave is very active with water dripping from the ceiling and running
down the walls. Stalactites, Stalagmites, and Flow Stones continue to grow.
Roots from the jungle above poke through the ceiling. A spectacular Pliestecine
Pool is referred to as the Wishing Well (photo at Left). A huge column
resembles the leaning tower of Pisa (photo at Right), and many passages
were named after the features found: Wind tunnel, Cauliflower, Broccoli,
Graveyard, Haunted House. Entrances were named after features nearby such
as Football, Bomba, Stable and Doberman.
Aluxes
The name “Grutas de los Aluxes” came from the first day of mapping, when Miguel
Vasquez, Tomas Mendózo, José Mis and myself wiggled our way through
619 meters (2,036 feet) of spectacular tunnels and flooded rooms. We were a
bit surprised to find the lone footprint of what appeared to be a bare-footed
young child. The Mayan legend of magical dwarfs, or Aluxes entered our minds
as we tried hard to find a more logical explanation.Later welearnedof anotherexplorers previous visit with a young child, and the legend was soon dismissed
but the name remained.
A unique environment
These caves butt up against civilization and make for some unique sites and
sounds. Many of the entrances are on disputed land with more than one
party claiming ownership. A barbed-wire fence or a guard with a machete dictates
delicate landowner relations. The South Cave runs under the federal highway
and trucks and cars rumble above. The ground wires of an electrical installation
poke through the ceiling. If you are quiet, you can here the noises of a family
in their house above. Two of the wet entrances have pumps, which supply water
to many households -mine included. Fifty meters away, raw sewage can be seen
dripping from the ceiling and 
exemplifies the need for proper sewage containment
and treatment.
A 27 year development plan will situate more than 50,000 people overtop of or
near these caves and it is my hope that presenting these findings will help
in the protection of this unique environment.
These findings were presented during the Quintana Roo Speleological
Survey Convention held in Playa del Carmen on September 6th and 7th, 2002. -
Ed.