Morning came very early for the team weary from travel. Our dive plan changed a little bit as did the teams as part of expedition diving. The first day always brings a bit of slight confusion as people do last minute gathering prior to departure. “Wheels up” was at 9am, a little later than planned. Today the weather was beautifully cloudy at times and breezy which helped a lot during the hike. Thirty two tanks plus gear for 6 divers was humped into the jungle. Thankfully 6 muchachos came to help us with the load. Without our muchachos this expedition would be much more difficult if not impossible. Gracias muchachos!

Bright and early everyone was up preparing for departure. With packed bags and fond memories, the team drove off of the Villa DeRosa property for the last time this expedition.

Day six of the 2006 expedition and we had the luxury of two air conditioned vans for transportation. Mike and Bob offered refrescos (cold sodas) to the “chicken men” (the men at the chicken plant) and thanked them for allowing us to use the limestone well road which led to the cenote trail. The day was brief, with quick dives to tidy and finish surveying goals. After dropping equipment off and bidding farewell to team muchacho they gathered Thecia and it was off for a late lunch at Casa Cenote - an annual tradition.

Day five of the 2006 expedition, we arrive at the dive site after having given the “gate keeper” and his workers some cold beverages. The muchachos imitate the bird calls and make jokes while we gear up. Working with the muchachos we carried first Andy and Renee’s tanks to Carri’s Loft for the push dive.

Day four of the 2006 expedition turned out to be a beautiful day with a slight breeze with birds laughing in the treetops and the team in high spirits. After a good night’s rest and a solid breakfast, the team loaded the tanks and split into two groups in order to effectively accomplish the morning tasks. Cold bebidas (drinks) were deliverd to the workers at the chicken place. The muchachos made quick work of the tanks, with Juan being ribbed a little for being the youngest and Gabriel being ribbed a little for being “machismo.” The muchachos are incredible and a great help. Once we got the tanks sorted and rigged, the teams suited up and headed into the clear cool water.

Another beautiful day in paradise as the team headed for the Cenotes. Once at the site, Mike, Bob and Sandra walked back down the limestone road. One of the muchachos had explained that the water pipe pulls water from six different cenotes. Really, he meant pozos (wells). While he had indicated that they were slim holes, Sandy understood this to perhaps be something similar to Vaca Ha, a solution tube through which gear and divers are lowered in order to obtain entrance to a beautiful cave system. Sandy was being overambitious, as the water is actually pulled from pozos, man-made wells, rather than sky-blue sun-kissed cenotes. However, the walk was nice. Again, the muchachos proved to be invaluable, carrying 26 tanks into the jungle two at a time. Some of the team had fashioned shoulder straps (or tank slings) to make carrying the tanks less of a hassle. The muchachos used the slings, placing the padding against their foreheads and marching quickly along the treacherous rocky jungle trail. While the trail measures out at .6 of a mile, the terrain is inconsistent, primarily craggy hard limestone and a variety of holes, some filled and some opening into solution tubes a dozen feet deep.

Off and running the team headed out to the jungle at 8am. At the entrance of one of the smaller roads we travel is a large gate. Yesterday when leaving the road we found it to be locked. Via creative means we were able to get around the situation and return to Villas DeRosa’s that same afternoon. So we stopped by to speak to the “gate keeper” to introduce ourselves and secure access to the site. With the help of bilingual Roger, one of our muchachos, we were able to communicate effectively with Carlos, the landowner. This gentleman owns what turns out to be a chicken processing business (it’s really the place where chickens come to meet their maker). During our visit with him some of us were slightly distracted by feathers and chicken legs. We got quite the visual education on the initial stages of Chicken Cordon Bleu. I’ll have the pasta please. We Shook hands with our new found friend Carlos. Landowner relations are critical both in the United States and abroad. It’s difficult to obtain these from afar, but when opportunities have a funny way of presenting themselves. We have driven down this road for years with never a locked gate. Today we made great strides in ensuring our continued access.

The team arrived safely at Cancun, anticipating new cave and catching up with each other. Returning are Renee, Thecia, Andy, Karl, Bob, Mike and Sandy. This year brings us two new members, Rhiannon and Kris. Rhiannon is an audiologist from a really tiny island nation (same as Andy) who has recently joined the ranks of the cave divers. Kris is a high school student at Family Christian Academy in Winter Park, Florida. He is an intern with the Cambrian Foundation who will serve as surface and safety support. During the expedition Kris will be gaining skills and knowledge topside that will give him credit towards his Biology course. Thecia was unable to make her connecting flight – something about the tower at Houston being on fire?? She is said to be somewhere in Mexico and we are awaiting her arrival.

Today the team divided into several groups. There’s no exploration diving on the last day and everyone is free to spend the day as they like. It’s always a little sad on the last day, but we’ll muddle through…

Early to rise, early to bed; most of team Fuqua awoke for PT with sore feet and arms from the previous day’s work. So, they decided to stay at the hotel and rest. One by one, the team slowly dwindled until only the three freshmen remained. The remainder of the group left early for Aktun Chen, the dry cave system we had started surveying on Tuesday. The small team quickly finished surveying the main passage of the cave. The freshmen discovered a small fissure that they decided to name “Freshman Fissure,” (a fissure is a crack, “just say no.”) They returned to the hotel for lunch and to check up on the others. After lunch, all but one of the team members had a quick snorkeling session in the pool, before they moved on to the ocean. The ocean wasn’t perfectly clear but the sight was spectacular for those who had never been before. There were an unusually large number of long-spined sea urchins. The team then moved on to their next feat: “bouncing off the walls,” as they repelled down the wall of the hotel. It was quite an invigorating experience. Before the day was over, everyone was fitted into a wet suit for snorkeling tomorrow. Catesby packed for his departure. Meanwhile Andrew, Renee, Michael and Sandra returned to Cenote Camilo. They were assisted by Boz, Josh and Woody, who were deputized to help haul gear and support dive operations topside.