Cavetrip Spain - The 5000KM Tour
Team: Flo, Tobi, Steffen und Heinke
We had been thinking about it for several years and it appeared again and again in lectures and articles - the Pozo Azul. Of course we wanted to go there as well. After a very nice contact on the boat we heard about other caves in Spain, so we decided to go there in June this year. We knew it would be a long trip, but it would be worth it and we would gain a lot of experience. Also it was the first tour with CCRs (Florian and Tobi). Therefore (this time) no records or deep penetrations were planned yet.
Heinke set off from Hamburg to Munich the day before departure to form the first carpool with Steffen. The trip there was unspectacular - Heinke picked up a hitchhiker, a Pole who wanted to go to Nice for the European Championships. At Steffen's place they were greeted by chaos; Steffen hadn't packed yet and had to do one or two things for work... But the next morning the whole car was packed (he stayed up all night). Best conditions for 1500km ride the next day.
Day 1
Short meeting at the gas station with Florian and Tobi; breakfast and then we drove off; across France towards Burgos. Steffen then first caught up on his missing sleep. When it was foreseeable how long we could still drive, we booked ourselves via Internet in a hotel (if you could call it that) in Péringeaux (near Bordeaux).
Day 2
6:30 breakfast, 7:00 departure. Ca. 13:30 we arrived at Pozo Azul thanks to our navigation data. Parking was few there; then we followed a bumpy little path for another 300m. We were pretty exhausted and couldn't imagine going diving, but the cave pool was so beautiful and beckoned with crystal clear water. But first we had to figure out the accommodation for the night. Over coffee in a small restaurant, we learned that 3 houses away was a guesthouse. When we knocked, an old very fast Spanish speaking and always smiling lady came out. We asked (in Spanish) for rooms and were shown into the very lovingly furnished house. With hands and feet we learned the WiFi password and a way to leave our luggage. Meanwhile, the landlady told many many stories that we unfortunately did not understand.
Pozo Azul. After lugging our stuff to the front, we finally entered the legendary cave. Pozo Azul is one of the longest linear caves in the world. Discovered in the 60's by Spanish cave divers and the destination of many exploration dives. Including the dry passages, more than 12 km have been discovered so far, up to the 6th sump, and it goes even further.
The entrance consists of two narrow holes with little flow; then a huge cave of brownish-red stone opens. Several divers could dive side by side and on top of each other. OC with one stage Steffen and Heinke didn't get far, Tobi and Florian have already explored the first surface site once with the RB and Scooter. With only a few turns the first 800m are easy to dive with a maximum depth of 21m. Clear water - therefore super visibility. After the dive we deposited our equipment at the cave exit and let the evening end in that small restaurant, which gave us the tip for the accommodation with good wine and Spanish food.
Day 3
Super slept; breakfast at 9:00 (acted, Spaniards start significantly later...) Scooter dragged to the back and then it was off again. This time we wanted to explore a short piece in the 2nd Sump. At the surfacing point we had to fight a bit against the flow; crawl up a small waterfall (sometimes twice), then through knee-deep water about 60m to a sandbank. There you can dive down again past many habitats of different ages and stages of decay to 24m. The section is altogether more interesting, the diameter a bit smaller. After a few hundred meters it goes deeper; there Tobi and Florian turned around.
After we brought everything back to the parking lot, picked up the rest of the luggage at the accommodation, we went across Spain towards the coast. But first we wanted to look for "Roland's cave". About 2 years ago Roland (founder of Cavebase) told us that he had seen a cave pool during one of his motorcycle tours. We wanted to take a look at it. On the way there we had to spend the night again. The pizza in the small town of our choice was not delicious, the nightcap in the bar was.
Day 4
In the mountains we found "Rolands Cave"; in a day trip area with a playground, many places to sit and a kiosk. There we learned that you need a permit to dive there, but you can not go deeper than about 2m, because the water only penetrates from many small holes to then, after it has collected in a crystal clear small lake in a small foot drains. The drive through the beautiful landscape was worth it, we let the quadrocopter fly and we knew that there were no exploration possibilities here.
We continued to Puerto de Marrazzon, directly to the sea. Florian had to do some home office, so Tobi, Steffen and Heinke went to the beach. The city and the beach are not particularly beautiful, the hotel as well as the food in a beach restaurant and the evening mixed cocktails are.
5th day
Breakfast was then Spain accordingly later (finally there were tostados con tomato - Tobi called it tomato baaz); the cave "Cueva del Aqua" was yes only 7 min away. It is well signposted, directly at the entrance a very good drawing with the facts about the exploration. You have to climb down a bit over rocks to a crescent-shaped pool. Thereby it reminds a bit of a collapse doline in Mexico. It is the same with the water temperatures. The pool is relatively cool (18°C) underneath the water is 10° warmer. We met 4 Spaniards who were doing their cave course, the instructor was exploring and showed us the direction where the mainline was. It is a bit harder to find. It was good that the students were practicing primary diving; we dived with our primary behind them :-).
The cave is very winding with many side passages of dark stone, visibility very clear, but can very quickly become zero visibility, because everywhere is deposited sediment. Unusual is the 28°C warm water. Steffen and Heinke did a second TG; Florian and Tobi drove up after the TG and were already looking for the next accommodation; Heinke and Steffen still had to fill bottles; in the dive center of the cave diving instructor (Rivemar, Centro Buceo La Azohia) and had a nice dinner on the beach at sunset. They arrived at the accommodation at night. All night the scooter chargers were running, but still we slept soundly.
Day 6
"Moraig" was 35min away; through many cottage settlements. Breakfast at a German "baker" The coffee was very good, the baked goods not (but Tobi was gracious). First the coordinates took us to a high vantage point above the cave, but from there we had a super view of the small bay and the grotto that housed the entrance to the cave. The parking lots were almost all occupied, so we parked directly at the Cova del Arcs to unload. The police gave us 10 min, then we had to clear the field again. Cova del Arcs is a popular photo destination for the tourists who posed on the many rocks. There we found a small basin in the rock with a stageline and various fortifications. From there you can dive out through a small cavern then right along the shore again into a large grotto above the water. There you have to follow the "sweet" water to find the entrance. After 100m primary the mainline starts. First it goes about 350m through a big tube of dark stone, then the winding interesting part starts.
The search for the freshwater river Moraig is not finished yet. Once, it is said, from a spring rising from an underground cave lake, the river served the Phoenicians to draw drinking water for their travels. Now the water is needed by the arid land and its inhabitants. Therefore, in the 1950s, the search for the source began again; and it cost lives.
Bernhard Pack, a German speleologist systematically explored the system in over a hundred dives from 1988 to 1992, without success. On September 21, 1992, he died not far from the entrance. In the process, he had specimens of a new species of crab that he had discovered in the cave system.
Day 7
We started early, unloaded, assembled, brought the scooters to the back, talked to two British sidemount divers and Flo and Tobi had already dived; Steffen and Heinke followed. After 550m Steffen and Heinke took off the scooters to explore the narrower passages further "on foot" down to the 41m shaft (start of the redline), Tobi and Flo had dived to the end of the first sump with their RBs and were already coming towards them again. When Steffen and Heinke came up again, they were already sitting in the beach bar.
Packing up and off they went towards France. The weather became worse and the air cooler. Via the Internet Flo had booked two rooms in a small hotel and we fell tired into bed.
Day 8
Font Estramar was our destination. When looking for the access road, we drove over a solid line - and right in front of the eyes of a police control. Cost us 90 euros (and they were kind enough to charge only one car...). The sight of the cave pool was fantastic, but unfortunately there was a big sign above the entrance "Bagnée et Plongée interdit (bathing and diving forbidden). There we sat for the time being; before the eyes of the police we did not want to jump in there; research on the Internet brought nothing. Little also the hastily undertaken contact attempts with possible knowledgeable. In the meantime we went for coffee. Then came the "saving answer" - cave diving was allowed. In a much better mood, we headed back towards the cave and set up.
There is probably no cave that is better leashed. Each route, each loop has his/her name. These can be read on the small signs hanging on the leash. The average depth is much greater than in the Spanish caves; the visibility super. You can dive some loops, behind each corner you can see a new formation of black-brown stone.
Day 9
Bottle filling in the backyard of a housing estate; but impressive plant in the morning and another dive in Font Estramar closed this trip. Happy and satisfied we headed towards Germany. The sky was getting darker and it was raining. The last lunch together and then we parted ways. Heinke drove the same day to the north.
5000Km (or 6500km) we have covered. It was a long tour, but the caves were worth it.
In this sense,
Your Cavebase
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