Renee glides by a column in Allison’s room
Mark exploring Allison’s room
Renee in Allison’s Room
Mark in awe
Allison’s Room
Center column in Allison’s Room
Project Participants and Sponsors
Aquatech/Villa De Rosa
Sartek Industries
Ocean Management Systems
Maxtec, Inc.
Dive Rite Inc.
Rick’s Dive’N Travel
Highland Millwork
Photo Ops . . .
Saturday, April 21, 2001 –
Today team 1, consisting of Andy and George went downstream to explore some existing line placed by a previous dive team. Following the line, they traversed approximately 1000-1200 feet long a large bedding plane formation varying from 20 to 150 feet wide. The bottom consisted of dark silt with rust colored stalagmites littering the floor like mushrooms. The team turned on gas at the bottom of a large debris cone and made its way back to the entrance. Further survey is needed in this area.
Team 2, Terrence, Mark, and Renee, headed off upstream to Allison’s Room named after Terrence’s wife. The mission of the dive was to obtain video documentation. What a fantastic place!
The entire room is incredibly white. The decorations inside far surpass anything we have seen thus far in Sistema Camilo. Beautiful columns are in the center of the room immediately drawing the eye. Thousands of fragile stalactites and soda straws cover the ceiling.
Gorgeous draperies hang from the ceiling and a halocline completes the effect by providing a bit of intrigue. Upon entering Allison’s Room, one can’t but help to feel insignificant next to it’s majestic beauty.
When Allison’s Room was created, the mold was broken. The entire team has felt privileged to be able to share the experience with the other members of the team and with all of you reading this!
Tomorrow’s activities prove to be exciting as new passage is on the horizon! The team feels that a great deal more cave is just around the corner and there is much more survey to be done.
A big thanks to Mario Ghecea who has graciously designed a program to assist the Foundation with the expedition updates. He has truly made our lives easier. Thanks Mario!!
As team 2 ascended into Cenote Camilo, they found Miguel, one of the muchachos, cooling off in the water on a low hanging branch. Terrence had a little fun playing “Jaws” and we had a chuckle! A sad farewell to team members Thecia Taylor and Renee Power. Renee will spend the next week in Honduras
with her church group helping to build a home for homeless children. WELCOME to the Cambrian Foundation’s Diving Safety Officer Mike St. Germain! He arrived safely today and he looks forward to beginning his cave exploration tomorrow.
After the diving day, the team decided to have a nice sea side lunch at Casa Cenote. The food was excellent and the view? It just doesn’t get much better!
During our lunch we enjoyed watching some of the local children play in the surf. It was an enjoyable afternoon. The team then headed back to Villa DeRosa to prepare tanks and gear for the next diving day.
Dive Team:
George McCulley
Mark Corkery
Andy Peterson
Renee Power
Terrence Tysall
Send questions or comments to the Trilobite.