After 10 months in the Finland, the idea of passing 2 weeks in the warm Mexico was sound just perfect for starting the new year. The program was to make the italian invasion of the Yucatan with 9 cave students, plus Elena and Claudio, busy in some cave explorations with the team of Zero Gravity. After a long long long flight, we arrived to Cancun, where with happyness we discover that our car will be a copy of the Opel Corsa, made by Chevrolet, e full of JOY we fill it with 6 suitcases plus 3 handbags plus our 3 (me, Lodo and Gloria). So after the tetris moment, we drive to Puerto Venturas. The house that we rent was pretty far from the definition of "favelas". Jacuzzi in the gardem, sea at 10 steps from the windows, swimming pool, 2 huge bedrooms with a beautifull view of the oceam and a small one looking to a wall, that will take me and my buddy Manny.

The first 2 days pass fast, with a trip to Tulium to see the Maya ruins, and the Jacuzzi waiting for the course.




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The 26th the game started!we are divided, and me Gloria and Lodo get Fred Devos. I was curious to know him, cause if from one side all of them are "Phenomenons", my tech1 buddies told me so many nice things about him, that know i was curious to discover if it was all true! Is way to act immediatly catch us. I suppose that the definition "zen instructor" will fill perfectly on Fred. Always calm, in the words like in the movements, in the water and outside, he can give us immediatly tranquillity, serenity and his passion for the cave environment.
I get many expectations on this course: after have been "baptized" in Ojamo Mine in Finland, i was looking for a proper eductation, to understand at the best the dangers and the beauty of the cave world. And immediatly I "taste" the difference. From the 4th degrees i pass to a temperature of 25° degrees, with a visiblity of 50 metres, that in the next cenotes will become easily 80/100 metres of clear water.Every day Fred put some more problems during the dive. We start with easy thing, like the failure of the primary light, passing trhought the loosing of the main line, of the buddy, to pass to zero visibility, failure of all the lights, sharing gas, from the maximum point of penetration!




The bell sounds everyday earlier, but like always is different to wake to go to work or to wake up to make a dive in a cenote, and every morning the faces were just saying "water water water"!
The group is victim of "Black makumba" (cystitis, otitis, diarrhea), but the mood of everybody is great, and the days past so fast.
The 30th is the last day of the course. Fred bring us to the Cenotes Eden, that we already did at the beginning, but now we can appreciate more. The penetration is ok, but on the way back, the hell is waiting for us!!!! Fred has decided to test us till the end, so from fake failure - primary light - and real failure - flooding of my backup light - we came out sharing gas, in zero visibility!Adn the evening, after the theorical exam, we are officially cave divers!
from tomorrow..the cenotes will be our!!!!
I was already starting to taste the feeling of shooting a lot of pics!
But the makumba, that preserved me to be sick, it was just wait for her opportunity to kick me, and so..after 20 minutes of penettration in the Cenotes Taj Mahal, I noticed a strange optical effect on my camera...and no..is not haloclyne...is water!!!!!!! In 7 minutes me and Felix are out...but neither Dr House could make the miracle. THe diagnosys is clear. THe wide angle is gone..the body...is so and so. To be the first day without stress..is not so bad! I dont know if smiling or crying...so i take it easy..and decide to left the camera to her destiny..and to make a second dive in the cenotes..trying not to think about it!




On the next days we made almost all the cenotes made during the course..and few new...like Eden, Tai Mahal, Car Wash, Chaac Mool, Chicken Ha, Xta Bay, Nohoch Nah Chich
The spectacle is always amazing and incredible, and we move back to Cancun with the promise of coming back here..for a cave2..or maybe just for enjoy the dives!

Just one question pop up in our mind once that we arrived in Milan, looking outside the airport. With all this cold, and this snow, i m back to Italy, or they bring me back to Finland?

:-)