Cave at Blue Grotto, 1/2

My wife, Linda, and I dove the cave at Blue Grotto on 1/2. As per the Blue Grotto website, you have to be cave-certified to make the dive and you need to go with a guide: namely, Kevin Tate, the Grotto's resident instructor. The charge for the experience is $50 for guiding, plus a $10 cave entry fee that does *not* cover entry to the main spring.

Linda and I very much recommend taking the time to do the dive, if you're inclined to see something a little different. Some particulars follow.

Access to the cave system is via a stairwell on the opposite side of the platform from the main spring entrance. The stairwell is normally kept locked. The cave itself, which was discovered in the 1960's by the Grotto's then-owner, is kind of shaped like Devil's Den: a large debris cone in the center that rises to 15' or so in the middle and falls off to 70'-100' on all sides. Our dive lasted 40 minutes. Kevin took us around the debris cone in both directions and across the center. The cave is accessed via a low restriction, not unlike some of the caves we've dived in Mexico. There's silt on everything-- not unlike portions of Madison Blue-- but, with care, you can avoid leave the sediment where it belongs :^).

Since Linda and I dive backmount, we maxed out at 37' and averaged 24' for the dive. Kevin offered to take us deeper, but, on backmount, I don't think we would have seen much more than more silt, up quite close and personal. Sidemount would certainly make for a more involved and longer dive: there were a couple of lines at depth through passage that looked intriguing for lower-profile diving.

The main attractions, apart from the chance to see something different, were the cave's condition (pristine, to the point of bubbles dislodging debris from the ceiling at some points of the dive), the fossils, and Kevin, who does a slow, deliberate tour through the site that affords a chance for people to really see the place.