The Vanilla Farm Exploration Project began in November 2024. The first phase of the project allowed us to explore huge sections of power cave and discover 5 entrances in total. We concentrated on laying line and extending the reach of the survey as much as possible. You can read more about phase one in our earlier article.
The second phase of the project obliged us to start using alternative entrances to the original site because of the distance to our end of lines, we had to go back to the far tunnels we had surveyed and review the additional leads we had spotted along more than 30 thousand feet of surveyed lines.
Going back and inspecting, checking, validating and discarding leads was a lengthy process and one that required more gear, more gas, more vehicles and more time, and less line laying compared to phase one.
Some dives were frustrating as many of the leads we had in mind did not go. Caves are misleading sometimes!
The third phase of the project, now surveyed at 40 thousand feet, is concentrating on areas that are easy to reach -within minutes of the entrance- but difficult to explore due to extremely silty and muddy passages, higher downstream flow, low ceilings and very few tie off points. A challenge we are ready for but proves to be a different type of tiring.
The progress is very slow but keeps us curious and moving forward.
On this part of the project it has clicked in my head that cave exploration is not only about laying line. It’s about connecting the cave to the outside, understanding the vegetation, documenting animals, and walking topside to verify spots that have looked interesting from below and look like a potential entrance that needs to be figured out. Rock collapses aren’t always straightforward. Sometimes the way through is around the collapse, and sometimes it is through the top were a cenote or chimney is found.
Reflecting back to the first days our team worked on Vanilla Farm, we have learned a lot and improved our techniques as well as developed the capacity to interpret what we see underwater and translate to what is outside. There is no cave exploration without knowing the jungle and the land. And jungle walking is always a great way to remember the days when we knew there was a cave under our feet, but we just hadn’t found it.
Some of the most exciting parts of the current project is being able to discover and register archaeological artifacts, installing camera traps and researching new technology for the new era of cave exploration.
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Written by Tamara Adame
Tamara is a self taught underwater naturalist from Puerto Morelos, Mexico. She has spent most of her life around water and is an Open Water Scuba Instructor and cave diving guide. She holds a BSc in Communication and a Scientific Diving diploma which has allowed her to work in environmental conservation projects and motivated her to launch the Cave Corals Project in 2020.
