Is "cenote snorkeling" or "cave snorkeling" a form of caving, or would you
classify
it as spelunking ?
http://www.onejungle.com/images/8(1).jpg
http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/06/7d/d2/small-cavern.jpg
http://www.hoteltraveltour.com/photos/snorkeling-cenotes-yucatan-mexico-mayan-rivie.jpg
http://floribbeandivers.com/PIC_0078-1.JPG
My view is the video below is caving, because they documented the experience
in a way
that cavers can appreciate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w867K-c_G5c
My view is that if the entire passage never leaves the twilight zone, then
it is not
a caving trip. But if the cave passage were several hundred meters with
skylights
providing a twilight zone experience, then that might be considered caving.
I think
if the trip requires use of a helmet and multiple light sources, then it
might be considered
caving. If there were sections where you had to get out and hike over a
sump, then
it might be considered caving.
But what if you do the trip at night, so that there is no twilight zone ?
If you snorkeled upstream in Honeycreek from the natural entrance and simply
came
back out, that would be a similar experience. Right ?
Obviously, if you are surveying the cave, or documenting some feature about
the cave for
a speleological report, then that would be caving. Right ?
I imagine cave snorkeling in some tropical area is a lot of fun. I have
only briefly experienced it.
I do not consider cave snorkeling an extreme sport, but I can imagine there
are places
where it would be challenging for the average person who doesn't get
outdoors much.
I wonder is it o.k. to say, "We went cave snorkeling in an underwater cave"
? My opinion is that sounds weird.
I want a bumper sticker that says "I would rather be cave snorkeling."
David Locklear
