ALBANIA-CROATIA 2004
In the late afternoon of Friday the 6th I leave Lecco in direction of Ancona,
while the rest of the group formed by Jean Jacques Bolanz, Simone Piscitelli and
Marcello Ferretto will depart Saturday morning.
I prefer to
travel at night because the traffic is definetly less intense and with the
trailer for the material I am much slower than the others. I stop to sleep in
the parking lot of a truck stop just after Rimini, I open the tent mounted on
the roof of the car and among the various noises I fall asleep.
Saturday 7 - I
wake up at 07.00, I open the tent and I see the highway jammed for which I
decide to get going immediately even if I am clearly in advance. I think about
the others and worry.
A first round of
phone calls to the friends in the other two cars, who have taken different roads
because of a series of inconveniences, confirms my worries concerning the
traffic that they have to face.
After a
refreshing swim in the Senigallia Sea, I reach the harbour of Ancona at 15.00;
the news that I receive from the others is not encouraging, the highways are
jammed in different points and both the crews are still very distant.
At 16.00 Jean
Jacques is almost at Ancona while Simone is still in Bologna: the ship that will
bring us from Ancona to Bar in Montenegro departs at 18.00.
At the ticket
office of the " Montenegro Lines" people begin to crowd, and to make the check
in becomes an enterprise. Jean Jacques reaches the harbour at 16,30 while Simone
succeeds in presenting at the passport control at 18,15.
We relax when
they inform us that the ship will depart with a delay of one hour. We reach the
entry of the ship at 19.20, and from the queue that we observe at the check-in
we assume a consistent delay. Because of the trailer I am made entering the ship
among the last ones. We finally depart at 22.30, we just do in time to see the
harbour geting distant, and we are already on the bridge sleeping in our
sleeping bags. The long trip of 18 hours is not pleasant, the already dirty ship
has not been cleaned when it arrived in the harbour, the garbage bins are
already full even before being used, the only bathrooms for men remain closed
for almost the entire trip…
Sunday 8 - we
slowly approach to the shore and the landscape that is showing before us is
enthusiasting us: the coast is wild, the tall mountains of limestone at a few
meters from the sea, the dreams arise.
We leave the
ferry at 17.00 and after a few meters there is the customs.
I
am the first one of the group to reach the customs officer who, having seen the
enormous load transported by me, "kindly" makes me stop, a few minutes later
same fate is waiting for Jean Jacques while Simone succeeds in passing
uninspected and waits for us at the other side. It is Sunday, and the customs
officer sends us to the only shipping agent that works at the harbour, who has
to compile a list of the material and the consequent permission of transit. We
are asked the kind and quantity of equipment that we have, but we realize that
it isn't necessary to be precise because it is a pro forma. In the agent's
office between problems of communication and a long wait, I understand that to
let us pass they demand 500Euro; an amount that is exaggerated, for which I get
annoied declare that we immediately return to Italy. The dogmatic character
affirms that 500Euro are for the value of the commodity of two cars. More than
one hour later the loyal officer shows up with all the documents ready and an
application of 290Euro; new discussion: even if the demand goes down to 200Euro
in a few minutes, we still refuse to pay; the officer gets angry and tears up
the compiled documents and leaves the harbour.
By now it is
19.30: we start eating and wait that someone is moving. At 20.30 I approach the
head officer of the customs which explains to me that the ammount to be paid is
not a government tax but the payment for the shipping agent who compiles the
documents.
Ennio, Gezim My.
Uruci, Alfrida Uruci and Kujtim Gilbega who have come to harbour to wait for us,
decide to reenter in Albania: for them it has got late, for us the customs for
goods by now is closed and therefore we are forced to remain at Bar. Chatting
with the people of the place we succeed in finding another shipping agent who
for "only" 130Euro prepares our documents for the transit.
Finally
delivered the documents at the customs we can continue the trip, that results to
be only a couple of kilometers long: in fact we are dissuaded to leave the city
and drive in the mountains at night; once found a parking lot for trucks we stop
and sleep.
Monday 9 - Alarm
clock at 06.00 and departure in direction of Albania.
We travel along
the coast of Montenegro for a while and then we start to ascend the wild
mountains, up to the lake of Scutari (Liqen The Shkodrës): a magic place. The
morning fog allows to glimpse at a chain of limestone mountains of triangular
form, at first low then rising higher and higher from the shore, reeds stolen by
birds, row boats of fishermen silently cutting the water: a suggestive vision
difficult to forget.
Reached the
frontier, we hand over the permission of transit to the Montenegrian officers.
We don't reach the Albanian barrier before having crossed a dark puddle of water
to disinfect the tires at the cost of 2euro. In front of us the untiring Ennios,
Gezim and Kujtim with the Albanian friends; from this moment on the
communication with the authorities becomes easier and formalities are passed in
a "moment". Again in car on the way to Shkodres (Scutari), the asphalt is not
the best, the road is full of holes and driving with the trailer is not easy; I
am forced to travel at 50km/h in order to avoid problems with the wheels and the
suspensions. The landscapes are more and more intriguing and the first
situations of contrast point out: flaming motorcars of prestigious brands that
surpass carts pulled by donkeys, cellphones all over and flocks of sheep that
walk on the road frightened by the continuous blowing of horns, etc.
Once reached the city we are accompanied
to the house of Ritvan Mandia.
At our disposition there are two rooms, of which one has furnitures and a
ceiling in wood with a history of around 200 years and a really enormous store,
ideal to contain our voluminous equipments; without wasting time we unload
everything, then a deserved shower, a supper and a healthy sleep.
Tuesday 10 - Finally we go to see the springs that are at a distance of about
one hour from the house where we lodge; once reached the place we find ourselves
in front of two enormous flooded sink holes: under conditions of flood from one
of these sink holes a river exits entering the other one, forming a little pond
called Hurdhanat and Sheganit or Lake of the noise because of the rumble of the
water that comes out; the same water exits in the lake of Shkodres at around
500m of distance. After 200m we reach the first objective: a spring called Syri
i Sheganit (Eye of the lake); the river that is formed by this spring also flows
after about one hundred meters into the lake of Shkodres;
Entrance of Syri i Sheganit
Moving about one hundred meters to the left we are showed an enormous hole that
is opening at the shore of the lake Shkodres called Viri i Sheganit (Fountain of
the lake) that goes down vertically and in which 4-5 years ago during a
hazardous manoeuvre a truck has fallen.
We organize the
dives beginning the works in the Syri i Sheganit spring brevely explored for
short part by Bulgarian cave divers in 92 and in 93. Their exploration line has
remained and it is tied off at the ending point of their exploration. The first
one to descend is Jean Jacques: he reaches a distance of 100m from the entry
passing a tunnel with some not very wide passages, almost horizontal, at a depth
of -25m in average for then arriving at a shaft that goes down to -45m. I have
some problems with the equipment (oxygen sensors) and therefore I descend only
the initial fracture up to -20m. The temperature of the water is 11°.
Wednesday 11 -
Jean Jacques continues the exploration of the Syri i Sheganit spring and takes a
a 12l safety tank to -30m, considering the fact that he uses only one semi
closed circuit. He reaches the base of the shaft at -60, and continues in an
almost horizontal tunnel that descends another 5m. I make a touristic tour using
the closed circuit Voyager which I use for this kind of dive. In this spring
there are ramifications all over and the exploratory potential is really
notable.
Simone and
Marcello will dive in the Hurdhanat and Sheganit sinkholes.
The first
and second sinkhole of the Hurdhanat e Sheganit system
In one of them
Simone doesn't find prosecutions but trees, mud and rocks, in the other one
Marcello descends to -25m, and stops having reached his safety limits, in a
point where the sink hole continues to go down.
Giovedì 12 -
it's my turn: I use my closed circuit with two 2l tanks of O2 and one 2l tank of
argon, one 10l and one 12l tank with different gas that I attach as diluent and
that in case of problems of the closed circuit allow me a return in open
circuit.
The entrance
in water from the most comfortable place across alga which covers part of the
lake
The visibility
doesn't pass 5m and as long as I pass the narrow sections it is not bad, but
when I begin to descend the shaft that measures at least 7m in diameter I don't
succeed in seeing a lot anymore; I follow the line of Jean Jacques observing
only the wall on which is placed. At the base of the shaft I would be tempted to
advance on the right side. In front of me there is a void, but the line enters a
perfectly round and smooth tunnel on the left side with 3m in diameter, which is
too inviting to snob it, therefore I follow it until I reach the exploration
reel left by Jean Jacques.
I
begin to lay out line and after a few meters I am on the edge of a new shaft:
how beautiful! but what impression, everything is black around me! I verify the
analysers: the ppO2 of 1,4 is a little high, for which change the type of
diluent, I flush the counterlungs thinking about the moment I tell Jean Jacques
about this shaft so near to the end point of his exploration, and then I descend
to the bottom at -72m. Here the dimensions of the tunnel are about 12m for 7m, I
see an eel below me that it is hidden among the rocks, I see different fish and
about ten small shellfishes that accompany me in this black straight tunnel
gallery. I have two depht meters: one of them, after about ten meters of
progression, shows -76m while the other one shows -74m; after 80m of
continuation at constant depth, I arrive in a section obstructed by big blocks.
I choose to pass above, I slip into a passage that measures 1m in height and 7m
in width, I pass it and again I find myself in a great hall; to my left I see a
tunnel, I think this will be the low passage that I have observed before the
rock slide, I continue, and again I find myself in a passage of 1m in height.
I
decide to stop: I have passed 260m from the entry of which 120m in more than
-65m of depht.
When I start the
return 25 minutes have passed; I reach -60m after 35 minutes of run time, I take
the time to observe what surrounds me and see at least about ten interesting
continuations.
Decompression with Closed Circuit Rebreather
In
decompression, at a depht of -50m, I observe stalactite of 5m in height and
above me, from -45m to -30m, on the walls of the shaft I see thousand of
fossils. I reach the narrow zone, I try to force it with everything attached but
I get jammed in bad way, I don't succeed anymore neither to advance neither to
move backwards; fortunately I succeed in unhooking the bailout tanks and then I
pass the passage easily.
Last check
of the oxygen sensors before the dive
I resurface
after 105 minutes, happy about the result and the performance of the Voyager's
consume: 60Bar of O2 from the 2l tank, 20Bar of trimix 18/60 from the 10l tank
and 30Bar of trimix 12/60 from the 12l tank. Like the difference between the
semi closed circuit and the open circuit I now see again the difference between
the closed circuit and the semi closed circuit.
The same day
Jean Jacques verifies a continuation in the same spring up to the depth of -30m,
further on it results closed.
More fortunate are Simone and Marcello who go to check an enormous black void at
the entry of the same spring at -22m, on the right of the principal guide line.
Simone who is more expert descends reaching -45m, stopping for having reached
the limits of consumption; he leaves the exploration reel ready for the
continuation of the exploration.
Marcello, that
crosses the hall horizontally and who reaches the opposite wall, finds himself
at the beginning of an even continuation at the depth of -21m.
Friday 13 - Jean Jacques decides to modify his semi closed circuit used up to
that moment as single unit and assembles it in couple with a second unit. The
morning and part of the afternoon, pass in a moment, and we are forced to
abandon the idea to start with the dives in the Viri i Sheganit spring,
postponing it to the following day, and to dedicate instead to the other planned
dives.
Nevertheless Marcello is not feeling well, therefore he doesn't dive; Jean
Jacques wants to try the new drysuit but having his rebreathers all dismounted,
he has to use an open circuit: will he still be able to use the regulators after
almost one year of semi closed circuit?
Simone cannot wait to continue the shaft started to explore by him the day
before at Siri i Sheganit; I will go to check a ramification, in the tunnel
explored by me the day before.
At the end of
the day, the only one to have reached some result is Simone. He descends to -60m
in the shaft but doesn't go further because he is impressed by the black in
front of him. He decides to ascend but maybe he hurries too much, because, after
he resurfaces, symptoms of DCS occur to his arm.
By my account I quickly reach -20m, I realize to have problems with the sensors,
for which I decide to return in order to correct the error: at the end I desist
and give up the exploration.
Saturday 14 -
During the night a strong storm unloads rain and lasts until the morning. When
we reach the springs we notice that at Viri i Sheganit even if the level has not
increased, the water is turbid and the brown color is little inviting, this is
due to the violent rain that has transported clay in the lake and to the
movement of the waves on the muddy beach; Jean Jacques who had planned a dive
there, is forced to renounce.
We move to Syri
i Sheganit: the visibility here is also reduced to around 3m, but we decide to
dive; Jean Jacques will continue the shaft already explored by Simone: He
descends to -65m and reaches a hall on the bottom of the shaft, he searches…,
enters a narrow passage, but he remains jammed: it also happens that he gets
entangled in the line with the low part of the circuits, therefore, after having
resolved the problem, he returns.
My dive doesn't
bring appreciable fruits: I go to check the range until -45m in the shaft
already explored by me, but in spite of what I had hoped, I don't find
continuations.
Fact is, that
using the closed circuit, the consumptions are so limited that the autonomy of
dive time increases the possibility of searching new passages in full calm
notably.
In ascent, at about -30m, I slip into a promising narrow passage: I put it on
the notes for next year. During the return I remain for a couple of hours at
-6m, to make company to Simone who is diving with oxygen to facilitate the
recovery of his arm.
Marcello who is reestablished, follows and controls the series of tunnels
already explored.
Sunday 15 - A strong inflammation in the ears makes me take a drastic decision:
I give up to continue my exploration and I will take advantage of the next days
of transfer to get myself back in order.
Jean Jacques turns his attention to "Viri i Sheganit", already explored ago a
few days up to -65m by Luca Vincenti, a cave diver of the group of Ennio (Cavers
Group "Gruppo Grotte Giara") who participates in the speleological expedition of
research in the mountainous area of Tamara.
At the shore of Liqen I
Shkodrёs
near the entrance of Viri i Sheganit
The most comfortable
entrance of al! Jean Jaques is accompanied into the water sitting in the rear of
his van, with the risk to find himself on the bottom of the lake observing a new
wreck
JJ reaches -86m, on the route he finds three sunk boats and a truck fallen in
during a hazardous manoeuvre necessary to launch one of the sunk boats. The
visibility is scarce, 3-4m, the big dimensions and the strong presence of clay
on the walls and on the bottom don't help; difficult to find the continuation.
After a careful search that lasts several minutes, JJ sees a possible
continuation that is put on the list for next year.
The days dedicated to diving in Albania for this year are finished.
It is Marcellos task to recover the material from Syri i Sheganit.
Monday 16 -this day is dedicated to studies of the territory.
The Liqen I Shkodrёs
seen from the road to Tamara
Simone who still has a swollen arm, is allowed to rest on the shores of the sea,
while the group moves up the impending mountains for having a perspective of the
zones of absorption that feed springs visited by us. More precisely we go to
Tamara, a little village in the middle of the mountains, base camp of the
speleological expedition of the GGG. We need 3 hours to pass about 80km. We go
beyond the zone of the springs, we arrive at a few kilometers from the border
with Montenegro, then we begin the ascent on the mountain; we reach 1100m above
sea level and the landscape that is opening before our eyes is of a wild beauty.
At our shoulders the lake of Scutari and the mountains of Montenegro, to our
left still mountains of Montenegro, to our right and before us the mountains of
Albania. scarce vegetation, limestone with unique forms of erosion in their
expression and coloration, some mountain huts, a steep road excavated for
reaching the bottom of the valley and some cars passing.
The valley leading to
Tamara
At Tamara today a traditional festivity starts, to which the people that live in
the mountain villages around have come, with their own traditions and habits,
some emigrant have returned for vacation visiting the relatives, some citizens
are visiting friends and some curious tourist like us have come, too.
We reach Tamara after having crossed a valley, after having inspected some
interesting springs, after having sipped a good Turkish coffee waiting for the
friends. Together with them we still travel one hour of gravel road ascending to
1200m above sea level. Once reached the village Bardolez we assist an unusual
Mass celebrated by the Francescanian Monk Father Sergio, integrated in the
discussions of the local heads.
After the ceremony is finished, on board of a truck
and after about a quarter of an hour; we reach a place even more lost in the
mountains.
Ennio and
Marcello, hungry
In the
background the limestone mountains of "Malesise se Madhe" offer a superb image
of themselves with the tops still snowy. Around us the vegetation is exuberant.
We are guests for lunch in a cottage that serves as summer mountain hut, with
simple food, nice and simple company, breathtaking panorama.
The limestone mountains
of Malesise se Madhe
We return to Scutari in the late evening, returning over the pass: in the dusk
the games of light on the hillsides are getting distant and this is the final
greeting we receive from Albania.
Tuesday 17 - The departure takes place in the late morning.
The tax for leaving Albanian territory is 10euro, while for the entry in
Montenegro there is a fee of 3euro for the disinfectant that is in the puddle of
water that washes the tires of the passing cars. The same washing at arrival
cost 2euro, will it be because of a more precious disinfectant? However we pass
the two borders in the turn of one hour without serious problems, with the
conviction to have been cheated, when at arrival we have disbursed 130euro: in
fact, during this transit we have not been asked anything. In zic zacs among
suggestive landscapes we reach Dubrovnic . We stop to sleep near a beach, after
having taken a joyful bath at night.
Light problems of health rise up: three of us have attacks of dysentery, and I
decide to put an antibiotic pomade in the ear from the moment that, with the
usual disinfectant, the inflammation of the preceding days doesn't improve.
Wednesday 18 - we reach Vrlika in the afternoon. There we meet our Croatian
friends who camp near a clear spring; after having chatted
a little, they accompany us to the spring that we will have to explore. The
entrance pool is fabulous: about twenty meters of diameter of crystalline water,
in the transparence some trouts and a myriad of prawns can be seen; on the
edges, an enormous swarm of bees hums while the swallows make breathtaking
nosedives until little above the surface of the water. After having observed for
the place well, we begin to unload and to prepare the base camp. This is the
spring from which water is pumped, bottled and labled with the name of water "
Cetina ".
Thze spring
of Milaševo Jezero and part of the base camp seen from above
Thursday 19 -
During the preparations of the morning, while the just charged tanks are cooled
by putting them in the 7° spring water, a 7 lt tank escapes from the hands and
decides to ruin the exploration, slowly slowly slipping on the funnel-shaped
bottom of the entrance pool, then it disappears in the shaft. Jean Jacques, who
is diving as the first uses air and descends to -73m, the bottom of the initial
shaft and there it is the fugitive tank: the development of the cave up to here
is exclusively in vertical. Jean Jacques resurfaces and in ecstasy he tells that
the visibility is more than excellent, that the shaft is of an impressive beauty
and that up to the depth reached there is no need for additional lights, because
the light of the sun penetrates through the transparent water. He regrets only
not to have foreseen to bring the right mixtures to be able to follow the
temptation to continue the exploration. Marcello begins to set up the three 4 lt
tanks that I will use for tomorrow's dive.
The walls of
the cave in 20 m depht can be seen
Friday 20 -
Today it's my turn. After three days of dysentery, I have been forced to take a
pill to stop the flow, (unpleasant to have some "necessities" wearing a dry
suit) and I continue with the antibiotic pomade in the ears for the inflammation
of the eardrums; considering that the pain has almost disappeared, I decide that
I can dive. We wake up at 06.45, we have an adequate breakfast, the last
preparations are made, so that at 10.00, I am ready to gear up punctually
avoiding the midday heat. For this time, I use the two semi closed circuits so
that I do not have to prepare a return in open circuit; I have the gas mixes
that allow me to descend to 130m with me, as I don't know the spring. I have
seen only a sketch made by a Czech coral diver who was diving with air some
years ago. I know that after the shaft the tube should go down tilted up to
-103m. I finish the preparation on the edge of the entrance pool, two footsteps
and I let myself slip in the water.
What a spectacular shaft! What a
visibility! I resurface for a moment and I signal my first impressions with
gestures.
I begin the
descent while Alan Kovacevic takes some images with the video camera, before I
disappear in the shaft. I anticipate the gas changes at -15m and -50m, so I am
faster in the descent; with surprise I see my exploration reel shining on the
bottom, I reach it and begin the descent on the gravel: the tunnel is about ten
meters wide and at least six meters high; on the bottom there are some tires,
various wreckage and I have been told there could also be some bombs. I continue
to descend, I kick with my fins against a light current; the tube is slightly
tightening and I don't need to tie off the line because it is very straight
indeed and with such a visibility I remember the beautiful times of the
exploration of the Gorgazzo. Along the route, always some tires and wreckage,
that show in a sad way until which point the level of barbarism of some arrives!
At about -95m, I note that in the distance the shaft closes. I go on, hoping for
a continuaion but, alas, once reached -109m at 143m from the entrance, befor me
I see one single small passage of triangular form that measures 80cm by 80cm; I
lean out: it is only about one meter long and beyond the tunnel continues with
generous dimensions. At this point the exploration is stopped, but next year,
when I have tested my two closed circuits to use with sidemount technique for
good, this narrow passage, obstructed by a substantial deposit of gravel and
stones, won't stop to me from going on. During the ascent, I observe all the
angles, but I don't see any prosecution; at -80m I switch off the lights and
look up: it doesn't happen often in a cave to ascend from these depths, seeing
the daylight. At -75m I meet a trout of at least three kilos, that stares at me
immovably, I look at it too, then I lift the look upwards before continuing the
ascent: how far the free air seems! the ellipse and the walls of the shaft give
the feeling of sinking. I slowly ascend observing the erosion of the rock and
sometimes, I cast a glance upwards to fix the images in my memory like a photo.
At -30m I succeed in distinguishing the brand of my car, the base camp, the
tanks on the shore, the church on the little hill. After 81 minutes I resurface.
For safety reasons it is better to wait for next year to continue the
exploration and for the moment I comfort myself drawing the topography.
The shower zone.
Better heat the
water with the sun than diving in the cold waters of the spring
Saturday 21 -
Jean Jacques descends to see the passage on the bottom of the cave.
Simone after his deepest
cave dive
Since the swelling and pain of his arm have disappeared completely for days now,
Simone starts diving again and makes a tour to -60m. Marcello has the task to
position the tanks that serve me for the decompression and then he satisfies his
desire to look around a little bit. Resurfacing, Jean Jacques speaks to me of
the possibility to make some rocks roll toward what seems to be the bottom of
the cave, but I am a little perplex about it because, given the inclination of
the shaft that descends from -73 to -109, shifting some rocks could resolve the
obstruction of the small passage.
Check of the semiclosed
circuit before the dive
Sunday 22 -
Today it is not warm, and we can prepare without suffering.
I go down to the bottom of the cave to
pick up the data for the topography for the whole part explored.
There are 143m
of total lenght of which 80m in vertical; considering the fact that this last
part I will pick up on the notes during the decompression, there are 63m
remaining for the topography, all in a depht range between -109m and -73m. I
quickly reach the bottom 5 minutes from my departure. I remove the elastics that
hold the pencils in place on the slate onto which the necessary tools are
mounted: a depht meter, a compass and sheets of special paper designed for
underwater use. I begin drawing sketches: length of the line, direction on the
compass, depth, width and height and a squirt with the salient details of the
plant and the section of the tunnel. The ascent is very slow and the sketches
take a certain time; fortunately the points to measure are not many because the
tunnel over the entire length is almost vertical, from 180° to 200°; anyway I
need 30 minutes to reach -73m.
The decompression will give me the time to finish the topography with calm on
the way to the surface. After 115 minutes I resurface satisfied for the work
completed.
Jean Jacques descends to check a horizontal tube already explored by Croatian
cave divers.
It starts at
-28m. He passes it for one hundred meters; after about one hour Marcello goes to
snoop in the same tunnel. Simone
instead decides to descend to the bottom of the shaft at -73m.
Jean Jacques
helps me with the completion of the gearin up
Two steps and...
Entrance to paradise
Return to
lightings, guide reel and bailout tank
Breathing
the unit before the rapid descent in the shaft
Monday 23 - We
load the cars and begin the trip towards Racovica where another spring waits for
us: Sinjac. The trip is relatively brief, less than 200km. We reach the "
cave-house ", a structure that serves the speleologists as base camp, a very
quiet place constituted from two enormous houses that allow to set up the
equipments in the inside, while we sleep in tents. We also go to see the spring
that is at a distance of about forty kilometers. We ascend to the highland where
the lake, that I had dived last may to inspect the cave of Velika Pecina, is
found. In this dry period the lake is completely dried and its waters, confined
in the inside of the cave, have dispersed in the belly of the earth up to the
point where they reach an impermeable zone, from where on they flow until they
meet the surface in some other springs of the region.
Some kilometers
further we reach the bottom of the valley where the waters of Sinjac gush out.
Noticing that there is no sign of current, we hope that the passage through the
restriction in the deep zone at -103m, is facilitated, even if the visibility,
because of the standing water and the decomposition of the plants, is only about
one meter.
Tuesday 24 -
Simone is forced to return to Italy due to problems with his job, he has a
certain regret, the rest of the group is organized for the test dive at Sinjac.
Jean Jacques descends first with
the intention to lay out line up to -70m, I limit myself to a little stroll with
Alan who has a good time filming and Marcello hurries to get ready the tanks for
the decompression. The parameters I verify are that the visibility is scarce up
to a depht of 4-5m, then it stabilizes in the whole rest of the tunnel and one
can see up to 5m, no more. The temperature of the water is 14°.
Wednesday 25 - A new attack of dysentery that had never really passed and the
pain in the ear getting acute again, prevent me from diving and I postpone the
exploration to the following day. I take advantage therefore to dedicate my time
to the maintenance of the equipment. Once finished this activity, I visit
Plitvička jezera, a place that with his picturesque little ponds and gorgeous
water falls makes clear what water is capable to do, to create marvels of
nature.
Thursday 26 - This time it is the weather conditions to make a dive impossible:
a violent storm that discharges rain and continues for the whole day makes us
desist. Jean Jacques and Marcello decide to depart definitely in direction of
Italy, while I remain to recover the exploration reel and one oxygen tank
remained in the spring.
The time dedicated to the explorations in these
regions is by now running out.
Friday 27 - I
organize the dive with Alan: if the conditions of the spring are good I will
push the exploration limit to the most possible level, in contrary case I will
limit to recover the exploration reel at -72m, and the oxygen tank at -6m.
Before beginning our work in the spring, we linger during a visit of the
touristic cave of Baracevac. The
fame of this cave has attracted 2000 visitors in a couple of months. We finally
reach Sinjac at 14.00. The conditions of visibility at the first glance don't
seem to be changed: the level of the water has risen for about ten centimeters
and while I am observing it I reflect about my physical conditions which are
rather not improved, I also suffer from a headache.
Probably, at the
end of my trip, I suffer a little both on the psychological and physical level.
With this spirit, I prepare the two semi closed circuits with two 10l tanks of
trimix and one 2lt tank with argon, I prepare the three bailout tanks of which
one is a 7lt tank with a travel mix and two 5lt tanks containing hyperoxyc
mixtures. The last accords with Alan are that he will follow me with its
faithful video camera up to about -40m, and in a second take, he will meet and
film me during decompression, one hour after my departure. I begin to get ready
with little conviction, but as soon as I put my nose in the water, my mood
changes completely: I become aggressive and all the afflictions seem to
disappear. I cross the lake and reach the start of the guide line, I discharge
the air from the dry suit and quickly I descend in the shaft. I should leave the
EAN tank at -21m but I arrive a little distant and I am forced to leave it some
meters deeper; at -30m. I change
the gas in the circuit and once reached -36m I leave also the second
decompression tank. For not wasting time to make washings of the scounter lung
in descent, I have to anticipate the changes gas: the last change at -50m and I
change to the bottom mix. Once reached -72m I leave the 7lt tank, I take the
exploration reel and continue the descent following the old line laid out some
years ago by French cave divers. The maximum visibility of 4m doesn't allow me
to observe the whole tunnel that descends with an inclination of at least 30°; I
perceive only that the height of the ceiling gets lower until it reaches about
1,5m; by now the sand on the bottom is inevitably touched by my fins, for which
I assume that at the return I will have bad visibility. I am at -100m.: unlike
my predecessors that stopped at -103m in a restriction, decide to cross the
tunnel and go to the right side; I cross the slide of sand and with a lot of
attention I cross another slide of clay; I go on for about fifteen meters and
reach a point in which the tunnel returns to be of big dimensions. I continue to
lay out line on the right side: the tunnel descends, I stop at the point where
the oxygen analyser shows a PpO2 of 1,6, I tie off the line on a rock prominence:
I am at -119m, at 203m from the entrance, the water is rather turbid, but I
below me the bottom seems to continue in descent. 19 minutes have passed when I
start the ascent: in some points I am forced to proceed slowly because of the
reduced visibility. When Alan passes to meet me, I am already at -21m just in
time to write the result reached on the slate, and to pass him the equipments
which I won't need anymore to continue the decompression. I am aware that for
the whole rest of the decompression phase I won't have other contacts with the
humans on the surface.
A little before
reaching the surface I find a military rifle at -5m under the mud: in my mind
the horrible images of a war fought in these places few years earlier pass. This
war that has left deep signs in the population and in the ways of live of the
people that live near the most stricken zones. After having extracted it from
the mud, I realize that it is very antique and that it most probably dates back
to the first world war; at the exit I deliver it to Alan who in turn will bring
it to the museum of Racovica. The dive ends after 105 minutes. Feeling sorry I
realize that it is the moment to return.
The calm
after the storm is announced by two rainbows
The church
that dominates the hill above the spring
The balance of
the explorations is positive: if I consider the physical afflictions arrived
unexpectedly, and not only, and how we have succeeded in limiting the
consequences, the balance becomes even more positive. For the more the contacts
made and consolidated in the two visited countries open us doors to a series of
promising explorations both in the caves already visited by us in this first
experience, as well as in a lot of others, at the moment known only by name and
not yet directly visited. The impressions gained by me on this trip are very
similar to those gained in other trips, nevertheless they enjoy to be unique,
and so are the people met and their way of living.
A
great thank you goes to all who have made this expedition possible:
Aquatica, Best Divers
Ennio Lazzarotto, Hrvoje Cvitanoviċ, Alan Kovacevic, Tihi Kovacevic, Jean
Jacques Bolanz, Marcello Ferretto e Simone Piscitelli.
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