CRETE - October 2008
On October
the 22nd, I leave Italy on my own to Crete Island, my plans are going
on a reconnaissance and maybe I’ll try an exploration.
On October the 23rd, I land in
Patras and drive quickly to the Piraeus, in Athens, where I’ll sail to Crete. I
have a lot of time, so I prefer to go out from the new highway, built before the
Olimpic Games, in Corinth and take the old road to have a coffee in the same bar
and let my mind go through some memories. I see streaming in front of me the old
way, the Corinth Bridge with its footbridge that leans out into the void. Every
year, millions of tourists are passing here through a crowd of pedlar sellers
and restaurants and bars. Jean Jacques and I, from our first trip in 1987, used
to stop always in the same bar every time we passed there. It was an anonymous
bar, patronized by tourists, with trash food and nothing typical. It was strange
for us to stop there, because we used to look for appetizing food and drinks.
This place this year, seems to be changed, maybe it’s the forniture, or maybe it
has just be painted, anyway it’s special in my memories because it’s the place
where the last year I said goodbye to Jean Jacques for the last time. And what
can I drink now? As the same, here, I ask for an ice coffee, none is on the
table where we used to sit, so I take a chair there, with my coffee and let my
mind fly away through my memories.
When I finish to drink, I
drive my car to the Piraeus, and when I’m almost there I take the wrong way,
driving for more than 10km in the wrong direction. Athens, every time seems to
eat me in its chaotic traffic. Finally I can see the floating steel monster that
will shelter me for the next 9 hours. Because of I can’t buy a “camping on
board” ticket, I grab my foam-rubber mattress, my sleeping bag, a book, and I go
to the upper deck looking for an hide place to sleep under the stars. Tomorrow,
at 5.00 am I’ll land in Crete where I’ll meet Yiannis Bromirakis and Kostas
Fotinakis.
On October the 24th, I’m in
the same place of last year, but with the difference of a few days. I get the
keys of the deposit where I store my equipment and then I immediately go to
Almiros source. Last year I just could see the topography yearning for its
exploration when I recived the call for Jean Jacques. But now I’m here again.
I prepare a 10 litres twin
cylinder and the other equipment for a cave diving, I drive along an uneven road
for an hundred meters, then I arrive to a gate, I open it and go ahead for a
while.
I’m alone, there’re just some
goats and a wall for stop the water of the flood. I reach the ladder to get on
the dyke and there I see a big dead dog in decomposition, it seems sleeping in
the place that it chose to spend the last minutes of its life.
Standing on the wall I can see
the lake, the water is simply great, it’s so transparent that the seaweeded
bottom shows up the small stones. Unfortunately, as in all the places easly
reached to the “civil society” here it’s possible to see carcasses of cars, and
garbages, along the road to the source. Nevermind, these things will not destroy
this magic place.
I fast the yarn of my reel to
an iron fixed on a reinforced concrete platform that delimits a side of the
lake, I unwind 20 metres of rope and I throw it into the water. I see it
whirlling reaching the bottom, while the yarn strains. I can see it so well, it
seems that I can grab it just with an hand, the transparence is amazing. I
finish to pull on my equipment, and jump in the water very excited. “I can’t
believe it! I’m in a magic world!” I say to myself. I swim quickly to the bottom
of the lake, the current get stronger as I lean to the entrance of the cave. I
bend down to the bottom pulling myself on the stones going beyond the wrecks
that lie on the ground, there are a carcass of a car and one of a motorbike, a
frame of a motorcycle and some plastic tubes. That’s so sad!
I go ahead with no esitation,
soon all these garbages will disappear with the sunlight that will follow me
‘till the depth of –35m. The current is tiresome, almost indisputable swimming
just with the fins. At –44m the gallery starts to rise, getting narrow. Where
are the shapes that I remember from the topography? As I go up, I have to take
care of the speed ‘cause the cave wants to spit me out.
I think about the cave and
about my mistake, now I realize that I have underestimated the complexity of
this system, the gallery that I want to explore, should start at a lower depth.
I had one year to study the topography and I didn’t do it. Well, I relax
through the seaweed floating in the current, it seems a wonderfull carpent of
grass. An eel comes out from the green shroud and quitely swims into the lake, I
fallow it, but the eel runs away, I still can see it 30m away from me.
When I decide to go up I look
at my depth gauge, I’m at –15m, the water is so clear that makes me think to be
near the surface, the temperature is 16°. While I’m going out, I feel the warm
of the low water and the smell of some seaweed in decomposition over the lake.
I reach my car with all the
equipment on my shoulders and then put on my clothes.
I come here in Crete to see
some sources that I may explore, and I need the help of some friends who live in
the island, we decide to go around Crete together so we can understand its
aspect on the surface, connected, as usual, to the water that runs below.
So, on October the 25th, I
leave with Yannis and other ten people to go in a zone in the south of Rethymino,
along the canyon of Samaria, the only place in the island with water in this
period. After two hours of journey we are in the middle of an incredible gorge
that is possible to pass by car. When we stop, waiting for a guy, we see a
couple of ermine puppies on the side of the road, they look around and after a
few minutes they come back into the bushes.
When we get off from the cars
a gust of wind blows us. Yannis says that’s better to leave the cars there and
then get the bottom of the valley placed a hundred metres more down from where
we are. The way of the canyon is really interesting, but very short. After the
practice, Yannis has to give a theory lesson to some students, so I decide to
visit a monastery not too far from us. Later we start a long trip to the other
side of the island, we drive slowly, so none in the other cars can get lost,
then we reach a small monastery on a hill, where we’ll spend the night. We have
our dinner outside, the temperature is cold: we are at 800m of altitude and a
frozen wind is blowing. I sleep in the tent over my car parked on the edge of
the steep slope to enjoy the great view over the valley.
On October the 26th, we decide
for a “dry canyon”. We drive along a country road in quite good conditions, then
when we’re ready for the descent on the rope, we walk to the canyon. It’s the
first time that I go down a dry canyon and whatever, it’s a long time that I
don’t run across one. Yesterday I could see that rigs are different from the
ones that were used ten years ago, but the descent on the rope isn’t changed.
The frozen wind irritates us, so we have to look for a shelter everytime it’s
possible, limiting the amusement of the void.
During the descent we see a
goat puppy, stuck on the rocks, and 30m under, there’s its mother dead. The
puppy nibbled at the grass all around, but it can’t go up or down. Yannis
decides to rescue it, hanging and rocking at his rope, he reaches the puppy and
carries it to the bottom of the precipice, but it’s not enough for its safe, so
he carries it, 50m downer. Some birds of pray flying over our heads, probably
are waiting for eating the corpse of the puppy’s mother. Finally the kid runs
for a few metres and starts to nibble at a bush.
At least after saying goodbye,
I go to Aghios Nikolaos because I want to see another source, while the others
will return in Heraklion.
I drive along the south coast,
and after a couple of hours I get there. Looking at the lake, I realize that
because of it’s in the middle of the town, and any greek friend is with me,
it’ll be impossible for me to dive. I call Vassili, a great friend of mine
since twenty years, who lives in Athens, and he says that only the next year it
will be possible do something there. I go to see another source not too far from
here, but it’s another disappointment because the water comes out from
infiltrations, and the leaks are so small that only a little elf could pass
through them... and it’s not my case!
On October the 27th, I return
to the base on country roads along the coast, the only ones that I meet, are
shephereds leading their flock of sheep and goats with theirs babies and I think
about the tragic end of these littles ones when some village feast will arrive.
I return to Heraklion after
the sunset: I’m alone, I have no time to keep so I eat when I’m hungry and sleep
when I’m tired... that’s life!
On October the 28th, it’s a
national feast, and finally I’ll celebrate with a dive in Almiros while Yannis
and Katerina will be waiting for me out of the water. This time I study the
topography, weighing ways and depths. I put on my double bottles, and a couple
of deco bottles and start my dive. At –24m, on my right side there’s a gallery,
where I decide to enter in spite of the current. I quietly go ahead in the
winding gallery from which other passages begins. I concentrate on the main
gallery, and after some hundred metres I reach the depth of –35m in front of a
narrow passage that I remember from the topography. While I try to pass by, the
current blows me out and I think I can’t get to the other side with the bottles
on my shoulders, also my range in open circuit is going to finish. I place a
bottle here, at –35m and I begin to come back, helped by the current that
pushing me, makes my air consumption lower then the going. I come out of the
water 40 minutes later.
On October 29th, I come back
to the source; Yannis who would like to take some pictures will dive too. We
have to meet at 11.00 a.m., but I’m in late ‘cause my side rebreather has some
problems with the o-rings and I haven’t my tool-box with me; fortunately I can
make some o-rings of the right size cutting and glueing the ones of the Copis.
While I try to work out the problems, time passes quikly, Nikos and Katerina are
already here, but I succeed in finish to fix my rebreather only at 3.00 p.m.
Soon our equipments are on the shore, I’ll use the side rebreather and two 20 l
tanks. I put on my equipment as quikly as I can, but the sun is setting behind
the mountain and the light is no more good to take pictures; anyway Yannis wears
his wet suit and jump in the water to take some pics from the surface.
In the gallery it’s hard to
swim because of the current and I have so many materials on, but I haven’t
problems of gas finishing using a CCR, so I take my time. When I get to the
narrow passage I start to think how to pass it. I take off a 20 l tank and push
it inside the hole, but the current blows it away. So I try to push the side reb,
but it’s too long and I can’t pass it by. After 30 minutes of unless attempts, I
give up. I live there a 20l tank and begin to come back. I’m angry with myself
for my mistaken evaluation: this cave must be faced in a different way, I have
to act coolly, especially if the configuration isn’t suitable with the structure
of the cave.
I decide to go in a secondary
gallery to study the place, but after a few meters in the mud, there’s a
forking, in one way I’ll swim against the current, in the other way, I’ll go
with the stream, the current isn’t too strong and the old line for the
exploration is still there. I choose to go against the stream, but I have to
stop after a few metres ‘cause the line is too bad and I prefere don’t follow
it. I come back in the muddy water to the main gallery. I come out tired and
disheartened because the smallest tanks that I have with me are a 10 l twin
cylinder and a 12 l tank. The source has been explored ‘till the depth of 90m,
and reading the report of the last explorer, it seems to go down... the night
will bring advice.
On October the 30th, in front
of the source I decide to dive with one 20l open circuit to get the narrow
passage and try to pass it by using one 10 and 12 l tanks. This morning I’m
alone again. I use a rope and a pulley to lower the equipment from the wall,
this system is really nice in spite of I have to go up and down from the ladder
to unhook the spring-clip. I prepare everything on the shore, I wear my dry suit
and jump into the water. I check the regulator on the 12 l tank, and then I
start to breath from the 20 l tank.
With this configuration, I can
move faster in the first part of the gallery, I arrive to the narrow passage 3
minutes early, now it’s a challenge, and I won’t loose it. I leave the 20 l tank
and only with the 12 l I try to enter, I take it off from the back and push it
in front of me, I can enter! Well, I come back a little bit to grab the reel and
the 10 l tank. I check the regulator and leave the tank in the middle of the
passage, I tie up the line and get in with the 12l tank. The good visibility
helps me in this situations. When I get to the other side, some mud comes down
from the ceiling, but the stream blows it away, so the visibility doesn’t change
so much. I’m feeling very happy going down to the depth of 40 m in this small
gallery. When I decide to come back I start to rewind the line that should break
during a flood beeing a danger for the next year when I’ll come back with a
correct equipment. I pass by the narrow passage, now I know it very well, and
take the tanks and the reel. After 15 m I see another gallery with the same old
line, I place there the two 20 l tanks and I try to go inside. There isn’t too
much current so I decide to turn right, but when I touch the old yarn it breaks.
I take my reel, and going on I realize that I’m going with the stream: the
hydrology here is very strange and dangerous. I stop, but I’ll be back here
again with a strong rope; I gonna use it to face this part of the cave that may
avoid the narrow passage. Watching the last rags of the old yarn knotted on the
walls, I deduce that the gallery may continue, still virgin and it may bring a
lot of surprises!
I get out after an hour, I
place the tanks by the wall, and hook them one by one to take them on it, then I
have to take everything to the car. Finally I’m quite happy for the dive. On the
road I met another diver, Yannis Mavrakis, who asks me lots of questions and
then I find out that he met the french divers who explored and draw the
topography of this cave in 1991. We decide to have dinner toghether, chatting
about that magic place, dives, underwater works and so on: he’s nice and seems
to be happy to talk with someone in italian, greek, or just in english.
On October 31st, I go to the
cave very early to take all the tanks that are still in the water, so I can
bring everything to the base and load the car. Yannis Bromirakis and Yannis
Mavrakis come to help me, then I have a shower with the last water in my “sunny
shower”: the temperature is about 30°, and the water is hotter then the other
days.
In the evening, I catch the
ship to the Pireaus, spending the night on the damp deck, in my sleeping bag and
thinking about this journey. I cheked that Almiros is a very interesting and
difficult source, the cave in Aghios Nikolaos is really big, but the visibilty
seems bad, a small source seems to be impraticable, and there’re also a couple
of caves that I couldn’t check during this trip.
Certainly next year I’ll bring
all the correct equipment to face that galleries.
On November the 1st, I land in
Pireaus, and I decide to say hello to Yannis Kalopsis and to make some shopping:
olives, capers, origanum, tea of the mountains and some infusions. In Patras I
meet my friend Nektarios, we have dinner toghether and then I sail to my cold
hometown.
This year I didn’t explore so
much, I’ve just cheked some things, but this experience has been handy indeed,
because I had to remember how to face diving in new places; during these last
years I forgot how to do that, because I easily explored important caves.
Almiros d’Heraklion, we’ll
meet next year, and I’ll be ready to explore you.
