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Show I About Town C7 I Prime Time CB Sunday. March 7. 1t993 The Daily Herald adventure Spelunking with a splash: By BRAD WETZLER Universal Press Syndicate This time next year. high on the Huautla Plateau in southern Mexico. a group of engineers. climbers and divers w ho call themselves the [KS Deep Cave Diving Team will crawl into a tunnel. bringing with them thousands of pounds of sup— plies and a plan to go deeper into the earth than anyone has gone before. ‘ Over the next several weeks. the explorers. led by engineer Bill Stone. will rappel down waterfalls. tramp through brackish water. and follow roaring underground rivers to a depth of 2.800 feet below the surface. Then. the tunnel w ill disappear into the crystal-clear pool of water called the San Augustin Sump. At that point the real adventure begins. Armed with an innovative breathing apparatus that filters exhaled carbon dioxide and recircu— lates oxygen to the diver. the team will push on. into the flooded tutt— nel. lfthey do reach the other side of the sump. they‘ll continue crawling and climbing. in search of the Cueva de la Pena Colorado. at charted underground river that will lead them to daylight. For all the talk of adventure travel these days. it‘s bare to imag— ine an expedition that‘s as certifia— bly adventurous as the I-Iuautla cave expedition. If something goes wrong for the team and they need immediate help. they might as well be on another planet. Still. you don't have. to travel a half-mile below Mexican soil to give this alluring. if extremely dangerous. sport a try. Flooded caves pock Texas. Idaho. Ken— tucky and a handful ofother states. But by far the most popular cave diving sites in the United States are underneath the ponds and springs in sun-baked north—central Florida. In these flatlands. cormorants and herons flutter overhead: below the surface of the area‘s ponds. however. he labyrinthian systems of narrow limestone cay es — some of them mapped. many of them totally unexplored. Those who dream of following in Stone‘s footsteps. however, take note: Caving: The Sierra Club Guide to Spelunking begins its chapter on cave diving. "Caution: It would be difficult to find a mode of exploration more dangerous than cave diving.“ If you haven‘t heard about the sport. you‘re not alone. The associations that oversee certification like it that way. They don‘t want their caves crowded with rookie divers. and they don‘t w ant you to die. "They have an absolute vow not to promote cave diving." says Wes Skiles. an underwater filmmaker who has 20 years of cavediving experience, “But if you have the slightest interest. they‘d rather you know how to do it safely.“ In other words. special cave— diving instruction is a must. Fortunately. there are several excellent schools that can teach you how to cave dive safely. For example. Florida’s Ginnie Springs Resort in High Springs and Blue Grotto Dive Resort in Williston offer series of four two-day sessions that lead to certification from the National Association of Cave Diving and the National Speleo— logical Society. Cave Diving Section. Opened to certified open—water scuba divers with 25 to 50 dives under their belts, the series begins with diving instruction in caverns. which are caves with ambient lighting where the surface is visible. The next two—day course — hundreds of hormonal lccl .; -. Both schools otter clam. round. and the eight-day cer' tion process c‘tisls an...” so... Your food and lodging are not me eluded. but theres an cxcclicnt bed and breakfast .2 halt tilt; rm Ginnie Springs. and ..::: along Florida‘s Santa Ic Rt.» .~ also an option. In all there are more ti .ti. .1 hundred doable caycs in sort". central Florida and scuera. shops that offer instruction in ctt‘v em and cute doing. Your loco. dive shops also may offer caycrn and caye»diving courses Remember. though. that “hit. cave diving courses greatly I'C‘dticc‘ the risk of the sport. they dont eliminate it. Equipment failure and ensuing panic may lie around the next corner. "I can name Iii Wes Sktles Photo sport a Braving the caves in Florida: For those who want to give this alluring but extremely dangerous try, special instruction is a must. think of it as "Introduction to Cave Diving” —— is usually. though not necessarily. taken immediately following cavern certification. In “Intro“ you‘ll make four more dives in two days. learning how to handle the extra weight of double tanks and three heavy—duty lights. to string a continuous line to the caves exit. and to achieve the proper buoyancy control to keep you from stirring up .silt. The combination of darkness. the beam from your light. and silt is notorious for inducing disorientation and panic. which is a fast track to serious problems or death. You‘ll spend the final four days working toward full cave diving certification. Swimming farther into the cave systems. you'll be— come more accustomed to having a ceiling overhead and becotne more relaxed knowing that open air is springs that have killed 30 pew ple.“ Skiles says. "Caycs are ev citing. alluring. challenging. mys terious. Caves are also dark. silty. panic-inducing. claustrophobic And they turn front one to the other very rapidly. You base to know what to do when that happens. “ Many people take these courses and find out that cave dit ing is not for them. In that case. you'll probably come away a better open-wa— ter diver. On the other hand. it dark. cramped. water—filled tubes sound attractive. maybe you. like the members of the LKS. Dcep Cave Diving Team. have the "right stuff“ tojourney toward the center of the earth. Once tarnished, Mexico’s ‘Silver City’ shines anew luster is from its silver. Taxco‘s silver industry pre— dates the conquest. Indians were IAXCO. Me‘xico w, Colonial taking silver from the Sierra Taxco. a charming old mining Madre Mountains long before the town nestled high in the Sierra Spanish arrived. Hernando Cortes Madre Mountains about IOO miles founded Taxco as a mining base in southeast of Mexico City. is called 1522. and conquistadors came in great numbers to take silver home Silver City. Its citizens say 19 of 20 doors in to Spain. The yield of silver was so high. town lead to "platerias." or silver Taxco quickly became one of shops. That‘s an exaggeration. but Taxco (pronounced tahs-ko) boasts Spain‘s key colonial crossroads. It ; more than l00 shops selling brace— also became an important stop on lets. rings. baubles. bangles. ear- trade routes that brought luxury rings. beads. wedding bands. belt goods from the Orient to Europe — buckles. boxes and baskets. gob- by sea from Asian ports to Acapul— lets. handbags. tea sets. vases. co. overland via Taxco and Mexiplatters. decorative plaques and co City to Veracruz and across the other ()bjCCIS. all handcrafted from Atlantic to Spain. By the 18th century. mining had silver. These shops surround Plaza made Taxco a very prosperous Borda. Taxco‘s main square. and comtnunity. and the trade route line the narrow cobblestone streets had provided wealthy mine owners . that wind through town and into with access to the luxuries they i could afford. the hills. Mine owners also poured money Bougainvillea blossoms cascade from balconies and terraced gar- back into the town. building the dens. creating fields of purples and lavish mansions and ornate public pinks against orange tile roofs. buildings that turned Taxco irtto a The profusion of color is a sight— (See SILVER. Page (‘2) seer‘s delight. btit Taxco's real By JENNIFER MERIN For AP Special Features Most people think of UTA as a bus system. And, with more than 500 buses carrying more than 22.6 million passengers a year nearly UTA also works with large employers providing 226 vans that can carry nearly 3000 workers to and from work each day. We'll even finance the purchase-at no interest—of vans by anyone who’s qualified 16 million miles over and wants one, 134 routes, it’s no and will use it for wonder. IF TitEY’D Do THE JOB, Thanks to But buses are only part of the UTA _ WE’DPur THEM To WORK. story. transit company. And transit means moving people, by whatever means is most efficient, economical, and services Will be high on UTA’s list in the years ahead. But, again, the point is moving people. By whatever means effective in any situation. That’s why UTA also operates a computerized carpool matching service to help commuters will work best in a particular situation. And we’ll team up to travel and cut down on traffic. to do the job. continue to provide the means, and to look for more and better ways For more information on Ridos‘hare or Van l‘oolitiq call 377-LIFT The old mining All that glitters isn‘t gold in Taxco. Mexico. It‘s silver. shops full of 100 town in the Sierra Madre Mountains boasts some jewelry, belt buckles and accessories made from the local lode. some help from the federal govern ment, ride sharing You see, UTA is a m Photo courtesy of Mextco Ministry of Touris van pooling. UT/_—_'_ |