In January, 1/7/ 2017, John Mattox continued his travels for free diving in Cuba at the Bahia de Cochinos, which is directly south of the National Park, Zapata Swamp.
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John took this photo on 1/11/2017, looking west across the Bay of Pigs from its Eastern Shore, about half way between Playa Larga and Playa Girón.
These certified scuba divers are about to undertake a shore dive to potentially 30 meters depth. They will tour the top of a marine Wall (described below) and will visit a fishing boat sitting upright (and intact) in about 20 meters of water as they return.
I found a water temperature of about 26 C. Visibility of at least 30 meters, and nice coral and fish! And, I saw absolutely no boats on the surface of any type during my shore diving north of Playa Girón. I also understand the sea is often very calm there – note how calm the waves are in this photo.
There are spectacular marine Walls paralleling both shores of the Bay of Pigs. At the site photographed above, the Wall begins about 200 meters off shore, and its top is about 20 meters deep. This Wall is clearly apparent in the upper left of this photo. It causes the abrupt transition in the color of the sea from azure near the shore (over a ~5 meter deep sand bottom), to naval blue beyond (over 500 meters of water!).
This Wall drops off nearly vertically, with an average slope in excess of ~50 degrees. At its bottom is a 500 meter deep canyon floor which extends to a mirror-image Wall on the western shore of the Bay of Pigs.
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The folks in the diving industry there spoke little english – and I spoke little Spanish. They seemed to know at least a little bit about free diving. And they were friendly. But it was hard to do anything with them other than what their scuba and snorkel customers normally did.
Notwithstanding, I very much enjoyed an abundance of free diving in this region – diving from shore four times – at four different sites – all beautiful! The photo above was taken at the site where I spent my fourth and last day free diving in Cuba, 1/11/17, where I first did scuba diving (to a depth of ~25 meters) and then after 20 minutes onshore, free diving (to a depth of ~25 meters).
Being essentially alone, I did not go deeper than a depth at which I was completely comfortable (being essentially alone – and also in touch with the fact that I had no access to oxygen prior to my ascent to the surface). I was perhaps 25 meters deep – not sure – I did not bring a depth gauge!
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My first shore dive (on scuba) on 1/6/17, was at Punta Perdiz.
This photo shows me entering the sea using a passage carved in limestone at the shore. The Wall is again apparent near the horizon, ~200 meters off-shore.
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After an espresso (there is a restaurant on the bank of this cenote), I went free diving here, in the Cueva de los peces. I’m shown below, taking a few minutes to “breath up” for a free dive to ~20 meters.
This body of water is a flooded limestone sinkhole (cenote in Spanish). More than 15 of these are to be found along a 40 km long line on the eastern shore of the Bay of Pigs, parallel to the sea Wall described above – I understand they may result from shear force this Wall produces due to gravity). They are typically several hundred meters inland from the shore. I was told that this cenote is 57 meters deep – I did not try to free dive this deep – without support from other divers! I found excellent visibility, in fresh water to about 8 m depth, and also below this in salt water. I observed very interesting optical phenomenon while crossing this halocline from both sides. I learned on 1/10, that from above, a point source of light located beneath the halocline appears to be spread over ~2 degrees due to turbulence at the halocline boundry.
There were marine fish in this cenote. I’m told there are narrow passages between this cenote and the ocean that are impossible for humans to swim through. However, I suspect that these marine fish were recently trapped in the sea and transported in-land.
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My second day of free diving in this region, 1/7/17, was at Calenta Buena – the CIA’s tertiary landing site for the Bay of Pigs invasion. This photo shows me headed toward the sea for a free dive there.
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This photo shows me (the black dot on the right) headed toward the exit of Calenta Buena (at the extreme right of the photo); and the Wall (~200 meters beyond).
I was not able to equalize the pressure across my right ear drum (during attempted descent) out there by myself. I think this occurred because I was nervous – perhaps because I have not yet been there on scuba. I experienced much better ear function during a second dive after lunch, but dove only ~15 meters deep.
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On 1/8, I was first scuba diving in the sea off shore of Cueva de los peces, and then free diving (with the fins and weight belt provided for scuba) again in this wonderful Cenote.
On 1/10, I was scuba diving in another Cenote near Playa Girón. I think this cave might be a fabulous venue for free diving training! I did more free diving afterward off shore at Cueva de los peces. I was pleased to scuba dive with Tony, one of several scuba/snorkel operators in this region. His phone is +53 – 53417297.
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Tony operates a fleet of antique American cars to provide transportation for his divers.
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A billboard on the highway at the entrance to Playa Giron.
Viva la Revolution!
