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Jamaican Caving Notes |
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Apr 4, 2004 ROTA SINK Position: WGS84 - 18 21' 09.8" N, 77 47' 56.3" W, +/- 10m Field notes: MARK BELLINGER Cavers: R. S. Stewart, G. van Rentergem, I. C. Conolley, M. Taylor, M. Bellinger. Time in: 11:30 EST, Time out: 16:30 EST THREAT VULNERABILITY: High This set of caves will probably be one of my favorites. It was kind of like going into a wonderland of caves. We started first with Peterkin, which led to Rota and then, sort of, led to the Rota Sink. The caves were wet and required a fair bit of slogging and swimming. We brought our life vests. The ultimate was swimming thru the Rota Sink. I think I had the best method. Instead of grappling to the sides of the large open pools, I just hopped in and paddled across. With the vest, you can keep your head above the water and easily float-paddle your way across. When we came to the end of the route, we were presented with two large 'tubes'. The one I went down could only be described as a drainage tube. The tube as maybe 10 feet across and was coated in a thick layer of fine mud and rock. It spiraled down and choked with boulders. A lot of water flows thru this pipe... We saw some really interesting cauliflower-like formation. We saw a bunch of crayfish and some neat spiders (Harp?) which hung single, sticky strands silk to catch its prey. I wish I had my camera! Soon... |
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