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n a quiet little town in the suburbs of Cartagena in southern Spain, Cueva del Agua - meaning Cave of the Water - resurges literally on the edge of the main road through Isla Plana and is one of the most-popular and most-accessible sinkholes in Europe. This quaint little spot in the driest, warmest and sunniest region of Murcia has been my destination for the last five years where I dive and teach cave courses. The structure of this cave is similar to cenotes normally found in Mexico, where sinkholes in the ground naturally filled with water, or have water flowing through it. Originally the word ‘cenote’ was used by the native Mayans in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, which they pronounced ‘seh-noht’, meaning ‘sacred well’. When the Spanish settlers came to Mexico in 1519, they interpreted the word as ‘seh-note’. Over the years, the pronunciation has been better known as ‘cenote’ by people around the world. The Spanish terminology for this type of sinkhole has been used around the world and here in Spain for this cave. Cueva del Agua was formed in a geological Karst terrain, but unlike most solution caves where the colder water flow comes from the high mountains in these areas, extraordinarily, this cave is hypogenically and geothermally heated to 29.5 degrees C throughout the year, except for the first 6m of fresh drainage water from rainfall. As the water flows from the mountains, possible ancient seismic faults in the deep underground terrain cause this water to be heated and driven by hydrostatic pressure upward to the surface, where it meets the fresh/sweet-water halocline, before it goes out to sea. The water table has never been low enough here for speleological formations like stalactites and stalagmites to evolve, however due to the abundance and composite nature of the minerals and ores within the cave, she reveals some pretty stunning colours.
Dive teams from all over the world arrive here throughout the year, usually in drysuits based on the dive times they intend to make. Parking isn’t ample, so it does mean getting there early doors and be cautious leaving anything around. Once you’ve rigged up your tanks, sidemount here being marginally preferred, the ‘steps’ down to the water consist of small secure boulders modified by local teams to make life a bit easier, so take care, or you could use the pulley system left there by the Spanish exploration team. Fernando Gázquez, José María Calaforra, Tomás Rodríguez-Estrella, Andrés Ros, José L. Llamusí and Juan Sánchez are members of that original exploration team, some of whom I’ve met over the years, which was an honour. It’s hard not to notice on the left-hand wall of the entrance there are two plaques, always decorated with flowers, in honour of three experienced recreational divers who didn’t make it back home to their families. Kitting up in this crescent-moon-shaped pool is a doddle ample surface light means buddy checks and final plans can all be made without any difficulties.
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Rock faces are covered in stunning fern-like calcite deposits which are extremely delicate, especially to exhaust bubbles from the open circuit diver 70
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