Dive Review of Bahamas Underground in
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Bahamas Underground: "Diving in Dali's Brain: Abaco's Crystal Caves with Brian Kakuk", Jun, 2021, by Kendall Raine, CA, US ( Reviewer 6 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 11543 has 2 Helpful votes.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations	N/A	Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This was a true bucket list trip. I dove with Brian Kakuk in Dan’s and Ralph’s Caves on Abaco in early June 2021. Having seen images of the mind blowing crystal cave formations (see May 2012 Nat Geo or Steve Bogaerts/HP Hartmann/Brian Kakuk’s videos of Glass Factory/Pan’s Labyrinth and others: [youtube.com link]), I booked five days with Brian as soon as it seemed vaccines would make travel a reasonable risk. He maintains a full exploration oriented facility in Marsh Harbor set up to support OC and CCR cave divers. Almost all diving is side mount. While Brian teaches cave diving in the Crystal Caves, most of his clients are either experienced amateur cave divers or professional photographers/videographers. Formed over successive rising and falling water levels across 350,000 years, the caves were untouched by the devastation of Hurricane Dorian (Cat 5) in September 2019. They are a geologic time capsule most recently flooded over 11,000 years ago. The caves are so extraordinarily beautiful sensory overload is almost constant as one formation exceeds the last in its stunning complexity and rarity. In 25 years of cave diving I’ve never had an experience like it. I felt like I was swimming in Dali’s brain. While many caves in Mexico are highly decorated and delicate, nothing compares to the “frozen rain” of the Crystal Caves with straw-thin translucent crystal stalactites which extend 20 feet in length, spaghetti-thin helictites and draperies so shear that finger prints can be seen through the rock. Whole sections of floor are covered in multifaceted crystal formations so delicate the crystal shapes sprout whiskers. Bat skeletons are preserved in calcite crystal and their bones litter the floor whence they’ve lain undisturbed for over 11,000 years. Rust colored sand, blown across the Atlantic from the Sahara Desert, forms layers of paint-like sediment. On my last day we visited Glass Factory, discovered and explored by Steve Bogaerts in 2006, which was like being inside in the world’s largest chandelier. Although some of the shallowest sections (45 ffw) are the most decorated, the majority of diving is below the halocline in the 75-150 foot range and every dive involved deco on 100% oxygen. Saw tooth profiles are common. Finger walking/pull-and-glide is SOP in the highly decorated parts. The water temperature was 72-74F and, moving slowly through lots of small cave on 120-150 minute run times, I got chilled wearing a 8/7 mm wetsuit. While diving dry would have helped that, Brian doesn’t take drysuit divers to certain parts of the cave because of the challenges of control (particularly feet) with drysuits. Brian is a guide in the truest sense, offering advice when asked but otherwise restricting himself to articulating points of interest or the best way to navigate a particular section with minimal damage. He cares deeply about the caves and the legacy of creation to which he is a passing custodian. Exploring the Bahamian caves is his life’s work. Brian has laid most of the line in Abaco’s Crystal Caves (as well as many other caves in the Bahamas) and has persuaded the Bahamian government to protect the caves by requiring that all dives be guided by a very short list of approved dive guides-he is the only guide living on Abaco. Those used to exploring/diving on their own may initially find this restriction offensive/expensive, but the extreme delicacy of the caves makes this form of conservation a thoughtful and sensible alternative to the open model prevalent in, say, Mexico and Florida. The Crystal Caves keep banging on my brain and I can’t wait to return. They are the Raja Ampat of cave diving. Brian’s customary instruction before each dive says it all: “Prepare to be amazed. Again.”
Websites	Bahamas Underground
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Fiji, Rangiroa, Morea, Huahini, Grand Cayman, Turks, Palau, Truk, Galapagos, Cocos, Cabos, California, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Tulum, Cozumel, Bali, Lake Superior, Raja Ampat, Belize, Roatan, Andros, Nassau, Abaco, Bonaire
Closest Airport	Marsh Harbor (MHH)	Getting There	LAX-MIA-MHH
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy, dry	Seas
Water Temp	72-74°F / 22-23°C	Wetsuit Thickness	8
Water Visibility	150-200 Ft/ 46-61 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	Guided cave diving
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals	N/A	Tropical Fish	N/A
Small Critters	N/A	Large Fish	N/A
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Bahamas Underground fully supports amateur and professional photographers/film makers.

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

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Dive Review of Bahamas Underground in Bahamas

Bahamas Underground: "Diving in Dali's Brain: Abaco's Crystal Caves with Brian Kakuk", Jun, 2021,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Bahamas Underground in
Bahamas