Belize Cave Diving Society

29/09/2026

21/08/2026

Sharks are older than trees.

Not older than some trees. Older than trees.

Sharks have been in the water, recognisably shark-shaped and doing the shark job, for something in the region of 450 million years. The first things worth calling trees, with wood and proper root systems, turn up around 385 million years ago.

That is a gap of sixty-five million years, which is near enough the entire distance between the last dinosaur and this afternoon.

They have also come through all five mass extinctions. Including the one at the end of the Permian, which removed roughly four marine species in every five, and did not remove them.

Now, I will save you the trouble, because I know what is coming. Yes, "sharks" covers an enormous spread of animals across that time, and no, the ones out there this morning are not the Devonian ones. The lineage still predates wood.

Go on, then.

02/04/2026

An awesome read for divers.

Military and tech CCR veteran Paul Haynes takes us for a deep dive into the workings of various counterlung designs.

30/10/2024

See the latest updated version of map of the cave below Caye Caulker officially called Giant Cave. Did you know that we have discovered pottery below the island? Map generated and illustrated by Jason Richards with photos by Shannon Mick Micallef and the legendary Becky Kagan Schott- Underwater Photographer

09/05/2024

04/04/2024

Ear Care: Ensure clear ears before diving to ease equalization during descent. Avoid the discomfort of pressure issues and potential ear damage by preemptively addressing ear health.

21/12/2023

26/07/2023

Incredible recognition for an incredible diver

Great to share Episode #87 Arielle Ginsberg - Belize Cave Exploration, brought to you by our sponsor XDEEP and the patrons of Speaking Sidemount.

I recently picked up a Facebook post by XDEEP describing the exploits of Arielle Ginsberg. Arielle is a founding member of the Belize Cave Diving Society and is its first female member. The project sounded amazing but a shared post by Arielle's exploration partner Ben Popik really got my attention, I quote Ben...

"This is my badass cave diving partner and bestie Arielle getting the attention and praise she deserves!

In the photos below, you can see her bravely exploring just a couple of the many cenotes we've found together on Ambergris Caye. While I’m constantly talking about our cave diving explorations, I often leave out the part about how Arielle always goes in first (because she's way braver than I am and *marginally* less afraid of crocodiles). She’s easily one of the toughest people I know — weighing in at a mean 98 lbs

This is the first of many cave-diving accolades for Arielle, and I couldn't be prouder to be her teammate and friend!"

Now I'm not sure if it tops that, but I learned that Arielle is also a scientist… an immunologist, specializing in flow cytometry and bioinformatics and now, I just had to hear more, if only to learn what the hell flow cytometry really is :)

In this episode, Arielle and I discuss how she got into diving, and how she melds her scientific work with diving. Arielle shares on how she moved to Mexico, fell in love with the caves and was set on a path to become a cave diver. She tells us about her training and mentoring with Natalie Gibb of Under the Jungle who was of course my guest in Episodes 18 and 36… before we get into the fantastic exploration of Systema Paloma in Belize. We each share a heap of stories including a few on those moments in cave diving that let's politely say got us somewhat concerned, and we close with Arielle sharing on the support that they have received for the Systema Paloma project, and where they still need some help…

Enjoy, and thanks for your support :)!!

Image credit & thanks - Natalie Gibb

Enjoy, and please share 🙂

To Listen:
Apple Podcasts - https://goo.gl/RKN8uB
Download or Stream - https://goo.gl/fW8ZA4
Spotify - https://goo.gl/okUW2X
TuneIn - https://bit.ly/2vcoZtJ
Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/speakingsidemount

Thanks to:
Our Sponsor - XDEEP https://www.xdeep.eu
Our Guest - Arielle Ginsberg -
https://www.facebook.com/bzcavediving

To support the show, become a patron of Speaking Sidemount - go to - https://www.patreon.com/speakingsidemount

27/06/2023