The surprise in this blog post is in the title—I got to go diving on my last minute trip to the Gulf Coast! Who knew that an dirty Airbnb and a rainy day would lead to my first dive experience in over a year?

This is part 2 to my multi-part trip which was starting out a bit uncomfortably. I arrived at my Airbnb to find it only half cleaned in the middle of a global pandemic. I also saw that rain in the weather report for the next day. Both could have put a real damper on my plans and my spirit. But they didn’t!

I managed to turn a piece of coal into a polished gem! It just took demanding what I wanted and not letting circumstances hold me back.

From Risky to Refund

You never know when a negative is going to turn into a positive. The first part of my trip involved two of these transformations.

If you recall from my last post, I showed up to a half cleaned Airbnb late at night. I immediately contacted the owner via the Airbnb app. He was very responsive and contacted the property manager to come assist.

I waited inside the apartment on the couch. The space was nothing luxurious. I knew when I booked that it was just a simple place to sleep, make a meal, and shower. It was attached to the rest of the house but with a separate entrance—I didn’t want to have to interact with anyone if I could help it. But I felt dirty sitting there waiting next to my bags looking around the unfinished room.

Suddenly an older woman comes up to the screened in door in a pink nightgown, slippers, and no mask. She was standing there about 10 feet from me. “Hi I’m so sorry I was letting the bed cover dry and you weren’t on my schedule to come tonight!

I thought this was weird since I’ve never had an Airbnb host mix up my days for arrival. She was standing there with the bed cover in her arms, ready to come in. “I can come in and make up the bed and then finish tomorrow?” I told her she didn’t need to do that since I brought my own linens but that I did want her to clean now.

She hesitated seeing me there in my mask. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t wear a mask!”

I could see the woman was clearly apologetic and flustered. I felt bad. “It’s ok, I’ll just go out and sit in my car and you can do your thing.” She kept standing there in the doorway and I stood up but she just kept standing there blocking my way. I finally said “Sorry, I’m just trying to be socially distant.” She kept holding the door open for me politely.

I held my breath and squeezed by her to get out to my car. As I watched her cleaning I realized she was cleaning without a mask and gloves, touching everything she just cleaned. This was not the enhanced clean option I thought I was getting through Airbnb!

A distorted view from my car of the woman cleaning the partment without gloves or mask — A distorted view from my car of the woman cleaning the apartment without gloves or mask

I messaged the owner again through the app and said, “She’s in there without a mask on and no gloves. I’m not comfortable.” He offered me a refund and I accepted. When she came outside she apologized again, I asked her if she wouldn’t mind going back in with mask and gloves to once over the whole place again. She complied.

By 11:30pm, the woman finished and I felt comfy enough to settle into the place. I was happy to get the refund—I got about $140 back.

A Rainy Reinvestment

I decided to let myself sleep in the next day. It’d been a while since I really slept in without anything on my agenda. I knew it would be a rainy day and all the outdoor activities would be awash.

I was feeling a little bummed the next morning. The start to my trip was already not the best. I kept reminding myself that at least I got the refund to make that better. Now what would I do to make the weather better? Was there anything I could do in this pandemic during a day-long rainstorm?

I chose this area because I was supposed to go to Devil’s Den Springs that day. It was the furthest North point on my trip and the plan was to spend the rest of the trip heading further and further South.

I was determined not to let this day go to waste. I looked at a few photos of Devil’s Den online and decided—“ah hell, why don’t I just go!” I figured the springs were underground in a cave—I could take an umbrella and head down to see it. I didn’t need sunshine for this! Maybe I’d even snorkel a bit if it wasn’t too chilly.

Devil’s Den is North of Ocala and South of Gainesville in the rural town of Williston. The drive took about 20 minutes. When I arrived, the first thing I noticed was the sign out front. The sign had a red flag with a white horizontal stripe on it.

Chapter one of my training on Koh Tao taught me what that flag means—SCUBA diving! But where? Was this a mistake?

I knew there was snorkeling here. I saw that in some online photos. As I drove in, I saw people unloading dive gear from the back of their trucks. The rain was pouring down as people wandered around in wet suits.

I walked through a wooden pathway that led to an open area with covered awnings. A building ahead was wide open and inside there was a long desk with rows and rows of wet suits, BCDs, fins and more dive gear.

“Is there diving here?” The guy behind the Plexiglas window confirmed. Apparently the company that owns Devil’s Den is a dive training center! This spot was recommended to me by two people who are not certified divers so I had no idea. “Who knew?!” I exclaimed.

The dive center worker handed me a card to call a dive buddy for hire. Chuck was his name and he’d been diving Devil’s Den and other springs in the area for over 30 years! When I asked Chuck his fee over the phone, he explained that with the equipment hire and 1 full tank dive would be $140 total. I laughed out loud.

And so that’s how my Airbnb money got reinvested into this totally unexpected and unique dive experience! Some experiences you don’t choose—they choose you.

Meeting Chuck

Following Chuck underwater in Devil’s Den

Chuck met me outside under a pavilion. I wore my mask and we stayed socially distant at the table as we sorted through our equipment.

I got to know Chuck a bit more as we geared up. We bonded over being upstate New Yorkers—he grew up in Watertown, New York. He served our country and worked as a diver for a Florida police department for many years.

Now he is a dive trainer and guide. He used to go on vacations with people as their dive guide before the pandemic. Now he dives locally at all of the springs and rivers in the area.

Chuck loves what he does.

He said he makes a few thousand dollars per month and gets to go diving with vacationers!

Devil’s Prehistoric Den

Chuck led me over to the top of Devil’s Den to go over the dive plan. I was immediately impressed as I peered for the first time down the hanging moss into this underground freshwater spring.

The dissolving of rocks over time that formed a kind of sinkhole created the opening to the underground cave system. The result is a karst (e.g., limestone) window of light that beams through the collapsed roof of the cave.

Chuck talked about how animals that fell into the hole over many years produced a layer of bones at the bottom. Animal and human remains dating back to approximately 7,500 BC were recovered from the cave’s inner passages. The remains can be seen at the University of Florida’s museum.

He explained the cave as an upside down mushroom. The entrance at the top is the stem and then the space balloons out about 120 feet wide across the water’s surface. Passageways and cave systems shoot out from the main chamber.

The depths reach about 54 feet. This was perfect for how far down my Olympus could go. I knew I couldn’t go deeper than 15 meters. I did not bring my dive housing for the camera on this trip because who knew I’d be diving?!

The cave is fed by a nearby freshwater spring that keeps at a year-round temperature of 72 degrees. This is cold, by Floridian standards, but feels like a perfect cool swimming pool in a New York summer.

Diving A Freshwater Cave

Chuck and I went down the cement stairs that turned into metal stairs attached to a metal platform in the waters below. The platform is submerged so that the water comes up past the ankles as you are preparing to dive.

There were a few snorkelers on the platform and in the water when we got down there. There were also a few other divers in the water. It seems others had the same idea for me. Rain? Who cares about rain when you’re wet inside a cave anyway!

Before getting in the water, Chuck reminded me that “If I can fit, you can fit.” He explained that some of the passageways we were about to go into might seem small. But he is a pretty husky dude. So if I ever doubted the width of a hole—and I did have my doubts at times—I reminded myself that Chuck just went through and I’d be fine.

I was so excited! I went diving from a boat into a sea cave in Niue. I also went diving catacombs last year. But I never went diving directly into a cave from land.

This was also my first ever freshwater dive. I enjoyed jumping in the water and tasting the freshness right away. Looking down below the surface, I was already impressed with the great visibility. I could easily see 50 feet straight to the bottom except that certain parts got dark.

Like, really dark. I had a dive flashlight to help see in these darker parts of the cave.

There were a few fish to see right away in the main chamber closest to the platform and snorkelers. Other than these fish, I did not spot any other marine life in the cave. Some divers say turtles show up from time to time but I didn’t see any.

We descended and I followed chuck around the outer edge of the main chamber. After one lap, he led me into tighter passageways. Some of these passageways went further down below the main chamber and alongside it.

Some parts were blocked off. Metal cages blocked some of the spots and signs warned divers from entering certain areas. Chuck made sure I had a good look at these signs. They definitely got the message across!

I really appreciate Chuck letting me go first through some of the swim-throughs. I loved squeezing through the shoots and tunnels around the cave.

We stayed under exploring every crevice of the cave for about an hour. Then it was time to resurface. By then, the cold finally got to me and I was shivering.

We emerged from the water as some snorkelers were coming down the stairs. As we waited, I stayed back to continue creating distance. Up above, the light beamed through onto the aqua water below. So pretty!

Back above ground, I felt so happy that I tried something new and made the best of a rainy day.

Tips For Visiting Devil’s Den

During COVID-19, keep in mind that people are snorkeling and diving here. Therefore, most people are walking around without masks on and they aren’t wearing them down in the cave.

People were respectful of me, however. I walked around with my mask on and people kept their distance. There is good airflow down in the cave, too. Everything is outside and even the dive center felt open and airy with its doors and windows propped wide.

I kept all my valuables in the car and left only my towel and change of clothes on the table. There are no lockers to hold your stuff but I was able to give the office staff my keys to hold onto.

They don’t take reservations at Devil’s Den. The experience is first come, first served with divers receiving priority over snorkelers.

You can bring your own gear but you still have to pay ($24) and sign their liability waiver form. There are cameras at the entrance of the cave that monitor who goes in and out.

In Conclusion

I honestly don’t think I would have been so motivated to pay for the Devil’s Den dive without the Airbnb reimbursement. The reinvestment seemed the perfect thing to make up for the rainy day washout.

While it was just one dive and reminiscent of past dives, I never experienced anything quite like Devil’s Den before. I’m so glad I went!

Diving Devil’s Den: Florida’s Gulf Coast, Part 2