The final project I joined during my time in Sardinia took me to a cave I hadn’t explored much before—Cala Luna. Unlike the more frequently visited systems, Cala Luna remained something of a mystery to me until after I completed my Cave 2 certification. It quickly became one of the most interesting caves I’d worked in—and not for the reasons I expected.
The original plan for this project was ambitious. The teams had three primary tasks:
- Inspect and re-lay the existing guideline, which had been damaged over time
- Draw the cave’s plan for better accuracy
- Video-document the passages for use by cartographers and survey teams
Unfortunately, not all plans worked out. The initial plan for line replacement required more favorable conditions and the assigned team could not continue, due to high concentration of hydrogen sulfide. I was committed with another team deeper in the cave and took on the other major task: drawing the cave plan.
As someone with a Master’s degree in art and a background in art direction, I thought, “How hard can it be?” Well… I was in for a surprise. Drawing a cave plan underwater while scuba diving turned out to be one of the most mentally challenging things I’ve ever done. It wasn’t the physical act of drawing—it was the focus, the spatial awareness, the pressure of getting it right while still being a diver first.
At one point, I had to repeat the same section of the cave three days in a row because I kept getting it wrong. That was frustrating—but also motivating. The harder it got, the more I loved it. I'm someone who can get bored if I don’t have a task or purpose underwater, even in a beautiful cave. This project gave me a reason to look at the cave differently. Suddenly, I wasn’t just swimming through it—I was interpreting it, breaking it down, trying to translate a 3D environment into a 2D drawing.
And that’s no easy feat. Imagine trying to draw a cave from a top-down perspective… while you're inside it. It’s disorienting. Every small decision took time and mental effort. A single meter of cave line could take me five minutes to map. All while keeping an eye on gas, depth, time, and maintaining good trim buoyancy and position—because this was still a fragile cave system, and my drawing never came before safety.
I used to joke with myself underwater, imagining how much easier this would be if I had a sofa down there to sit and draw in peace. But of course, that’s not how it works. This was real, hands-on, project diving at its most demanding and rewarding.
I wasn’t alone. My dive buddy during this task was filming the cave passages behind me—not for beauty shots, but for reference. The footage would help the cartographers better understand the cave structure and cross-check my drawings. For a couple of days, we were joined by a third diver tasked with drawing the cave profile—which was no easy job either. Some sections of the passage were so tall that he had to ascend far above the line just to understand how high certain features extended.
Why This Project Mattered
Cala Luna was full of surprises. It might not be the most famous cave in Sardinia, but it became one of my favorites. And this project forced me to look at it all differently. It deepened my love for cave cartography—a subject I’ve always been fascinated by. While others get excited about high-tech mapping, for me, the act of drawing a cave by hand was already exciting enough.
I didn’t film much during this project—I was too focused, too mentally occupied, and too invested in the task. But I did capture a few clips and interviews, which I hope to share soon in a small behind-the-scenes video about this experience.
What I Learned
This project taught me to respect the complexity of underwater mapping—and the patience and persistence it demands. It reminded me how rewarding it is to dive with purpose, even when things don’t go as planned. And most of all, it showed me how much more there is to learn in a field I already love deeply.
I hope this is just the beginning of my journey with cave mapping—and that more challenges like this are waiting down the line (pun intended).
