Changes

This weekend divers from Serbia visited us. I called a friend who can organized dives to them so they were able to see the flooded mines of Kőbánya and Várpalota. We invited our guests to have a lunch and we discussed diving possibilities in Hungary.

When I thought about this I realized how many things changed during the last decade- the period since I dive regularly. In the past many dive clubs went to the lake of Budakalasz but it isn't recognized as a dive spot now. The lake of Csepel is similar than it was 10 years ago. They made dive centers near Kiskunlacháza and Pilismarót but both of them were closed after one season. In Kiskunlacháza everything was perfect, the facilities, the attractions (they sank a plane for wreck lovers!) but the visibility. I knew I reached the plane in the murky water when I touched its hard metal surface. The dive center in the lake near Dorog moved from one side to the opposite and a few years later they built a second one- at the old dive site.

There are many spectacular caves for experienced divers but in this moment the most famous ones, the Molnár János and Hévíz are forbidden to dive. There are recently opened sites, the two mentioned flooded mine for example. And there is a very new dive site in Tata called Fényes forrás: in the 1960's it was a popular dive site but later the spring dried and the lakes disappeared. A few years ago when they closed the mines in the area the water started to flow again and it's possible to dive in all year round 22-23 Celsius degrees warm water. Hopefully someday I can dive it.

What's my conclusion? In only ten years they closed and opened dive sites, in a relatively small country. Those who don't know my country maybe surprised but for me it's way too typical. Here nothing is that simple. Divers, bikers, climbers and everybody else experienced the "excitement" when heard about the changing rules. I don't know why it has to be so difficult, but it seems it's the part of the game: diving is not only fun...