Expedition News

Cavers’ farewell – with champagne, candle light, songs and... panic

Today the last cavers from Lithuanian team have left the country and started their trip to the western Caucasus. Most of the Lithuanian team is already in Adler, but they will have to wait for a while – the minibus with food and equipment was stuck on Latvian – Russian border for the whole day.

“The mood before the trip can be described in two words: global panic,” – half jokingly, half seriously said one of the participants and organizers of the expedition Gintautas Švedas. He and few other members of expedition today are taking a flight to Adler, where they will join the rest of the team.

Although the expedition has just started, cavers have already experienced a wide range of emotions from euphoria to despair.

Photographer of the expedition Artūras Artiušenka was surprised by his colleagues, who have secretly made a farewell party with candles, champagne, fancy dishes, songs, many hugs and kisses.

“The journey has started with euphoria. My colleagues from “Adform” have made an unforgettable present: on the meadow just in front of our working place they have set a table with candles, fancy dishes and champagne. I have received really nice gifts, a lot of hugs and kisses. I still hear their songs and guitar music in my head and each time I remember the party it makes me smile. I expected that few people are going to come to say goodbye to me, but I couldn’t even imagine anything like that, – said Artūras Artiušenka. – Such things usually do not happen in a real life”.

However, according to Artūras, the euphoria disappeared when the minibus carrying food and equipment got seriously stuck on Latvian – Russian border for the whole day.

“The weight of our minibus proved to be higher than required, so the car was stuck on the border and thoroughly tested. It was a serious threat to the expedition which could have ended even before the start. Fortunately, we managed to get rid of few less important items and distribute the load weight in a way that it would meet the requirements. We truly carry a lot of stuff – 110kg of bread and 136kg of cheese alone, for example. However, before charging the minibus we have weighted every box and bag, so deviation from the norm could not have been very high,” – explained Artūras Artiušenka.

Currently, a minibus, carrying about one and a half tons of baggage (food, equipment, household goods, etc.), is moving towards Adler, where all members of the expedition will meet and start their adventure.

Lithuanian expedition "Towards the Center of the Earth" 2012 is a part of the project "The Call of the Abyss", organized by the Ukrainian Association of Speleology (UkrSA).