Beginner question about cenotes...

[Kryssa]

This might seem like a silly question, but when you dive a cenote, is there air above the water? Can you swim up at any time? And are you expected to go through tight areas?

The husband and I are trying to figure out if this is something we want to do on our upcoming trip to Mexico. Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[TSandM]

No, you don't always (or even often) have air overhead. These are truly cavern dives, so you are in the water and under the rock. But you don't go through any tight areas.

Although I adore the cenote dives, and think everyone who is remotely interested in them should do them at some point, I do not recommend them for novice divers. I think you need excellent buoyancy control and some degree of good trim, as well as to have had enough experience to know how you react to stress during a dive. Finding out that a flooded mask makes you panic is not something to learn when you are in an overhead environment

 

[Kryssa]

Thanks for the info... I'm not the type of diver who can have fun when I'm anxious, so maybe cenotes will have to wait for the next trip

 

[lthomas132]

I did 2 dives at Dos Ojos cenote last month as my first cenote dive ever. Buoyancy needs to be maintained always. I was somewhat apprehensive about not having sunshine above me before we dove but overcame it easily with a great instructor. The PADI rule of never being over 130' from an air surface is always honored when you are only OW certified and not cave certified. It's a different kind of diving, beautiful tites and mites along with gorgeous colors in the caverns with a sun opening. Check out Bahia Divers (Dive Center in Riviera Maya - Xpu Ha specialized in cenotes and private groups, Mayan Riviera , Mexico), they will only send you with a certified cave diving instructor, like Dario, an Italian guy. I do want to do it again!

 

[aquaregia]

I've got an even sillier cenote question: You only need OW to dive them? I don't speak Spanish, but I thought cenote meant cave. Or is it an overhang or not-quite-a-cavern or something?

 

[Peter Guy]

I thought cenote meant cave. Or is it an overhang or not-quite-a-cavern or something?

Although I actually can't remember the exact translation for "cenote" suffice it to say, the "cenote" is merely a hole in the ground with water in it and it can be quite small or quite large. BUT, when people talk about "cenote diving" they are NOT talking about diving in the "hole in the ground" but, instead, the "cave" which is accessed through that "hole in the ground."

In cave diving, people have defined the "cavern zone" as that area WITHIN THE CAVE where you can still see daylight (note, there are many formal definitions, but for this discussion, this should suffice). Thus, when you dive in "the cavern" you are DIVING IN THE CAVE -- that is, you are in an overhead environment, i.e., there is no direct access to the "big air tank in the sky."

So, in summary, when you do a "Cenote Dive" you are diving in a cave but, in theory, can always see daylight from the entrance/exit (and yes, I'm writing "in theory"!). People who have only an Open Water Cert (i.e., the basic scuba training) can be led on a Cenote Tour by a guide under the current rules of good diving within the Yucatan. But those of us who go to play/dive the caves, really hope that people will be reasonable in their evaluation of their diving skills and only those who have, in fact, mastered to a significant degree, their buoyancy control and trim, will take these tours.

They are, in fact, fabulous experiences and my first one changed my diving path forever.

 

[zamburinha]

I've got an even sillier cenote question: You only need OW to dive them? I don't speak Spanish, but I thought cenote meant cave. Or is it an overhang or not-quite-a-cavern or something?

Cenote means "sinkhole", they are collapsed sections of underground cave systems. The "cenote" provides the access to the cave system. Cenote dives are conducted for people that just have an OW certification but, regardless of whether an operator is willing to take you I would consider the following if you want to go:

1. Do you have good buoyancy control? The cenotes are not tight, but you do need to be able to turn in a confined space and maintain your position in the water column to within 6-8 feet.
2. Have you done a few night dives? Although in the cenotes there is some natural light leaking in, it can get very dark. If you get apprehensive in night dives I would not recommend a cenote dive.
3. Do you have a tendency to surface when you have a problem? If that is the case, cenotes are not appropriate, as most of the time there is solid rock above the water.

Having said that, if you think the above list is not a problem, the cenotes are absolutely stunningly beautiful and are highly recommended. Look carefully for the operator that will take you (sorry I have no particular suggestion) and u take your own lights ... and I mean lightS, as in more than one. Do not share lights between buddys or make compromisses there. You are inside the beginning of a cave, and your light is the most efficient way to communicate any problem to your buddy or the guide.

 

[TSandM]

You are not supposed to dive in overhead environments with an OW cert. But there is an entire industry of doing these tours in the Yucatan. The sites are fairly carefully chosen to minimize problems (large passages, minimal silt) and there is a set of rules that the tour operators are supposed to respect, which include no more than four divers per guide, everyone with lights, and the guide must be Full Cave, at least an OWSI, and dive in full cave gear. Those rules are NOT followed by all operators, though; I have seen some scary things in the caves, including excess ratios and divers without lights.

I think they are fabulous dives, and I think they're well within the means of many moderately experienced divers. But I will say and have said that I don't think beginners have any business doing them, both for their own safety and for the well-being of the caves. Every piece of rock you break off by hitting it took thousands of years to grow, and won't be replaced until the caves are dry again.

 

[aquaregia]

Cheers guys. I think I'll do a cavern class first; I'm sort of a scaredy cat when it comes to being led on stuff, even though none of zamburinha's three points are an issue for me.

 

[Tool Belt]

Did cenotes with Tank Ha out of Playa. They did adhere to no more than 4 divers per guide. There were only two of us that morning. Tank Ha gets there early, we were done before the crowds arrived. The DM had double tanks, was breathing off a LONG hose ( if you need air take THIS one as we know it works) and was very conscientious. Ask for Ivan.