Cancun Dive Report

[UP4AIR]

I have just returned from my first trip to Cancun. Aside from all the "other " things to do while in mexico, I did two days in the Cenotes with Manta Divers.

I called ahead of leaving to Mexico and set up the trip with Manta Divers. I stayed at Mayan Palace which is about 30 miles or so south of Cancun. This was bad for diving the ocean dives in Cancun, but good for doing the cenote dives. Mimi, the owner of Manta, was excellant in assisting me with travel to Cancun if I wanted to dive the ocean. In the end I chose to do only the cenotes. The leader of the dives was Lief. He was a very capable dive guide and put everyone at ease with his wit and abilities. Let me say that if you go to Cancun and want to dive the cenotes, call Manta and ask to go with Lief. The cost of a 2 tank dive,with transportation, and lunch at a local hangout in Playa Del Carmen(paid for by Manta...except the cervezas) was 141.00 USD.

The first day we went to Tajma-Jal. The site is in the middle of the jungle and has no amenities..if you know what I mean. There were some basic steps down to the entrance but it was steep and one needs to be careful walking down to the site. Once in the water we had our safety briefing and began our dive. If anyone wonders, Lief will bring anyone out at anytime if you decide that the dive is not for you...kinda a wierd feeling for some with no surface. I was amazed at the distance between surface openings. I would say the average was between 6-7 min. The water temp was avg 75 on my computer. We did our dives just as a certified cave diver would..in 1/3's. The dive lasted approx 40min and most everyone returned with around 1200-1500 psi(I know thats not 1/3,but the rules applied).The avg depth was around 18ft with the deepest portion being 42ft. I have an HID light which I was not going to take due to fear of the airlines loosing it,but in the end I decided what the heck. Man! am I gald I took it! It was awesome and way better than a small handheld. The water is clear beyond 150ft, and the halocline is a sight to behold, one of the most fascinating things I have ever seen. When the sunlight beams in the opening ,its like a laser show into the water. Lots of stalagmites/stalagtites everywhere. We surfaced into a cave at one portion of the dive, and watched some bats flutter about. On the second dive we entered and went off on another direction and explored a different area from our first dive.

On my second day of diving we went to Chac-mool. The dive site was a little better organized here, but still only the basics. I liked this site a little better than the first because I thought it had a little better light shows at the openings. It also had great formations and fossils in the walls and cielings from ocean creatures of years ago.

I didn't make it to the ocean other than a short snorkle trip which was good in and of itself,but I wasn't disappointed one bit. I know that the cenotes won't be for everyone but for me it was truly one of the highlights of my diving experiences. If you get the chance to go...give it a shot...you won't be sorry!

Feel free to send me a personal message if you want more details or with questions. I'll do my best to answer them.

 

[vieque]

Nice report! Can you provide any web links? Did you have to do much research before deciding which DO to use there? What about being cave-certified, do you have to be to make these dives? Im planning on a trip to Playa del Carmen this summer and plan to mix the Cenotes and Cozumel in the week that I'll be there.

I have an HID light which I was not going to take due to fear of the airlines loosing it

Maybe you should buy insurance for the equipment (www.equipmentprotection.com or www.h2oinsurance.com)

Can you point out the differences between the 2 places you went? (location, accessability, price, etc)

thanks!

vieque

 

[yak]

...kinda a wierd feeling for some with no surface. I was amazed at the distance between surface openings.

I was under the impression that in cavern diving, you never lost view of the ambient light of the cavern. What you did sounds more like cave diving???

I was searching around for links on the subject, and found this basic information, http://playadelcarmeninfo.com/playa-del-carmen-info-cenote-overview.html but for someone who's planning a cenote dive in April, I'm interested in the views of the tech/cave divers on the board.

 

[UP4AIR]

I chose Manta Divers at the advice of others on this board. There are other DO's avail and you can find them by doing a search on the board here or on Google. Try (www.mantadivers.com). You do not have to be cave or cavern certified to do the dives , however unless you are certified in one or the other you MUST use a guide for the dive. The price for the two dives was the same, and the locations were not that far from one another. The dive sites ,as well as the other cenotes, I believe are all located on private land and require an entrance fee to access the site(mine was paid by Manta Divers). Thew sites are as I said in the middle of the jungle with no amenities at the site.
I too was under the impression that when cavern diving one was always in sight of the ambient light. That was not the case on these dives. I don't believe that we were ever very far from an opening, but there was certainly times that the only light source was that coming from my light. I did not find that I was claustrophobic at any point in the dive however and found the whole experience one of if not the most thrilling thus far in my dive experience.
You may also find more info on Aquaworlds website regarding the cenote dives

 

[yak]

Thanks for the update. I also posted in the cave diver section of the Tek area and got some good feedback there too.

 

[texangal]

It sounds like you had a great time. Was it just you and the guide? Does the guide wear tek gear, doubles, etc. for safety? How tight were the swim thrus?

 

[UP4AIR]

The swim throughs are well within the limits of any open water diver. The first dive included the guide and 5 others and the second day included the guide ,myself,and one other. The guide has a full tec rig including a set of doubles.