Cenotes - Dos Ojos and More
Ok- so the vacation gods were especially kind and dropped a two weeker in my lap. We loaded up the Subaru (dont see too many of them in these parts) and drove from Mexico City to the Yucatan. Cancun, Coz and PDC seem a bit too crowded for our tastes, so we beat feet back to our old stomping grounds Xcalak. We did Banco Chinchorro and local diving and it was great and I will post a report but while there we started asking about Cenotes and the fellas at XTC (our dive shop in Xcalak) have a buddy that used to work down there that now does cenotes. They hooked us up and this report will cover our two days of diving in the Cenotes around Tulum and Akumal.
Before moving on the disclaimers we arent affiliated with any dive shop, anywhere. We love to dive and if this dive report helps someone great. We strongly suggest you do your own research anyone who blindly takes the word of an anonymous couple on a message board aint too bright in our book.
We dove with Luis and Charlotte of AQUACAVES : Diving Plongée Buceo - Mexico Mexique Yucatan - Cenotes - Cavern Caverne Caverna - Speleo - Cave - Grotte - Cueva - Diving - Plongée - Buceo. They speak fluent Spanish, French, and English. We could NOT be happier with the service provided by them. After discussing our dive experience with Luis (we both have +300 dives but almost exclusively salt water), he suggested we start with The Pit, followed by The Bat Cave. I should mention, at this point we only had one day of Cenote diving planned because we wanted to stop at Palenque and check out the ruins. But after the first day we figured Screw it, the ruins have been there for 1500 years, well check them out sooner or later. Actually we did stop and see them but only for 4 hours and that was plenty. Some guide books suggest a few days there??? Gimme a friggin break theyre AWESOME, we got there at 0800, saw everything we wanted to see twice - and we were swimming at the waterfalls at Misol-Ha by lunch time. Guess you can see where our priorities are! But I digress the Cenotes.
Day 1, Dive 1 The Pit. The pit is part of the LARGE Dos Ojos system. Its more of a deep dive profile than a cavern dive. Its a brutal 4wd road (path?) to the entrance or an even more brutal hike in. You lower your inflated gear on a rope and scramble down after it. We started the dive at 1006, my computer registered 80 degrees F (but it runs hot, I think), dive time lasted 46 minutes with a maximum depth of 130 feet (and not an inch deeper, thats my story and Im sticking to it). Highlights include a Hydrogen Sulfate cloud that creates a false bottom, halocline, bones and skeletal remains from 12000 years ago all of which I failed miserably at documenting with my camera. We managed to avoid decompression time and we also avoided swallowing large quantities of water as our jaws continually dropped open at the sheer magnitude and beauty of the place.
Day1, Dive 2 The Bat Cave. More of a traditional cavern dive, with heavy traffic line laid (You simply follow the line and you end up at the starting location of the dive, you never have to double back). This was another awesome dive. We entered the water at 1153; dive time was 50 minutes with a maximum depth of 33 feet. Again, my computer registered 80F. The way the surface light is refracted by the water and the incredible visibility make for some amazing and ethereal visualizations. About the only complaint I can come up with is the waters too clear you take a picture of some stalactites and youd think you were in Carlsbad or Skyline caverns.
Bonus Day
Day 2, Dive 1 Chac Mol For day two we headed north of Akumal for two more dives. We entered the water in Chac Mol at 0949, the dive lasted 57 minutes, with a maximum depth of 47 feet. Again my computer registered 80 degrees F. There were some haloclines here and amazing angles of light on this dive.
Day2, Dive 2 Ponderosa- I meant to ask where this name came from but forgot the sign also calls it garden of eden and that seems more fitting. We entered the water at 1145, dive lasted 61 minutes, with a maximum depth of 45 feet. My computer registered, you guessed it, 80 degrees, but there were some haloclines that felt like the water was superheated which wasnt altogether unpleasant, until you passed it and then the water temp dropped back to normal, which felt freezing!
Some general observations The viz is amazing! Except for the pit, you observe the rule of thirds 1/3 of your gas going, 1/3 for returning, and a 1/3 in reserve, but, again, except for the pit, they are shallow dives, so if you have your air consumption down, you can last a long time. This stuff is completely addicting!!!! We dont hold any cavern or cave certifications but we could certainly imagine getting more and more into it. Finally, the photos dont begin to do it justice. Go Cenote diving, itll be some of the most memorable diving youve done! Luis and Charlotte (and Ruben) have a shop right at Dos Ojos or visit their website. You wont find better guides!
Ok- so the vacation gods were especially kind and dropped a two weeker in my lap. We loaded up the Subaru (dont see too many of them in these parts) and drove from Mexico City to the Yucatan. Cancun, Coz and PDC seem a bit too crowded for our tastes, so we beat feet back to our old stomping grounds Xcalak. We did Banco Chinchorro and local diving and it was great and I will post a report but while there we started asking about Cenotes and the fellas at XTC (our dive shop in Xcalak) have a buddy that used to work down there that now does cenotes. They hooked us up and this report will cover our two days of diving in the Cenotes around Tulum and Akumal.
Before moving on the disclaimers we arent affiliated with any dive shop, anywhere. We love to dive and if this dive report helps someone great. We strongly suggest you do your own research anyone who blindly takes the word of an anonymous couple on a message board aint too bright in our book.
We dove with Luis and Charlotte of AQUACAVES : Diving Plongée Buceo - Mexico Mexique Yucatan - Cenotes - Cavern Caverne Caverna - Speleo - Cave - Grotte - Cueva - Diving - Plongée - Buceo. They speak fluent Spanish, French, and English. We could NOT be happier with the service provided by them. After discussing our dive experience with Luis (we both have +300 dives but almost exclusively salt water), he suggested we start with The Pit, followed by The Bat Cave. I should mention, at this point we only had one day of Cenote diving planned because we wanted to stop at Palenque and check out the ruins. But after the first day we figured Screw it, the ruins have been there for 1500 years, well check them out sooner or later. Actually we did stop and see them but only for 4 hours and that was plenty. Some guide books suggest a few days there??? Gimme a friggin break theyre AWESOME, we got there at 0800, saw everything we wanted to see twice - and we were swimming at the waterfalls at Misol-Ha by lunch time. Guess you can see where our priorities are! But I digress the Cenotes.
Day 1, Dive 1 The Pit. The pit is part of the LARGE Dos Ojos system. Its more of a deep dive profile than a cavern dive. Its a brutal 4wd road (path?) to the entrance or an even more brutal hike in. You lower your inflated gear on a rope and scramble down after it. We started the dive at 1006, my computer registered 80 degrees F (but it runs hot, I think), dive time lasted 46 minutes with a maximum depth of 130 feet (and not an inch deeper, thats my story and Im sticking to it). Highlights include a Hydrogen Sulfate cloud that creates a false bottom, halocline, bones and skeletal remains from 12000 years ago all of which I failed miserably at documenting with my camera. We managed to avoid decompression time and we also avoided swallowing large quantities of water as our jaws continually dropped open at the sheer magnitude and beauty of the place.
Day1, Dive 2 The Bat Cave. More of a traditional cavern dive, with heavy traffic line laid (You simply follow the line and you end up at the starting location of the dive, you never have to double back). This was another awesome dive. We entered the water at 1153; dive time was 50 minutes with a maximum depth of 33 feet. Again, my computer registered 80F. The way the surface light is refracted by the water and the incredible visibility make for some amazing and ethereal visualizations. About the only complaint I can come up with is the waters too clear you take a picture of some stalactites and youd think you were in Carlsbad or Skyline caverns.
Bonus Day
Day 2, Dive 1 Chac Mol For day two we headed north of Akumal for two more dives. We entered the water in Chac Mol at 0949, the dive lasted 57 minutes, with a maximum depth of 47 feet. Again my computer registered 80 degrees F. There were some haloclines here and amazing angles of light on this dive.
Day2, Dive 2 Ponderosa- I meant to ask where this name came from but forgot the sign also calls it garden of eden and that seems more fitting. We entered the water at 1145, dive lasted 61 minutes, with a maximum depth of 45 feet. My computer registered, you guessed it, 80 degrees, but there were some haloclines that felt like the water was superheated which wasnt altogether unpleasant, until you passed it and then the water temp dropped back to normal, which felt freezing!
Some general observations The viz is amazing! Except for the pit, you observe the rule of thirds 1/3 of your gas going, 1/3 for returning, and a 1/3 in reserve, but, again, except for the pit, they are shallow dives, so if you have your air consumption down, you can last a long time. This stuff is completely addicting!!!! We dont hold any cavern or cave certifications but we could certainly imagine getting more and more into it. Finally, the photos dont begin to do it justice. Go Cenote diving, itll be some of the most memorable diving youve done! Luis and Charlotte (and Ruben) have a shop right at Dos Ojos or visit their website. You wont find better guides!
