Do you need to be a certified cave diver to dive Nohoch Nah Chich or can you be AOW? Also does anyone have a recommendation for a company to dive this cenote? Thanks!
Diving Nohoch Nah Chich - Need cave certification?
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OP
Thought I better clarify...
I am not suggesting I wish to follow lines without cave certification. I was just wondering if there is enough open cavern area to explore via diving or if it is just 'snorkel or cave dive'?
Also I have been looking at a lot of cenotes on you tube and am wondering why my husband and I would pay a guide several hundreds of dollars. We are responsible enough to not head down the dark tunnel, we just want to check out the cavern areas. Is there any reason why we should not just get some tanks and go ourselves? Maybe this is a naive question, but that's why I'm posting! Thanks!
I am not suggesting I wish to follow lines without cave certification. I was just wondering if there is enough open cavern area to explore via diving or if it is just 'snorkel or cave dive'?
Also I have been looking at a lot of cenotes on you tube and am wondering why my husband and I would pay a guide several hundreds of dollars. We are responsible enough to not head down the dark tunnel, we just want to check out the cavern areas. Is there any reason why we should not just get some tanks and go ourselves? Maybe this is a naive question, but that's why I'm posting! Thanks!
I believe Alltournative Tours runs cavern tours at NoHoch.
robint
Contributor
you aren't allowed to "explore" so much as you are following lines that are already set in the caverns/caves. There is a reason for this, it is preservation of the very delicate structures!
Contact Nicholas at http://www.cenotexperience.com.mx/
he is a great guide and can give you all the information you are looking for. We used him back in March for one day at the cenotes.
See my trip report here: http://www.rnrscuba.net/2009Yucatan/Cenotes.html
Spratman
Contributor
Are you both trained for emergencies in overhead environments? Do you know the cave system well enough to venture out on your own? Do you both have redundant and necessary equipment?
You pay a guide for the above reasons. Also, "technically" you should never enter an overhead environ without a certification/training to do so. However, there are many ops that will take you in the 150ft max. I can tell you there is plenty to see within that 150ft.
On the other hand, no one is going to stop you from schlepping into a cenote. No law against it except common sense.
When I was down a couple of weeks ago, I fully intended to do a set of cenotes. But my vacation budget was busted by the price increases at the resort. $150 for two dives, plus tank rentals, van ride, experienced guide. While I am not a full cave diver, if I were, I would still pay a local expert for the trips.
My $.02. Dive safe!
OP
You both have very good points! Perhaps my perception of what cenotes are is incorrect. I looked at photos and had the impression they were basically fresh water ponds, you go in and look around at the stalactites, stalagmites, relics, marine life and that was it. If someone wanted to (with cave certification) then they can head down the rope tunnels. I figured diving around a pond at 30/40 ft would be fine for AOW.
Perhaps since it is the first time we best just hire someone. Thanks everyone!
Perhaps since it is the first time we best just hire someone. Thanks everyone!
Cenotes are cave systems. the word cenote is a bad phonetic translation of tz'onot (spaniards were to busy killing the mayans to learn the language). If you were to attempt diving them on your own, without being cave certified, several things may happen.
1) you go into the actual cave, get lost, and possibly drown.
2) if your gas management skills aren't very good, you can run out of air, and since this is an overhead environment (a ceiling, so no direct access to surface), you may drown.
3)the landowners may not let you into their property in the first place without a proper cave certification (I know I've been asked to show proof by landowners who didn't know me).
4) you could accidentally damage lines, get entangled, etc, causing damage to yourself, the system, and possibly other divers who may be inside.
So hire a guide if you want to dive them.
Alltournative Tours does snorkeling tours of NaHoch. I have been there several times and have never seen divers in the water other than cave divers, of which I am one. I have seen open water divers, with guides, in the other cenotes in the area, Gran Cenote, Dos Ojos, etc.
deborahdelamar
Contributor
If you can afford it, a cenote dive is a great experience. The formations are beautiful, sometimes there are fossils or bones or pottery shards to remind you of how ancient these "sacred wells" are. The water is so clear that you hardly know it's there. And there aren't many places in the world where a non-certified cavern or cave diver can do this and the Yucatan is one of those rare places where one can.
The Yucatan has no above-ground rivers, so all groundwater flows underneath the surface. This is a bit oversimplified, but here goes: Most of the cenotes were formed by roof collapses at points along the underground waterways. Some have large, rocky pools that are nice for snorkeling and swimming. Follow the water upstream or downstream into the earth and that's where the caverns and caves containing the formations are.
A guide leading a resort cenote dive should thoroughly brief you about the special nature and requirements of the dive. He is limited to four divers, so it's a very intimate experience. Enjoy the beauty!
The Yucatan has no above-ground rivers, so all groundwater flows underneath the surface. This is a bit oversimplified, but here goes: Most of the cenotes were formed by roof collapses at points along the underground waterways. Some have large, rocky pools that are nice for snorkeling and swimming. Follow the water upstream or downstream into the earth and that's where the caverns and caves containing the formations are.
A guide leading a resort cenote dive should thoroughly brief you about the special nature and requirements of the dive. He is limited to four divers, so it's a very intimate experience. Enjoy the beauty!
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OP
OK everyone, thanks for all the suggestions. I contacted all the companies everyone listed, as well as a few others recommended to me. Far and away I felt the most confident with Nicolas's response. I am in the process of working it out via email with him. Thanks!
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