Diving into the Mayan Underworld
After watching a DVD on the Mayan Underworld about the cenote freshwater cave systems, some of us decided to spend our long weekend in Tulum and experience them for ourselves. We teamed up with Adam & Ela from Cave Heaven in Tulum who had been kind enough to come down to base the week before to give us a talk about the Cenotes.
The first cenote, Temple of Doom, involved a 3 metre giant stride entry into the dark pool below. It was our first experience of diving in freshwater and it took a while to adjust our buoyancy. After a few minutes though we managed to get the hang of it and just enjoy the wonderful place we were in. This cenote has a halocline, and passing from the saltwater to fresh and back again was a unique experience with our surroundings blurring and coming back into focus again. The surrounding rock was very dark and the light from our torches made strange and eerie shadows around us.
The second dive, Gran Cenote, felt very different. Initially much brighter and more open, it gave way to bright white rock formations with stalactites and stalagmites stretching from floor to roof. On this dive we were never far from daylight, and the sunlight through the water gave an unearthly blue-green glow. The water was so clear that at times it felt that we were floating in air as you could see everything so clearly.
After the dives we were all totally exhilarated and I would highly recommend this diving experience to anyone that comes to Mexico. I am certain that another trip to Tulum can be expected soon to explore more of these wonderful phenomenons.
The first cenote, Temple of Doom, involved a 3 metre giant stride entry into the dark pool below. It was our first experience of diving in freshwater and it took a while to adjust our buoyancy. After a few minutes though we managed to get the hang of it and just enjoy the wonderful place we were in. This cenote has a halocline, and passing from the saltwater to fresh and back again was a unique experience with our surroundings blurring and coming back into focus again. The surrounding rock was very dark and the light from our torches made strange and eerie shadows around us.
The second dive, Gran Cenote, felt very different. Initially much brighter and more open, it gave way to bright white rock formations with stalactites and stalagmites stretching from floor to roof. On this dive we were never far from daylight, and the sunlight through the water gave an unearthly blue-green glow. The water was so clear that at times it felt that we were floating in air as you could see everything so clearly.
After the dives we were all totally exhilarated and I would highly recommend this diving experience to anyone that comes to Mexico. I am certain that another trip to Tulum can be expected soon to explore more of these wonderful phenomenons.
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