Diving Mexico's Hidden Underworld

 

The mystical depths of Mexico's Cenotes attract cave divers from around the world. Human remains, gold, jade and other clues to Mayan Civilization have been dredged up from the fresh, clear waters. These beautiful limestone sinkholes make up some of the largest underground networks in the world. Once a place where priests offered human sacrifices remains mythical as the gateway to the sacred underworld of the Mayans.

 

 

     Cenotes (Se-no-tes) are unique to the Tulum and Playa del Carmen region of Mexico's Tropical Mayan Riviera.

 

 

After 4 incredible days of diving the azure waters surrounding Cozumel.  Myself, Jack Storer, and Jim Gray set off to Playa del Carmen via ferry to meet our local cave diving guide, Dennis.

 

 

 

 

 

Dennis was born and raised in Alberta Canada, worked the Oil Rigs in Kazakstan Russia and has since settled in the Tulum area with his wife and young daughter.  Dennis is  one of the more highly sought after guides in the area and has logged more time underground in one year than most divers do in open water over a lifetime.  He owns and operates, Diablo Divers at the Adventura Resort, Tulum Mexico.

                              Being the only one in the group never to experience a dip into one the Cenote system, I will admit I had my reservations.  Couple that angst with knowing we will be hiking into the jungle with 100 lbs of gear in what seemed to be the hottest place on earth. .I began to wonder what I was doing here.

 

After we paid off the local landowner,  we drove the 6 mile journey into the densest piece of real estate I ever traveled.

 

Along the way, our guide gave us an in depth historical perspective of the places we would visit, the Mayan Culture, vegetation and animal concerns, the massive system itself and just how little they really know of the vast underground network that lay beneath us.

 

After our 40 minute lecture, Dennis volunteers to say the first dive we will be doing has only been dove a handful of times from this entry point since the trail was just cut out of the jungle a month or two prior to our visit.  As he put it to Jack "This dive will blow your mind"!  That was an understatement,,.

 

We pull off the narrow road as we had reached our destination as we thought,  Dennis points to a tree line ¾ mile away and tells us to get our gear ready for the hike in to :"The Pit".

 

Off we go hiking into the jungle with the only advice "Stay in the middle of the trail"  This area is well know to inhabit the fer de lance viper which can stop you in your tracks  Used to refer to it as Two step,,.  Considering we were hiking to the only source of fresh water in the area, our guide told us to keep our eyes wide open at all times and do not step off into the vegetation or you could be in a world of hurt.

 

 

We slowly make our way to the treeline and  there it is..  a 20 X 40 foot hole in the jungle floor  that looked like a stagnant  pollywog pond more than anything else..  Add to that, the water line is 20-25 feet below the jungle floor.

 

 

During our orientation, Dennis informs us we need to lower our gear into the hole and make a jump for it.

 

 

 

 

As he is telling us this, he points out the ring of wasp's nests that ring the hole as well as the vegetation that surrounds the hole.  Don't touch that, put your hands here, foot there, not there, etc..  Just then, a wasp stings him directly between the eyes,.he lets out a loud ouch!!!

 

 

We took inventory of our gear and began to lower it into this pollen covered hole in the ground.

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 Once we lowered the gear into the Pit, Dennis looks at me and gives me the thumbs up. Your in first!. 

 

"Whatever you do, don't drop your mask and fins while jumping in".  Little did I know until two seconds and counting that the water in the hole in front of me is 175 feet deep..  I gave it the proverbial  "here goes nothing" and off I go feet first into 72 degree fresh water that I welcomed after the searing heat in my wet suit several minutes before.

 

 

 

 

A quick bubble check and off we ascend into magnificence.

 

As we descend the water column, this small hole in the ground opened up to a massive underground chamber 80 -150 wide at points with water so clear, you would swear it was an air chamber..

 

 

 

 

We continued to explore The Pit with our guide.  20 feet became 40, 40 became 60, 60 became 100, 100 became 152 until we reached the top of the debris pile.  As the rainwater dissolved the limestone during the ice age, the ceiling would cave in and create a debris pile with tens of thousands of years worth of percolation..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we descend, we reach the halocline.  Halocline is the distinct band of water that separates the salt water on bottom from the fresh water on top&..  Where they meet, a distinct line appears in the water column and also displays a haze like appearance similar to that off the road in the hot summer months&.

 

 

Above the debris pile is a 20-25 foot band of white haze that hangs eerily at a standstill as a by product of the limestone being broken down by the bacteria.

 

Next looking to the sky, came the most amazing sight. 

 

At 150 below the surface, we could see the branches overhanging the hole at the jungle floor..  Water so clear it was amazing.

 

 

For over 40 minutes, we were blessed to go and see such a place of beauty, limestone stalagtites hanging 40-50-100 feet, limstone flows that appear to have frozen in place 

 

 

 

 

As we descend, Dennis points his high powered canister light and we were lucky to witness mastodon and human remains, mayan pottery and firepits that have been preserved for close to 8-10,000 years confirming that native Americans did in fact travel further south than originally thought..

 

 

 

 

Our second Ceynote dive sight was equally as impressive yet much more heavily traveled by other divers, etc  Our second site was called the Taj Mahal&&  Grand in its own way, yet did not have the same impact as the Pit..

 

My first trip to Mexico was incredible.  The people, the culture, the reception was nothing short of spectacular.. 

 

Flights to mexico.... cattle car .

 

All your luggage and dive gear ends up in Miami...typical..

                                                                                                                           

Diving a true international treasure...Priceless!

 

If your passion is diving the underworld, the Cenotes are one place you need to see.

 

 

Incredible photos by Jack Storer and Jim Gray