You know those photos on Instagram that don’t look real? The white sands and turquoise ocean, or the perfect sunset from a mountain top. They must be photoshopped to look like that. And that’s what I thought of the cenotes. The famous caverns and caves in the Yucatán peninsula were once dry, allowing stalactites and stalagmites to form and providing homes for humans and animals some thousands of years ago. Now that the water level has risen, the thousands of cenotes provide a playground for scuba divers. And those photos of light streaming in beams through the water? Well it looks even better than Instagram. Read on for my experience with Dive Tulum.
The town of Tulum isn’t really my usual kind of destination. The beach (which I never saw) is lined with resorts and the town is full of souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. But it was certainly worth enduring the sunburnt drunk people to experience the diving. There are dive sites to both the north and south of the town, my guide Gisela and my dive buddies and I headed north to an area with several cenotes called Dos Ojos. We bounced down the dusty road in the kit-loaded truck to peer into the depths of our first dive - El Pit. Access to this deep dive is down a tall wooden staircase. Once in the water, the first amazing thing was the visibility. No tides, currents or sand to muddy the waters. Having said that, quite soon in our descent to 30 metres, there’s a patch of hydrogen sulfide, making the water all blurry, an interesting phenomenon to encounter. Continuing down and we had to make use of our torches. The formations from when the caves were dry are fascinating. I especially enjoyed being able to see the lights of other divers from a distance. It really gave a sense of perspective in this huge cavern. The Instagram moment happened on our gradual ascent. On turning back towards the surface, the sunlight was streaming through the opening. Bright blue beams intersecting the dark blue water with tiny little divers underneath to give perspective to this beautiful image. Wow.
The town of Tulum isn’t really my usual kind of destination. The beach (which I never saw) is lined with resorts and the town is full of souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. But it was certainly worth enduring the sunburnt drunk people to experience the diving. There are dive sites to both the north and south of the town, my guide Gisela and my dive buddies and I headed north to an area with several cenotes called Dos Ojos. We bounced down the dusty road in the kit-loaded truck to peer into the depths of our first dive - El Pit. Access to this deep dive is down a tall wooden staircase. Once in the water, the first amazing thing was the visibility. No tides, currents or sand to muddy the waters. Having said that, quite soon in our descent to 30 metres, there’s a patch of hydrogen sulfide, making the water all blurry, an interesting phenomenon to encounter. Continuing down and we had to make use of our torches. The formations from when the caves were dry are fascinating. I especially enjoyed being able to see the lights of other divers from a distance. It really gave a sense of perspective in this huge cavern. The Instagram moment happened on our gradual ascent. On turning back towards the surface, the sunlight was streaming through the opening. Bright blue beams intersecting the dark blue water with tiny little divers underneath to give perspective to this beautiful image. Wow.
The second and third dives were at Dos Ojos - Two Eyes, so called because the two cenotes are connected by a series of shallow tunnels and channels. There are two routes which involve manoeuvring through small spaces - a test of buoyancy skills. It felt really adventurous. Torches out to peak into the dark crevices, not knowing what would be around the next corner. The final dive including surfacing in the bat cave. Looking up at the dozing bats from the surface of the water was unreal. With just a small opening that the bats use - divers have unique access to this special place. Again the contrast of light and dark created a wonderful scene of dark rock formations backlit by the light blue of the water near the surface.
Gisela was an excellent guide. She knows the cenotes and their history like they’re her back garden. Thanks Gisela and Dive Tulum for a fantastic introduction to the cenotes and to cavern diving. I can’t wait to come back for more.
Have you dived any other cenotes? What did you think? Comment below.
Gisela was an excellent guide. She knows the cenotes and their history like they’re her back garden. Thanks Gisela and Dive Tulum for a fantastic introduction to the cenotes and to cavern diving. I can’t wait to come back for more.
Have you dived any other cenotes? What did you think? Comment below.
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