Diversity Diving, Mexico

Stein

23/12/15 at 10:17

First Cenote dive ever. I had read the reviews and tips from other divers on the web. But at the end, did not know what to expect. As we started the drive from the dive shop (about 35 min), and since I was the only diver in this trip Nando (a local celebrity) the DM asked me what I wanted to see. I told him I was interested in taking some pictures and have heard about cenotes like dos ojos. At the end he decided for Chac Mool since it is a better location for pictures and the weather conditions promised good lighting. The briefing was very thorough in terms of what to expect, safety, water conditions and the kind of experience the cenote diving would be. I know it is not considered cave diving for most people, but for me, this was my first dive in a completely enclosed environment. Cenote water is mostly fresh water edging on the cold side but there are places where salt and fresh water mix and the effect can be clearly identified since the visibility conditions abruptly change. It is like spreading some Vaseline in the mask! Water was colder that I expected but he 6mm wetsuit kept me very comfortable. I learned about the rule of thirds that cave divers use: 1 third of gas to go down, 1 third of gas to dive/explore, 1 third of gas to surface. Cenotes are not full of marine live, but that does not affect how breathtaking this dive was, the cave decorations (stalactites and stalagmites) the amazing underwater lighting effects and the unlimited visibility made this dive one of the best experiences ever. I managed to take some great pictures and learn a lot of a natural environment that can only be found in this region.