Smmcdonald
Mexico
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Nº60
Date: 2015-08-07 - 15:43
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Max Depth: 12.1m Duration: 42mins
Dive Location
- Surface interval:33 mins
- Temp: Surf 31°C Bottom 25°C
- Dive type : Recreational, Cavern
- Visibility: Excellent Water: Fresh
Specific gear used
- BCD: Scubapro - Nighthawk
- Camera: GoPro - Hero3+
- Computer: Scubapro - Luna
- Fins: Scubapro - Twin Jet
- Mask: Genesis - Panview
- Regulator: Scubapro - AIR2
- Regulator: Scubapro - MK21/S560
- Wet suit: Henderson - 3mm
- Weights: 4.5 kg
Dive reviews
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| Dive difficulty | ||
| Marine life quality |
Recent Divers in Cenotes
Recent Pictures in Cenotes
Dive Shop & Buddies
Dive with Mario Pacheco from Dive Aventuras
Dive buddies:
Jennifer McDonald
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Dive Profile
- 1. Air
- 10L Aluminium 207 → 88 bar
- Average depth: 5.7m
Data provided by EOL.org
Species Identified
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If our first Cenote dive experience was outstanding, this one was phenomenal! Elle decided that she would sit this one out, and it was probably a good call on her part. A bit darker over all, with more swim throughs and surprises, this dive took us to the next level of cenote diving without getting into the technical realm of cave diving. We entered "Chak Mool" from another cenote called "Little Brother". The two entrances are located at opposite ends of a very large underwater cavern/room. (Little Brother is the same cenote we used to don our wetsuits and get acclimated before diving Kukulkan earlier in the day). Swimming along the route of these paired cenotes, we entered a lot of dark areas where very little light from the entrances penetrated. Though never further than 300' or so from either, it seemed at times we were far away from being able to surface. This, along with the darkness, made Jen a bit uneasy I think. I loved it, but I could definitely see how divers easily get turned around in caves and even caverns like this one. I would have had a different feeling had we not been with an experienced dive guide! (Mario has 20+ years of cave diving experience, most of which are in these very cenotes.) The highlight was surfacing in a dark room with a large air pocket where there were thousands of small stalactites forming from the ceiling. Small tree roots branched out across the ceiling while large ones plunged though openings and into the water. There was little to no light, as the roots seemed to fill the voids completely. (I caught a little of this on camera, but probably not well as my flashlight does not have a broad pattern.) The original plan was to surface, check our air and general comfort, then go back down and head to another part of the cenote. Jen expressed that though she's glad she did the dive, and thought it a good experience, she was not comfortable in the darker areas and swim-throughs. Mario understood, so he took us to Chak Mool where we swam around in the lighter area while he filmed us. At one point, I surfaced to take a quick look around. It's a beautiful cenote, but I can understand why Mario prefers to enter at Little Brother. The water in this cenote is a bit more murky with a very thin layer of detritus on the surface. On one end of Chak Mool entrance, maybe 10 to 15 feet below the surface lies the entrance to a large cave. This was an off-limits area to non-cave divers, of course, but nonetheless, Jen later expressed concern that we were going to go off in that direction! After swimming around a bit, we headed back to the Little Brother. Cutting straight across, it was then I noticed how close the two entrances actually were: you could clearly see one from the other at this angle! We were never far from either, but meandering through the crevices sure made it feel that way at times!
Like with the first dive, at times I forgot I was under water! The only areas where clarity was an issue was in the halocline where the fresh and salt waters mixed. It was stirred up a bit, perhaps from the morning crowd (we were in this cenote alone, as far as I could tell). As soon as you got crossed into salt water, the temp rose and vis declined to a wavy blur. Very surreal! In the clear fresh water, it would catch me by surprise now and then when I would notice something "fly" by my mask just a few feet in front of me. I would turn my light on and it would be a small fish--a little reminder of where we were! Mario again pointed out a few formations, including a large stalactite, several crevices and entrances to caves filled with columns, a large fossil brain coral and a fossil spiraled shell.
Another great experience that I hope to duplicate again some day! Mario assured me there are several more cenotes (10 or so) in the area that we could do without being cave certified. Definitely worth a return trip!
Note: Being too heavy last time, I shed 2 lbs. I was still too heavy. I think I could have dove with 6 lbs considering the 80's and wet suit, and fresh water with no current.