Tulum and the Incredible Cenotes

May 9 - 12

Tulum is a small town on the Yucatan Peninsula, about an hour south of Playa del Carmen and two hours south of Cancun.  It's on what's known as the Mayan Riviera.  I chose the place because of the cenotes (more later) and because I had absolutely no desire for the large cities and mega hotels of Cancun or Playa del Carmen.

I was looking to stay in a cabaña on the beach.  Unfortunately the first one that I liked had no water-front property available so I ended up at a place called Zazil-Kin, a Mayan word that undoubtedly means "great bar but lousy, hot, cabanas with no view and no air".  One night was enough.  Fortunately, a great (it's all relative, right) room had opened up at Playa Condessa: a reasonably bare room but with it's own bathroom and a terrace right on the ocean.  Perfect.

The main reason I went to Tulum was the cenotes.  The entire Yucatan Peninsula is a honeycomb of underground caves and rivers.  Cenote is a Mayan word that means "sacred well", and they not only provided water but were considered places where Chaac, god of the rain, lived.  In fact, they are really places where the roofs of the cave system have collapsed allowing access to the underground rivers and caves. I had seen an article describing this as one of the 10 best places in the world to snorkel.  I, however, wanted a "deeper" experience, so looked for someone to take me scuba diving.

You really have to know what you're doing to dive in these caves.  I'm a very experienced diver, but have very limited cave experience. Fortunately, my guide was excellent.  And as it was just the two of us diving we had a great, uncrowded experience.  

"Burgee" is a 59 year old Brit who is a retired British navy diver.  He was really well equipped for caves and very careful.  We had backup systems to the backup systems and he was very strict about following the safety rules, which made me feel better (especially on the first dive).  

I probably shouldn't write this, but three people had died two weeks earlier in the caves.  However, evidently they violated just about every rule of cave diving:  They went off the guide-lines, they hadn't checked their equipment (the guide had a faulty pressure gauge), they didn't follow the "one-third in, one-third out, one-third for backup" air rule, etc.  It's tragic, but it really makes everyone else very aware of proper protocols and the importance of following the rules.  Anyway, I was glad I had a good guide and felt very safe.  But definitely not a dive for beginners! 

The first dive was to 140 feet in a cenote called "The Pit".  To get to the water you have to go down a steep staircase (with your tanks), but this is a great improvement... until last year you had to jump! The first 30 feet are fresh water, then there is a layer of very poor visibility where the fresh meets the salt water.  It's not opaque, but it's like looking through a mixture of oil and water.  Then at about 90 feet there is a layer of hydrogen sulfide from rotting vegetation that sinks to this level because of the specific gravity of the chemicals.  This is like swimming through milk.  The caves branch off all around.  Needless to say, we didn't go into the cave system (just caverns where you could still see at least some light).  At one point (about 95 feet) we went back through the chemical layer and it was completely disorienting.  I couldn't see the guide's light.  This is where the difference between an experienced and non-experienced diver comes in.  It was a little scary, but I just told myself "OK, just freeze for a minute.  Worst case situation is that you can follow your bubbles up in the general direction of the light".  Anyway, we found each other after less than a minute and we had a nice gradual dive as we ascended. 

 

The second dive was in a cenote callede Dos Ojos (Two Eyes), because there are two entrances.  It was shallow, with a maximum depth of 30 feet.  We dove through an extensive cave system that is well marked with ropes.  Throughout the system there are large rooms with stalactites and stalagmites.  It's all crystal clear water.  It is incredibly beautiful.  There is almost no life in the cenotes except for a few very small fish.  There is no plant life because there is no light.

All in all, it was quite an experience and well worth the effort!