HOME
North
America
Catalina
Island
San
Diego
Central
America
Belize
Honduras
Panama
Mexico
Cabo San Lucas
Cancun
Cenotes/ Caverns
Cozumel
La Paz
Playa Del Carmen
Pacific
Islands
Hawaii
Tahiti
Australia
Gt.
Barrier Reef
Caribbean
Aruba
Barbados
Asia
Thailand
|
The caverns are suitable for novice divers: my buddy was fine with only 15 dives under his weight belt, but some of the caverns are easier than others:
Chac Mool is the one recommended for less experienced divers; Dos Ojos for those comfortable with more darkness & tighter spaces.
Inside the caverns, it's another world. Actually it was more like being in outer space, flying inches above a varied, unusual rocky terrain, with tunnels &
stalactite/ stalagmite formations. In the large open caverns, the sun often shone through the impossibly clear water: a sunny day is definitely best for this dive! Periodically,
you'll enter a heliocline: where fresh & salt water mix, causing a strange blurring effect as you swim through it.
Our dive company arranged for a videographer, Edgar Gonzales to accompany us, as I'd flooded my
camera on a previous dive with them; unexpected & very gracious. Edgar's video (which I edited down to about 4 minutes), shows what you're likely to expect during these different aspects of the 2 very different dives that we did at this spot.
Chac Mool Cenotes Dive Video (9 MB)
Staying in Cancun meant more transit time to the Cenotes. If you're planning on a lot of dives, I'd consider staying in Playa Carmen instead - it's now a decent size, quaint, modern
town with restaurants, shops & provides ~30 minute access to both Cozumel & the Cenotes!
That would avoid ~2 hours (round trip) transit time, though the dive organizers kept us amused, entertained & educated during the drive.
While using a smaller outfit meant a personalized service,
it also meant a bit more preparation time: stopping off to pick up tanks (Manta doesn't yet have a compressor). However, they provided us with an excellent lunch at a local restaurant, not just a banana & sandwich while leaning against the van
that seemed standard fare for other operations' clients. This made for a great overall experience, on top of the incredible dives.
|

Got Video?
Budget videography
Getting ready
Shooting video
Lights..Action!
Hollywood at Home!
Great Video Tips
|