Scuba Diving in Cenotes

Imagine yourself in a different world, with the noise all gone and the hustle and bustle of modern day fading away into a distant memory.  Floating weightless within a cave, using only your legs to propel you as you look at all of the wonders illuminated with beams of light.  This is cavern diving in a cenote and the beauty is unimaginable. ​

Take SCUBA diving, which is already amazing, put it in crystal-clear water with an endless array of cave formations and you get an unbelievable experience.  We first thought of cavern diving when we decided to go to the Yucatan Peninsula, because there is no other place in the world that you can dive in rainwater-filled caves.  Just yesterday while we were going swimming in El Jarden de Eden cenote, we saw people SCUBA diving in the cenote, and later that day Mom and I signed up for a two dive trip to Cenote Dos Ojos which is world-renowned for its incredible clarity and beauty.  The next day we hopped into Jose’s truck, our guide for the SCUBA trip, so he could brief us on diving in cenotes.  Dad and Ethan followed us in another car so we could stay at Dos Ojos after the dives were finished and snorkel.  Even though the cenote is famous, it is not commercialized and the Mayan family who own the property have made it into an eco-friendly park allowing everyone to enjoy the cenote.

Our first dive was in the left ‘eye’ of the cenote which would last around fifty minutes (by the way, ‘dos ojos’ in Spanish means ‘two eyes’).  Once Mom and I went through the laborious tasks of putting on the wetsuits, got all of our SCUBA gear on, and headed down to the entrance of the cenote, Dad took a couple of photos and Ethan, Mom, and I all jumped into the water.  I was so exited to start the experience and it felt so incredible to be back in all the gear and starting to dive again.  After checking my equipment, I let Ethan try breathing under water with it and he said that he loved it!  My hope is to get him hooked so he can get his PADI certification in the coming years.  When our guide swam over we said bye to Dad and Ethan, deflated our BCDs (buoyancy control devices) and headed down into the Mayan Underworld. 

Our dive into the ‘left eye’ was awesome!  We got into our formation - Jose, me, Mom -, found the guideline, turned on our flashlights and headed off into the darkness.  It was a truly different feeling then anything else, using your flashlight to guide you through the cave, and watching other divers’ flashlights dance around.  My best memories from the first dive were seeing Dad and Ethan snorkeling above us when we were nearing an underwater tunnel that led back to the entrance.  I found it awesome to know that we were having incredibly different experiences, but enjoying the same cenote.  I loved looking at the sunlight illuminate the water as its beams reached down into the depths of the cenote and making the water gleam a rich shade of turquoise blue.  Of course, you have to love navigating through the passageways of the cavern, and going around the formations that seem to be sitting there waiting for people to enjoy them.  

After the dive while Mom and I were warming up in the sun, we both agreed that we totally loved it and that we really felt like we were away from the world.  While some people’s descriptions of cavern diving painted a picture that you would be swimming in the center of a ‘C’, a mere meter from open water, during our dive we really felt secluded and away from the open water.  At some points we were swimming behind huge sections of limestone, completely enclosed in a cave for minutes at a time.  During the first dive, it took a while for me to get used to the fact that Mom and I were in a totally different world, but right from the start of our second dive, the cenote felt like my home (even though we don’t have a home this year!!)

Our second dive was by far the best dive I have ever done.  We headed over to the same entry point, jumped in, and were immediately cold.  Once we became submerged the cold was forgotten and we were took on a whirlwind of adventures.  Perhaps my favorite part of the dive was when we went through a completely submerged 30 meter cavernous tunnel which led down to the bottom of the other portion of the cenote.  Arriving at the other side, we were 8 meters under clueless swimmers above us.  It made me appreciate the difference of diving while watching them splash above us happy and excited, while we were below in a whole different experience.  Looking up, I felt in a different world, one of silence and bubbles. 

Next we came into another chamber were there were magnificent stalactites, stalagmites, and columns, some as thin as pencils and others wider than me.  Mom and I swam up and over rocks shining our flashlights around, revealing secret wonders.  Again looking up, I followed our bubbles as they floated and got trapped in the ceiling, forming pockets of air.  Off in the distance I saw other lucky divers going through the same awe-inspiring experience while they illuminated distant parts of the cavern. 
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I loved looking at each individual stalactite and stalagmite, and seeing the curves of perfection designed to delight the eye.  

My favorite thing to do was to take my flashlight from the ceiling of the cave and move it slowly down to have it illuminate different formations until the beam faded off into the depths.  While the distance of the formations got increasingly farther, it revealed cave decorations in new, mesmerizing shades of blue.

At one point our attention got torn away from the wonders of the caves, because Jose told us rise to the surface.  We resurfaced into what is known as the bat cave.  We pumped up our BCD’s and followed Jose over to where the ceiling was a couple feet above the water.  Jose then pointed out some stalactites that were forming because of the water seeping through cracks in the limestone and entering the cave.  Since the floor was covered in water the formation of the stalagmites go dormant, but when sea levels change due to global warming or cooling, so does the water level in the cenotes because almost all cenotes are connected by a network of subterranean rivers which together determine which cave formations will grow and which ones will be covered in water.  As our gazes scrolled across the ceiling, we spotted cute bats that were nesting among nooks and crannies.  The species of bat that dwelled in the cave were fruit bats, which are very tiny and cute.  Since at some parts the ceiling is so close to the water, we were able to see tiny features of the bats such as their nose, eyes, ears, and feet.  The only natural light in the cave was from a hole in the ceiling a foot wider than a manhole, and it cast a beautiful glow into the water.  After a couple of minutes, Jose, Mom and I sunk down into the water and continued on our journey.  It felt like just a minute had passed when we rounded a corner and saw the incredible turquoise blue water that meant we were near the exit point.  I started swimming slowly towards the bottom of the cave, and stayed there for a minute trying to remember every part of the experience.

While I thought the adventure was over, I was wrong!  Later on, while my family and I were eating lunch, an iguana was chased out of a tree by another iguana, landed on me, slid down my back, and then skittered off!! It was the weirdest feeling ever.  I heard a noise, looked up, and saw something falling towards me.  Then I felt this scratchy scaly weight land on my back, squirm around and fall off.  Meanwhile, I jumped about five feet into the air, spun around, landed, and saw the two-foot iguana that had landed on my back run away from me.  A pretty crazy ending to a breathtaking day.