Topes and Cenotes, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

by Emma Faid

First impressions
I never expected to write an article about my trip to Mexico - mainly because I had planned it as a "non-diving holiday". However, the Trekamerica brochure had mentioned a 3-day stay at a beachside campsite with "snorkelling and scuba diving" as an optional activity. There was also an article in Dive just before the trip, all about cenote diving in the Yucatan. Accordingly I decided to find space in my rucksack for essential diving equipment (prescription mask, pink snorkel and Desmond the Dtimer), "just in case".

There was a mild panic on arriving at Cancun airport, to find my rucksack was missing; not an ideal start to a camping and trekking holiday! I was directed to the end of a queue that seemed to consist of everyone else who'd also changed planes in Houston. Knowing from previous experience that trying to speak Spanish sometimes gets more information out of officials, I cross my fingers and hope. "Yes don't worry, the bags are all in Houston, this happens all the time. The next flight gets in at 10pm, your bag will be on it and we'll drop it off at your hotel after midnight". Hmmm...

Right on cue (ie about 1.30am and just as I'd finally dropped off to sleep) my latest new friend (the hotel's night receptionist) phoned to say "come to Reception, your bag is here". This meant that I could spend the next day relaxing. At the welcome meeting that evening (this is when you get introduced to your fellow trekkers, your tent and your vehicle) I discovered that there was another diver, Alex, on the trip, and that our tour leader Colin had a lot of diving friends. Good job I'd packed the kit!

The non-diving bit
On Day One we visited the archaeological site of Chitchen Itza, and had our first introduction to pyramid climbing. There is one way up a pyramid (slowly, they are big). There are three ways down:-
1) Join the queue of tourists waiting to use the "handrail" (rusty piece of chain).
2) Go down sitting (the option favoured by my tent-mate, Catherine).
3) Just go for it, and don't look more than one step ahead till you get to the bottom (I knew my potholing training would come in handy sometime, thank you Piglet).

We also discovered a few other basic rules which became a feature of the rest of the trip:-
1) It will always start to rain approximately half an hour before you are due to arrive at the campsite and pitch your tent.
2) Forget your insect repellent at your peril (even I was getting bitten).
3) Beware of the Tope (Mexican speed bumps) - they make Scotland Road look very tame by comparison. There were on average 4 or 5 in each tiny village, most unmarked. They also moved them(!) - so we couldn't rely on Colin the tour leader spotting them.

Xel-ha Marine Park
Anyway, several pyramids, jungles and topes late, we arrived at Xel-Ha for the day. This was an ancient harbour, with both fresh and salt water areas, which has been turned into a "Natural Wonder for Tourists". However, Colin told us it was well laid out and easy to get away from the mass tourism - he was right. Of the 5 or so hours we spent there, I think I was in the water for about 4 and a half of them! There were loads of parrot fish and brightly coloured aquarium fish.

Those of you who know me, will be aware that breath-hold diving is not one of my strengths; I've had to rely on an aqualung to be able to take photos at depth. Xel-Ha cured this problem; there was an extremely large, well-lit stingray sitting on the bottom a coupe of metres down, and all I had was snorkel gear! An immediate improvement in my duck-diving AND photographing skills was called for - and achieved. Although not up to photo competition standard, the photos I got were not at all bad. And, in light of my previous skills, I was very pleased.

Dos Ojos
Dos Ojos "Two Eyes" is one of the major cavern systems in the Yucatan. We were booked in with the Hidden Worlds team at the Dos Ojos dive centre. Everyone at the (American-run) dive centre, was very friendly and helpful. The centre also did a lot more that just snorkel or dive trips. They'd been instrumental in helping the local landowners to open up the sites for tourism - putting in the basic infrastructure necessary to open up the cenotes without damaging the natural environment. They were also involved in a number of current projects - both in exploring the cenotes and developing dive equipment to use in them. The most recent project had been to assist IMAX with the filming of "Amazing Caves" (due for release in Spring 2001, I think). If the pictures in the dive centre are anything to go by, it'll definitely be worth a watch.

The rest of the group were just going to do a snorkel tour covering three of the cenotes, but Alex and I decided to use a free morning to go cavern diving. Our destination was the Bat Cave. After bumping through the jungle on a unique "jungle truck" (it's very difficult to describe), we arrived at a hole in the ground. Dive gear was assembled, and winched down the hole under the watchful eyes of guides Gaby and Reuben. Carrying our basic equipment and torches, we descended the ladder into the cave.

Having got extremely hot struggling into wetsuits and heaving dive gear about, we unanimously elect to hold the briefing in the shallows to cool off. I'd been told to expect very good vis, but it was just crystal clear - again, very difficult to describe in words.

Alex (a PADI Open Water Diver) and I were paired with dive guide and IMAX star Reuben. We were given instructions on how to fin (the easiest way being to forget your novice training and fin with legs bent at the knee), torch signals (essential given the need to dive most of the system in single file) and other emergency procedures, and we were off.

The view underwater was amazing; there are a lot of interlinking passages between the cenotes, which means blue windows underwater and very good light. I only had a few pictures left on my throwaway camera, so spent most of the trip just enjoying the formations and the crystal clear vis. It was also quite funny when we came to a cenote, to look up and see the legs of the snorkellers way above us - a bit like watching the ducks at Stoney from below but a lot more exciting.

All too soon we arrived back at the exit point. Alex had turned out to be a highly competent diver, with excellent buddy skills and almost Derek-standard air consumption. It was a big shame that our schedule only allowed for one cavern dive.

The next day the rest of the group joined us for a snorkel tour of the Bat Cave and two other systems; it was quite a good way to see a bit more of the system - albeit from the surface - and whet my appetite for another time. The only problem was, local safety rules prohibited the use of fins (other than by the leader) by snorkel groups. When you've got a torch in one hand and a camera in the other, and you really need your hands for propulsion, it gets interesting.

Back at the dive centre, I met Gaby, one of the guides from the day before. He'd discovered I was a BSAC instructor, and asked me lots of questions about diving in the UK. I also told the centre (knowing that Derek would nobble me sooner or later) that I'd be writing an article for the club when I got home. They very kindly gave me a disk with some of the main images of the Dos Ojos system, which anyone is welcome to borrow.

Quinta Luna
I'd also hoped to get in some sea diving, but Alex's budget only ran to one dive. All was not lost as, having pitched my tent on the beach, I bumped into some staff from the Aquanauts dive centre at Puerto Aventuras. They booked me in for a scenic reef dive, and even gave me a lift from the beach to the dive centre.

The centre is based in the tourist complex of Puerto Aventuras, and offers excellent facilities. It's British-run, with a great team of staff. I was also very impressed by the quality of the hire equipment; not only was it very well maintained, but they made an effort to kit me out with gear similar to my own. I was paired with Maurizio, the divemaster, who informed me that "you're an instructor, so you won't be any problem"(!). There were two other buddy pairs, ex-pats (two French and two North American who all lived in Mexico). I'd been told it would be a "long dive", and that the max depth would be 20m. I was glad I had reasonably good air consumption, as Maurizio's idea of a "long dive" was 60+ minutes!

The reef we dived, Quinta Luna, had a convenient "Piglet Profile"; ie we followed a natural slope which quickly rose from 20m to around 12m. Aided by a slight (about half a knot) current, it was a very easy dive, with lots to see; loads of pipefish, a huge variety of fans and sponges, and loads of brightly coloured fish too. I spotted a large moray immediately under Maurizio (he'd been concentrating on highlighting something else for the photographers, and nearly put his hand in the wrong place) and draw his attention to it - I've never seen a diver move so fast!

Maurizio had told us that if a buddy pair reached the reserve (1000 PSI) before the rest of the group, they were to tell him and ascend to the surface. The French were duly sent up after about 60 mins. Five minutes later I reach the reserve limit too, and ask Maurizio if I have to go up; he replies "it's up to you". After a quick conversion of PSI to bar and reviewing my divetime, maxdepth and air consumption I decide I can stay on the bottom for another 5 minutes/20 bar (which meant I got to see the moray and several more pipefish).

After 68 minutes, Mauritzio signalled it was time to ascend, extracted a DSMB and started to unfurl it. I automatically reached for my octopus and was about to offer it, when he took a deep breath from his reg, spat it out, and then orally inflated the DSMB (no I'm not kidding).

We made a nice slow ascent to the surface, stopping at 15 feet for a 4 minute safety. On surfacing, everyone teased Maurizio about his reaction to the moray (apparently he's famous for trying to avoid them at all costs).

And finally
For anyone going to the Yucatan, diving is a must. The two dive centres I used were very different in style, but both provided great diving. The guys at Dos Ojos have a lot of cenote experience and were a really friendly, laid back bunch. They can be contacted on Dos Ojos. Aquanauts offer both cenote and sea diving, and the setup's more like the British-run dive centres you tend to see in Europe. Their email is aquanauts@ptoaventuras.com. I'll be going back - anyone want to join me?

Photos courtesy of Hidden Worlds Cenotes

Cambridge Sub Aqua Club

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