Yucatan Peninsula - Mexico
I traveled through Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula for 4 weeks in July 2013 with the aim of diving and photographing as much as possible and what an adventure it turned out to be.
The Yucatan peninsula is all made of limestone as it used to be a massive reef system itself many thousands of years ago. Over time, rainwater filtered down through the limestone dissolving parts of it along the way and producing a huge underground cave system filled with fresh water. In some areas, the ceiling of the cave has collapsed forming an entrance to the underground river system. The Mayans called these 'Cenotes' and they are a divers and photographers dream! The fresh water is crystal clear (40+ metres visibility is not unusual) and is around 24 degrees Centigrade all year around so can be dived anytime in a 3-5mm wetsuit or a shorty if you're only doing a couple of dives. The best times for photography are in the summer months when the sun is higher in the sky, swimming through a dark cave system following a line to a cenote which is only accessible through the underwater passages and seeing the sunlight streaming in is a truly magic experience.
Each of the cenotes has its own personality and there are many to choose from. My favorites included;
- Angelitas (little angels) essentially a sinkhole with an eery, thick cloud of sulpher at around 35-40 metres which you can swim through for a unique and very exciting dive.
- Car wash (so named as it used to be used as a carwash!), a small lake with an opening to an amazing cave full of enormous rock formations
- The Pit, this is an entrance to a much larger part of the cave system. I decided to freedive this one. The bottom at around 35 metres gives plenty of room for the enthusiastic freediver to explore and the light in this cave is just magical for photography (see images below).
There is not much in the way of fish life in the cenotes themselves but just a short hop away there is easy access to some great ocean diving. Its not uncommon to see plenty of nurse sharks, moray eels, as well as large schools of fish and an occasional black tip reef shark if you get a bit further out. If you're feeling really adventurous (and quite energetic), go for a swim with the whale sharks, the largest fish in the ocean! Its worth paying for a reputable operator as there are a lot of cowboys here who don't follow the rules.
All along the coast are a number of towns with dive outfits and travel is very easy, comfortable and cheap on the local ADO buses. I really liked Playa Del Carmen which is a short hop from the airport at Cancun and has easy access to everything you could need for a dive or family holiday. A word of warning though, it is very touristy along the main strip. Head back a few blocks to find some of the restaurants where you can eat for about a tenth of the cost and meet some of the friendly local folks. A few words of Spanish will get you a long way here. You could also try Tulum which has some very well preserved Mayan ruins to explore whilst you off-gas. From here you have easy access to some great swimming beaches where huge Green turtles can be seen nesting in the summer. You can also swim with green turtles year round just down the road at Akumal, get in touch with the Centro Ecologico Akumal for friendly info on minimal impact swimming.
All in all, the Yucatan peninsula is an ideal dive destination, there is such a huge variety of very exciting, world class diving in a compact area. Good quality accommodation is available at a price but there are also a lot of diver friendly backpackers in town too. Most of the dive operators in the area are cave certified so safety is always top of the list whether diving in gin clear fresh water in the cenotes, or out in the turquoise blue of the Caribbean ocean.
