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Diving Mexico's Cenotes Part 2

Limestone caverns under the Yucatán Peninsula

By Greg Annandale

December 5^th, 2019

Back again in Mexico earlier this year, my wife and I returned to dive a couple of new (to us*) cenotes since our last trip.

The collapsed pits and sinkholes of the Yucatán Peninsula are a world away from the rich coral reefs and walls off Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. The crystal clear water, rock formations (which vary from fragile stalactites and stalagmites to enormous boulders and wide open chambers) and the light from the shafts leading up to the surface come together to produce a stunning experience for the diver.

*though new cenotes are discovered (and even formed, due to sinkholes) with some regularity

The Pit

Descending into "El Pit"...

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A thick layer of hydrogen sulphide sits at the bottom (around 30 to 40 metres), fallen tree trunks and branches punctuate this acidic fog-like layer.

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Divers reaching the hydrogen sulphide.

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After a depth of around 12 metres, there's a salty layer of water which makes everything appear extremely blurry (this blurred layer is visible in the image above, mid-way up the stream of bubbles). Just above that however, in the fresh water, the visibility is perfect and the midday sun pierces through the jungle above resulting in extraordinarily sharp beams of light.