I wish that I had taken the picture below. My backup wish would be to say that that is me floating in the ethereal light of the 100+ foot deep Cenote affectionately known as “The Pit”. Google “The Pit Cenote” and look at the images and videos – the clarity and the beauty of the images will astound you.
A Cenote is a cave created by the collapse of limestone bedrock – basically a big sink hole – which then fills with water. The top layer is fresh water and then when you reach the water table you have salt water. The Pit has an added adventure – a layer of gas that looks like someone turned on a smoke machine and you get the sensation of a cloud floating at you in the water. You can see the effect at the bottom of the picture above. The cloud is actually a thick layer of hydrogen sulfide, about 6ft deep, which is caused by the clash between the fresh water at the top of the cave and the salt water that fills the bottom half. When I surfaced after the dive I could smell the rotten egg smell of hydrogen sulfide that had clung to my wet suit and gear during the brief time it took me to pass through the gas.
Most of the Cenotes we dove, six in all, were not near as deep as The Pit and some were so shallow that no safety stop was required and we came up with over half our air remaining. Below is the entrance to the Cenote called Dos Ojos. This image is mine but all the under water pictures shown are from various sources. I still need to invest in some underwater camera gear.
Cenote diving was hugely different from the ocean reef diving I have become accustomed to in my 6 years of diving. Instead of coral and fish life you have the beauty of cascading stalagmites, stalactites (from the top down) and the eventual columns as the mites and tites complete their journey towards each other. There are some fish – mostly small ones – and I did see a translucent shrimp going about its business as well. We also surfaced in a a few caves including the Bat Cave at Dos Ojos Cenote where we observed hundreds of bats “hanging out” on the roof of the cave.
The play of the light coming in the cavern entrances is amazing and things that have fallen into the Cenote (like trees, bones, shells and pottery) seemed amazingly preserved and otherworldly in the filtered light.
As opposed to ocean diving, the clarity of the water in the Cenotes is phenomenal. In the ocean if there is a current there is a constant tick, tick, tick sound of sand particles hitting your equipment but in a Cenote if all the divers were to hold their breath you would be in complete silence. And if your mouth gets dry from breathing your oxygen you can actually take in a bit of fresh water to quench your thirst.
That’s yours truly above. Photo courtesy of the Cenote paparazzi that take very professional underwater shots and then sell you the photos after your dive is finished.
The Cenote entrance below is called the Jardin del Eden or simply Eden and I would recommend it for snorkelers and divers or just someone wanting to spend a day in a “eden-like” lake setting. We saw more fish here than at the other Cenotes we dove and there was a lot of underwater plant life and submerged trees that made interesting backdrops.
One cannot live on diving alone so the program calls for golf every other day. We played three different courses – The Pete Dye designed Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club, the Nick Price designed Grand Coral Riviera Maya Golf Course and the Greg Norman designed El Camaleon Mayakoba Golf Club.
Mayakoba has several Cenotes on the property including a Cenote entrance in the middle of the first fairway that sits there like a gaping mouth just waiting for an unsuspecting victim. It indeed claimed Phil’s ball from our threesome and below is a picture of Phil having to hit back towards the tee box to escape the jaws of the Cenote.
We booked through the Golf Now website and got some decent deals in the $80 – $90 range including an all you can eat and drink deal at the Iberostar Playa Paraiso (note: this can be dangerous). Carts were included at all the courses and were necessary due to the heat and the distance between holes. Rental clubs were extra including a stiff $75 rental fee at Mayakoba for some well worn Taylor Made clubs.
We saw a lot of bird life and a Coati (raccoon type animal) on a couple of the courses. Of course there were lots of lizards including the stubborn Iguana below that was unfazed by my chip shot that barely cleared his head.
We took a little side trip to see the Mayan ruins at Tulum about 30-40 miles from Playa del Carmen. On a previous trip to the Yucatan I had visited the much larger Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza but I still wanted to see Tulum because it is one of the few (maybe only) Mayan ruin complex that is set on the incredible blue of the Caribbean Sea.
The make up of the tourists in Playa del Carmen seemed more Mexican and European than American based on the languages I was hearing. It had been nine years since I had been to Playa del Carmen and though it still has a lower key vibe than your typical Mexican tourist zone, the growth and glitz is reaching its tentacles out further and further every year. As you work your way down Avenida Quinta you suddenly come across a Victoria Secret and other staples of retail consumerism and all of a sudden you feel like you could be in Las Vegas.
The morning sunrises are golden – cool breezes, a little glove of humidity to keep you comfortable, and the soft dawn of daybreak lighting up the sky.
This was our sixth year of our annual diving and golfing trip and I really enjoyed the variety of golf courses available to us and the uniqueness of diving the inland freshwater Cenotes. I’d be willing to return.
All in all a good trip – no one got hurt, no one got sick, and much good food and drink was consumed. Although I should mention that the Riviera Maya area has a liberal dose of Topes (Mexican speed bumps) that are not always well marked. If you happen to hit a Topes going 35 miles an hour be prepared to hit your head on the ceiling! Next year Roatan, Honduras!
A few shout outs to local businesses I can recommend:
Playa Scuba (not to be confused with Scuba Playa) – See Klaus at playascuba.com. Klaus took us on 6 tremendous dives and took care of us along the way. Careful of the hot sauce at the taco stand but the smoothies are first rate.
Trattoria Pizzeria Romeo – 4th St. between 10th and 15th Ave. – good Italian at reasonable prices.
Babes Noodles and Bar – 10th St. between 5th and 10th Ave, – tasty Thai food and great Daiquiris.
La Parrilla Mexican Grill – Constitution St. at 5th Ave. – New location down in the new part of town. Tasty Mexican fare.
Add to trip