Mexico - Dec. 2013

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Bonnie and I came back to Mexico from Guatemala. We went diving in Cenotes around Tulum and Playa del Carmen, and had a few dives in the Ocean near Playa del Carmen. And Silvester in Cancun...:-)

Diving in the ocean was special we wanted to see sharks, and we saw some at "Jardines". Just a few hundred meters away from the pier at Playa del Carmen. And they were Bullsharks. The massive, strong guys. I compare them to bouncers in a nightclub. The guys who throw you out if they want to. Still they are quite elegant. But really strong.

Diving Cenotes is still one of the most special kinds of diving I know. Its like flying in a crystal clear world, crystal clear water...

The Pit with its fog-like layer of H2S is a very special thing,

, especially the tree lying down there looks eerie

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but the greatest dive in a cenote was maybe Taj Mahal. A long tunnel underwater, with a crisp clear separation layer between freshwater and saltwater (whic is called halocline). And it has got a few holes in the ceiling of the cave, where the daylight enters the water and creates brilliant rays of light. Just amazing!

We spent New years Eve in Cancun, had a great party at Mandala Club...:-) Nice start into 2014!

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Photos

Playa del Carmen
Dec 27th. The beach in Playa del Carmen. From here we started to the dive trips in the ocean.

Bullshark in Jardines
Dec. 27th. Quality of that image is not soo great, but the perspective is fantastic.

Bullshark
Just above the ground. thats how you can see them quite often

Bullshark
A female shark. We actually saw only females.

Heavy rain in Playa del Carmen
It was raining so much that the water was standing knee high in the streets. We decided to wait a little longer at a restaurant...:-)

A nice rainbow in Playa del Carmen
Somewhere behind the rainbow is Cozumel.

A thick, yummy Chili-Chocolate
I remembered this from my last visit to Playa del Carmen, and I was again looking forward to it. And it was awesome again...:-)

Diving Cenote Chac Mool
Dec. 28th. Cenote diving is absolutely fascinating. The water is crystal clear and the effects from the light are just mind blowing. These rays of light are just beautiful.

Diving Cenote Chac Mool
Dave, our diveguide. Great guy!

Diving Cenote Chac Mool
2 other divers hanging in the clear water.

A stop sign in Cenote Kukulkan
Dec. 28th, Diving in Cenote Kukulkan. These signs mark the absolute limits of cavern diving. After them you cannot see the daylight, so the danger is multiplied if you go past them.

A group of divers
in Cenote Kukulkan. Close to the entrance.

The Pit
Dec. 29th. Diving Cenote "The Pit". This is the entrance to the pit. The pit is a a big, deep hole, 70m deep. And it lies in the middle of the jungle. I am wondering how many Cenotes are still hidden and undiscovered in the Jungle of Yucatan.

Bonnie getting ready for diving "the Pit"
Special about cenote diving is that you have some tables where you get ready. Then you walk fully geared up to a hole in the ground and enter the underworld.

Entrance of the Pit
The Pit is an exciting dive... Really great.

Layer of Hydrogensulphide in the Pit
At 30m depth there is a layer of Hydrogensuphide.. A cloud layer lying there.

Bonnie against the light
Just awesome, the light in the cenotes.

A poster of the Pit
on the left you can see the profile of the Pit.

Do's and Dont's when diving cenotes
There are quite some really funny graphics explaning what's right and what's wrong.