Yucatan Peninsula for Wobs

[Letz]

Here’s a trip report sadly lacking in photographic evidence but don’t start me off on the camera with strobe, macro lenses etc. that impacted my weight allowance (had to pay excess) and ground a trench in my shoulder as I carried it as hand luggage.

Warning * It's quite long*

Thanks for all the travelling tips I had 2 jackets with various bits in the pockets and a bum bag with a first stage, view finder and reel making it one heavy drag on the posterior but while they weighed my hand luggage they didn’t seem to notice my Jennifer Lopez impression.

Security was an interesting experience. I didn’t realise I had to take my shoes off! I had a 30m line spool loose in my hand luggage. I know, I know. I had packed, weighed, repacked, and re-weighed so many times my brain popped out for a while. Anyway, they decided they wanted to scan the items in my hand luggage separately (reg bag, macro lenses case) and then found the spool. Being as I could “tie someone up in it” I had to buy an envelope, stamps and take all the line off to send home. The guy was very helpful, gave me sellotape and a zip-lock bag to help with the tanglement issue and when I got home and found a lumpy jiffy bag in my post I thought someone had sent me a Christmas present. Doh !
They were unconcerned by the other reel in my bum bag which was scanned

It was a long hard flight and day what with stopping at Manchester then waiting for Scribley at Cancun (her flight from Houston where they broke her Meg was delayed – probably in shock from all the swearing she did New Meg Divers Certified - Rebreather World Forums ) but Tuesday morning we ventured into Playa Del Carmen to sort some diving. Protec was closed for siesta when we got there but we had arranged a couple of morning dives off Playa Del Carmen for Wednesday so we were getting started.
In the afternoon we visited a place where people could swim with dolphins (for a fee) and enjoyed a Mexican beer. I saw a manatee for the first time



I’ve only dived warm water in Egypt on day boats so it was different to what I was used to. We set off on a small boat at about 9am, did 2 dives and were back by 12:30
It was pretty choppy, my air fills were rather lacking (Jo always got at least 200bar) and poor Jo got seasick. I didn’t want to take the camera on the first dive then with Jo throwing up and me questioning a 160bar fill missed taking it on the 2nd dive.

Our first dive was, as requested, Tortugas.
No pics so here’s a topographical drawing


We saw loads of turtles, just as Jase said, and a fair few nudibranches along with a brazillian fish and it was beautiful, of course. It’s a long time since I dived in clear vis with so many colours and life and it was great. However, I have to admit, I’d get bored with a lot of only that

And here’s a drawing of our second dive, Sabalos



It was nice to have some little “caverns” to poke our noses into and I saw a massive Moray Eel, only the head, as usual. I also had a lovely drift amongst a school of fish. The backward roll of the small hard boat with ropes wanting to tangle in squashed up fins was an accident waiting to happen so I took care. The sea was quite undulating and on this dive my somersault and the moving boat resulted in my coming up to a bang on the head. I was ok but it may have “cooked my nines”

Both were pretty fast drift dives and would have been divine but for the guide wanting to zigzag and beckoning us over. The current was strong and I would have loved to just fly with it, dSMB in tow, but that wasn’t the form and I had to swim like billy-oh, needing to ‘breast stroke” just to get to the guide for him to go back to where I just came from If there was something to see I missed it and I reckon I wasted a fair bit of air. I really must get some jet fins ……….

We were very limited on time and only had Friday and Saturday left for diving with Sunday the pre-flight 24 hours. There was a possibility of a Sunday morning dive but we decided to spend all our money on 2 days of cenote diving with Protec. Marvellous

Part 2 coming (limited by images)

[Letz]

Friday 22 December we started with Ponderosa and I was having an excitement overload





Yes, those guys were leaping in just where the divers were descending and ascending

Briefing, buoyancy checks and off we went. Ponderosa was quite light with large collapses allowing the sunshine to flood through. Plenty of speleotherm and amazing colouring



Extremely beautiful but I found I preferred the darkness of Tajmahal



Nando (our guide) briefed us and, as you will see in the map, Tajmahal has some T junctions so we went through safely negotiating those, although this wasn’t really an issue in crystal clear water, we barely ever had to be close to any guidelines.
Tajmahal had the most remarkable profile and as we descended down the first slope we were coming around a fantastic “decoration” which appeared like a temple atop a mountain. Throughout the dive there were astonishing formations, enchanting ‘halls’ and inviting entrances The topography meant a great deal of rising and falling which, amongst requiring some vigilant buoyancy control, meant keeping a good check on the equalising. My ear had hurt after diving on Tuesday but had settled so I was not concerned. While diving in Tajmahal I encountered some trouble equalising. When I first felt it I knew I needed to come up a little to assist the equalising. Ha ! Can’t go up I kept an eye on the ceiling and intended to rise as it rose. A bit further on it became mega painful but thankfully the cavern opened up and I could rise above Jo and Nando. I eventually managed to equalise after about 5 minutes when we traversed along at about 5m.

We enjoyed shimmering haloclines in both cenotes and, while they disrupted visibility, caused no concern so neither Jo nor I felt the need to come alongside Nando as he had suggested. It didn’t seem to bother him in the slightest when we just continued in single file soaking up the beauty. Mind you, my torch failed soon after entry and that didn’t seem to concern him either. I got it on again swiftly, thanks heavens or I’d have missed some magnificent sights. (I had packed a back up but the weight allowance meant leaving it behind. Protec were up for providing torches but they never materialised and we just got on with it)

Saturday coming up ................

[Letz]

Saturday 23rd December found us diving the most awesome Angelita which has become a fave dive for me and I’m desperate to dive it again. Sensational. Angelita in Tulum

Our guide was the beautiful Bernadette (Bernie) and she advised us we needed to leave all valuables behind only taking the necessary and what we could hide. Angelita is south of Tulum (so a more expensive dive) and mega-mossie land so we wore our wetsuits up to our waists (in Scribley’s case it was her drysuit as she only had a 3/2, found the cenotes a wee bit too chilly and had her drysuit from her meg course in Seattle)



We had a 2m leap into the cenote and the descent started through a turquoise haze with low vis, which was a first for me in a cenote as to date the vis had been about 25m and crystal clear, like the silica mine. As we dropped down to the Hydrogen Sulphate cloud the vis cleared and we could see the cenote walls which had a metre or so of bluish-green deposit above the cloud. We could now also see the top of the Monte de “Debris” and it was breath-taking.
This was where it was like we could be in space, not in water at all, orbiting a planet with rings like Saturn.
Astounding.
We collected ourselves and, as the guideline (within a tube) was no longer there, we moved very close together and freely descended through the cloud. Amazing. We could smell/taste the sulphur and travelled approx 2m through the cloud to an even more incredible environment below. Eerie branches protruding from the Mount of rubbish with deposits hanging off them like “angel hair”, dark but with a glow, a ceiling of swirls and rings above. We were now at 35m and, sadly, could only have about 5 minutes there.
Below the H2SO4 layer is salt water, which I could taste but the buoyancy change was what I first noticed as we emerged under the cloud. We grouped together for the ascent then spent some time playing on/with the cloud. Jo looked hilarious pretending to run across it like a cartoon frog. We went on to enjoy the mount, the life (yes, lots of fish) and stopped for a sit on a thick branch, as if out on a stroll in the woods.
We gently ascended, circling the cenote and stopped at about 12m to swim through a small semi circular ‘cave’. Surprisingly bright and white and a tad tight but absolutely tremendous. Coming up under the film on the surface I saw larger fish and once on the surface I just wanted to dive The Little Angel again, immediately.

Once out of the water it was full speed ahead, in a vain attempt to avoid being bitten to death, then off to Gran Cenote for our last dive. As we left all valuables behind I didn’t even manage to get land photos of Gran Cenote but I was quite surprised to find it wasn’t very big at all. The cave system is, ( Where Can Go Cave Diving? ) but the cenote is small, unlike Ponderosa.



This dive was relatively shallow and outstandingly beautiful. White stalagtites and mites everywhere. We dived to another collapse where the sunlight provided a stunning view and surfaced for a while. We saw a swallows nest, some bats and lots of fish. Having drenched ourselves in this remarkable surrounding we dived back. Some of the dive required us being very close to the tites and mites and on one occasion my long hose got caught but I managed to extracate it without causing any damage.

We didn’t get to dive Dos Ojos, which we snorkelled the following morning, but the cenotes we dived allowed us to enjoy the variations of cenote formation which was wonderful. All the cenotes had many fish, some that were quite keen to have a little nibble on us and there were loads of cool, black catfish in Tajmahal.

It was a wonderful week and the best way to spend the Christmas season IMHO. I did miss my drysuit a bit, although I didn’t miss all the extra weight. While I didn’t attempt any important bouyancy adjustment as if in a dry suit I did poke myself in the chest once on auto-pilot drifting along and, obviously, feeling a little squirt would be comfortable. I also went to check my exhaust valve once while kitting up. Even though the Yucatan Peninsula is hot and sunny it’s extremely humid and you don’t really dry so I was pretty sodden after the first dive of a day and my towel was damp all week.

My dream to dive cenotes in Mexico has been realised but it’s only the beginning. I shall be back there as soon as is feasible, hopefully with at least an intro to cave certification and in a position to indulge in Angelita for far longer.

[Sakara Drinker]

Great report Six. Sounds like a wonderful place.

[Northern Barry]

Great report and I relived CHAK MOOL next cenote up from Ponderossa, I can recomend this dive to anyone out there. Even bought the video..........with the eiree background music and sheer darkness this is one enjoyable dive. Actually two. Emerging up into a cavern with huge elephants feet (roots of huge trees) sipping at the fresh water.
Thanks for the memory.
Northern Barry

[copperband]

Great report, shame about the camera, I would give up on that idea now as it's 3 out of 3 no goes that I know of with the thing!

Oh and one ickle question, I don't recall reading the explanation for the Mosquito bites on ya bum anywhere in the report. Unless this goes someway to explain them?

Originally Posted by Sixsquid

... feeling a little squirt would be comfortable.

Paul

[pieater]

Great write up. Now I want to go back to do the Cenotes after Cozumel! Did you bring back any chilli sauce? I did. I have to treat it with respect. I prescribe hand rolled cigars from a Cuban exile to keep the mozzies at bay - certainly worked for me.

BTW, I would guess that you stood on a walkway to take the photo of the Manatee(?) I have one taken from about 10 feet away while SWMBO and the sprogs swum with the Dolphins as you describe.

[applepie]

ace report, looked amazing! I liked the funky illustrations of the dive sites.

waiting for my chance to head out there.

[Northern Barry]

Did Cozumel this summer, although it took a battering (WILMA) dive guides were great and found lots of underwater beasties. Lots of sand dumped on the corals as expected but swim any of the cut throughs and enjoy. Mind you stop the bairns from doing handstands in the pool......the yanks enjoy too much drink and piss in the pool! This gave my bairn a lovelly ear and ended her diving! Apart from that class.

[Letz]

Thanks for the great comments & greens

Originally Posted by copperband

Great report, shame about the camera, I would give up on that idea now as it's 3 out of 3 no goes that I know of with the thing!

Only twice I can think of. It worked fine in Stoney, that was the user(s)

Oh and one ickle question, I don't recall reading the explanation for the Mosquito bites on ya bum anywhere in the report.
Paul

Aah, well. Angelita is in thicker jungle, a lot of mossies, no gate (hence no valuables), no toilets, no-one else there. Pretty much get in as quick as pos and get out and away before you're jungle lunch

Hang on a minute! When did I say I had mossie bites on my bum ?!!

They still itch like buggery btw and I can't get cream on the ones on my back