Close encounters with Cenotes - Mexico

If you’re ever in the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico you will see signs for cenotes or sinkholes as you drive along the highway from Cancun to Tulum. For tourists the most famous of these cenotes is the one at Chichen Itza. The one here is colossal, like a giant well and several feet deep before you can even see the water. Even standing next to it makes one nervous just because of its massive size, and the idea of accidentally falling into one of these can make you shudder. This particular cenote was a cenote where the Maya made sacrificial offerings to their Gods, the victims were thrown head first into the cenote, hitting the water below with immense force, and the belief of the time was that those sacrificed were not believed to die, but live on with the gods forever. Standing by the edge I could imagine the poor helpless souls being thrown in and never making it out. The cenote was scary – just based on its natural features and the history associated with it.

Standing by the Grand Cenote in Chichen  Itza

I had decided to get scuba certified while in Mexico and signed up with a local dive shop near the Tulum area. I showed up at my first class and was wondering where the swimming pool was when my instructor took me across the street and there we were by a cenote!! This was where I was going to learn to dive!!! Fear raced over my whole body, it wasn’t as colossal or daunting as the cenote as Chichen Itza, it was a lot smaller and had about twelve to fifteen feet of water but it was scary never the less. I had thought it was going to be a swimming pool that I could walk into but it was a huge well that I had to jump into with my scuba gear and tank strapped on. I stood on the edge, it was only about a four foot jump into the cenote and there was one place where the rock was flat so that you could stand and dive into the water. I hesitated and hesitated and hesitated and hesitated…the dive instructor was trying to coax me to jump in but I still continued to hesitate. I finally jumped into the cenote, and started panicking once I hit the cold water. Yes the water was cold, in most cases cenotes are surface connections to subterranean water bodies and the temperature rarely varies and stay around 25 degrees (77F). I did have a wet suit on but the water was still cold and it took a few minutes for me to get used to it and to start breathing normally. 

The water however was crystal clear and still as there were no water currents or wind to stir the water. It was like being in a cold, deep, beautiful, day lit, swimming pool. I finished my water skills lessons but the whole experience was quite scary for me as my mask had a constant leak and I had to empty the water from the mask repeatedly when it got to my eyes. I was in a continued state of panic for the entire time in the cenote, we swam around the bottom of the cenote and around the main area and when we finally ascended I thought we were done. I had survived!! Woo hoo!! I had jumped into a cenote, descended to its very floor and then had emerged triumphant!! You will realize why I was euphoric, I am a poor swimmer and hence have a fear of deep water and to do something like this felt like such a great accomplishment. 

When we got out I took my tank off and walked to the shade and my legs were shaking and so was my entire body, I think during the entire experience I had been in a constant state of fright. My instructor said take a break, then we’ll strap our gear on and go for our first checkout dive in the cenote. I thought what!! NO!! I am not going to do this all over again…my mind and my body said NO, they couldn’t take any more of the adrenaline that was pumping through my system and after a while I said, NO, I did not want to learn to scuba dive anymore and dropped out of the class. But in retrospect I wonder if I had tried to learn in a swimming pool how different the outcome would have been, but how many people would have had their first scuba lesson in a cenote!

The water is crystal clear

Bits of the cenote are lit so you know where you're going

You would think that my experiences with cenotes would keep me away from them, but No! Ha ha! This time I decided to go snorkeling in an underground cenote. Looking back I wonder if I was/am crazy. But I am so glad I did, this was a completely different experience. To get to the cenote you took these stairs through a hole in the limestone and at the bottom of these grand stairs you entered this absolutely huge cavern. The difference with this cenote was that you could gradually walk into the water and acclimatize yourself to the cold water and the darkness. The cave was lit with lights that provided the needed illumination and didn’t overwhelm you with unnatural brightness. To snorkel in this cave you had to go with a guide so that you didn’t accidentally get lost in the vast underground cave system. There were only three people on this trip including me and as I was on my own I tried to stay as close to the guide as possible.

This is actually underwater. Stalactites and Stalagmites in the cenote

The water was still, absolutely clear and you see every crack and crevice in the rocks below, it was simply stunning and it actually felt like you were floating in outer space as the water was so clear and calm. It was ethereal! In places the water was almost to the roof of the cavern and you couldn’t raise your head but there was room for the snorkel and room enough to breathe comfortably. Once we were in the narrower caverns where the water ran through you could see that there were guide ropes to follow in case you got separated from the guide or your group. This experience was truly worth it, it was so different from snorkeling in the ocean and I was glad I did it as at the end when I left Mexico I left with a pleasant memory of a cenote.

More rock formations underwater