Trip Report Reef and Cenote Dives with Scuba Total of Cancun, March 2018

[Ironborn]

Introduction

I was in Cancun for reasons other than my own (I would not have chosen to visit it for my own reasons) in March 2018 and found time for a few dives on the side. I had low expectations for the diving, which was (or could have been) more interesting than I expected. The cenote “cavern” dives in particular fueled my interest in a form of diving that was new to me. I had higher hopes for Scuba Total, the operator that I selected, which did not turn out quite as well as I had hoped. My experience may highlight challenges that could emerge in the selection of a dive operator in destinations that attract less traffic (and thus generate fewer reviews) from more “serious” or discriminating divers. Divers visiting Cancun, for whatever reason, may nonetheless find good dive opportunities.

Choosing an Operator

Selecting a suitable dive operator in Cancun was not as straightforward as it might have been in destinations that have more of a reputation for diving or attract more serious, committed, or experienced divers. Scubaboard was my first resort, but most of the material on Cancun dive operations provided little or no detail beyond names of recommended operators and little or no insight as to why one should choose this or that operator over others. I consulted TripAdvisor instead, which yielded more thorough documentation and a wider range of operators but still provided few insights as to why one should choose this or that operator over others. The reviewers, who struck me more as general vacationers with a lower level of special interest in diving in particular, usually did not answer the sort of questions I would ask, such as “does this operator allow you to dive your tank/computer?” Perhaps this demographic of divers does not ask such questions as frequently as more heavily invested divers. Pricing was similar across the various operators and thus not a significant factor in my decision.

In the absence of clear or specific selling points to distinguish one operator from the others, I settled on Scuba Total. It had some of the most consistently positive reviews, and one of those reviews in particular made the case that it was a better fit for more “serious” or seasoned divers. Their policy of limiting groups of divers to four (plus a DM) further struck me as a positive sign. I booked with them via email, which was smooth and straightforward. They required a small deposit via PayPal upon booking and payment of the balance in person in cash or via PayPal (I paid cash). Their location may be hard to find; they appeared to be operating out of the back of a hotel and around its pool area.

Reef Dives

I had noticed before my diving days that the waters off Cancun seemed quite rough, with high and powerful waves crashing onto the beach. I had heard that the local waters could be quite rough at times, perhaps because of greater exposure to the open ocean (compared to the shelter of Cozumel), and there were strong winds throughout my time in Cancun. I looked out at the water from my hotel that morning and prepared myself for the distinct possibility that we would not do our planned reef dives on that first day due to weather and water conditions, but I learned upon my arrival at Scuba Total's location that we would indeed proceed with our two-tank trip to Cancun's “outer reefs” as originally planned.

The boat ride to our first “outer reef” dive site was one of the roughest and scariest boat rides of my life, to the point that I became concerned about our safety. The boat was similar to those typical of Cozumel dive operators but smaller, and it did not handle the high waves very well. The unusually high speeds at which the captain drove the boat directly into the high waves did not help either. We learned after our first dive that the harbormaster had closed the “outer reefs” due to rough conditions and directed all dive boats to retreat to the sheltered “inner reefs” within the harbor. The chop at the surface was extremely heavy when we entered and exited the water for our first dive.

I was disappointed to learn that there was a time limit of 40 minutes for the reef dives. I understand that they have a schedule to keep, but 40 minutes is simply too short. In any event, this short time limit turned out to be a moot point on this first dive because of a gas-guzzler who ran low on air after approximately 30 minutes, forcing us to surface as a group. This diver, who was on his eighth dive, was unfamiliar with safety stops and went directly to the surface. He had a nose bleed on the boat, at which point the DM advised him to sit out the next dive and seek medical attention once we returned to shore.

To the extent that I was able to appreciate it in that short amount of time, this dive site (Punta Negra) was pretty good; I would rate it as maybe a few notches below some of the sites in Cozumel that I enjoyed the most, such as Yucab and Chankanaab. Visibility was excellent, comparable to what one might encounter in Cozumel. The reef growth was lower and not as substantial or as healthy as that of comparable sites in Cozumel, but the principle virtue of this quite “fishy” dive site was the abundance of large schools of medium-sized reef fish. I saw comparable schools of fish at some of the more teeming dive sites in Cozumel (Paso de Cedral, Punta Tunich, etc.), but not as frequently as I did here, even in such a short time time. This school of grunts in the top photo may have been one of the largest schools of fish that I have ever encountered underwater.

Paul on Instagram: “A school of grunts, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography #wideanglelens…”

Paul on Instagram: “Reef fish under elkhorn coral, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography…”

Paul on Instagram: “A school of grunts, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography #wideanglelens…”

Paul on Instagram: “A school of grunts, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography…”

Paul on Instagram: “A school of grunts, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography #wideanglelens…”

Paul on Instagram: “A school of porkfish, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography…”

The “inner reef” had similar visibility but was not as healthy in terms of fish or reef growth, which the DM attributed to hurricane damage, given its shallower depths. The remaining reef growth consisted heavily of sea fans. The surge at this shallow site was strong enough to cause discomfort; you can see in one of the photos below how much the sea fan was swaying in the surge. More interesting were the neighboring sea grass beds, where we saw a sea turtle (see the photos below) and a southern ray; another group reported a shark sighting. Perhaps the sea grass beds are good places to see big animals.

Paul on Instagram: “Sea turtle, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography #wideanglelens…”

Paul on Instagram: “Sea turtle, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography #wideanglelens…”

Paul on Instagram: “Sea fan, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #scubadiving #diving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography #wideanglelens #wideangle…”

Paul on Instagram: “Sea fan, Cancun, Mexico. #scuba #diving #scubadiving #paditv #photography #underwaterphotography #uwphotography #wideanglelens #wideangle…”

Needless to say, this first day did not turn out quite as well as I had hoped. I understand that operators do not control the weather, and that they might have received some complaints if they had canceled the reef dives without an official closure of the harbor, but perhaps this day was simply not a good day to go out for reef dives. They do offer the option of cenote “cavern” dives as an alternative if and when weather is unfavorable for reef dives, and in retrospect perhaps they or I should have suggested that possibility. I did, however, think that it would be a good idea to readjust to water and test my gear with more familiar and less risky reef dives before doing unfamiliar and riskier cenote “cavern” dives.

I understand that operators do not control divers' air consumption or experience levels either, but the operator knew that the gaz-guzzler was very inexperienced and still put me in the same group as him. Remarkably, I was somehow the most experienced diver on the boat, other than the DMs, with only 156 dives at the time. I got the sense that Cancun may not be as attractive to more experienced divers, and that most of the other divers there were relatively new to the sport; they seemed to think that my modest 156 dives was a huge number. Perhaps this demographic does not care about 40-minute time limits, or their air consumption is still so high that such time limits are a moot point, which might explain why I did not see anything about that time limit in this operator's generally positive reviews.

(to be continued)

 

[Ironborn]

Cenote “Cavern” Dives

In light of the above, I considered the possibility of canceling my scheduled two-tank cenote “cavern” trip for the following day, but I had already paid for it, and I also realized that weather would be less of a factor for these dives, and that I might not have another opportunity to sample the cenotes. In retrospect, I am glad that I went ahead with the cenote trip, as they handled it better, the different guides inspired more confidence, and it sparked my interest in another form of diving. There were nonetheless other aspects of the cenote trip that they could have handled better, in my opinion.

When they told me to meet them at 630am for onward travel to the cenotes, I thought that perhaps this trip would be an all-day affair or entail multi-hour drives out into the heart of the jungle. The drive to the Chac Mool cenote system outside Playa Del Carmen only took an hour or so, and we were back in Cancun by around lunchtime. I did not see the need to wake up and return so early and would have preferred more rest before any dives in general and particularly before dives that entail higher risks.

I brought my camera rig with me, only to learn en route that the owner of this cenote system prohibited cameras (more on that below). I understand that the dive operator does not control the cenote owner's policies, but the operator could have at least told me about that policy before I lugged my sizable and expensive camera rig down to Chac Mool with me. The operator saw that I had a camera rig during my reef dives the previous day, and I doubt that I was the first guest of theirs who has wanted to photograph cenotes. Since cenote dives are not dependent on the weather conditions on any given morning, perhaps they could have foreseen that they would be taking us to a cenote system that does not allow cameras and accordingly informed me. I thus had to leave my four-figure ($) camera rig in the van during the dives. I have done enough shore diving in Bonaire and Curaçao to know that leaving valuables in one's vehicle during a dive is not a good idea there, and it must be an even worse idea in Mexico, of all places. The guides said that the driver would stay with the vehicle the whole time, but he actually did leave the vehicle unattended for a while to assist us with water entries and exits.

Having lugged my camera down to Chac Mool and taking the risk of theft for nothing because the owner of the cenote supposedly prohibits cameras, perhaps you can image my reaction to the sight of a photographer with a camera rig during one of the dives. This photographer took the liberty of photographing me and blinded me with his strobes, which almost caused me to lose sight of the rest of the group in front of me and follow the wrong divers out of the cavern. I asked the guide about this incident, to which he responded that that photographer had a relationship with the owner of the cenote. The owner of the cenote had banned cameras because some divers with poor buoyancy control had damaged some of the formations when a photographer was photographing them. I wonder if it occurred to the owner that divers with poor buoyancy control, or aggressive photographers that photograph and blind divers without their permission, might be the problem, rather than cameras. In any event, I learned one reason why they might have taken us to this particular cenote system as I overheard the two guides conversing in Spanish on the van ride back to Cancun (perhaps it did not occur to them that, as a North American, I might speak Spanish); the owner had halved the entry fee to compensate for the prohibition of cameras. Since the operator paid our entry fees, this policy reduced the operator's costs.

The only other issue with the dives themselves was that they were short, like this operator's reef dives: 35-45 minutes. I am admittedly uncertain, however, if such short dive times are typical for these introductory “cavern” dives, since we lacked full “cave” dive training and were just getting the “kiddie pool” version of the cenotes. I wonder if the naturally lit part of the “caverns” that we could explore without more training and equipment was so small that it could not justify longer dives.

Aside from the above, I was happy with the cenote dives and our guide's handling of them. He correctly guessed my weighting for fresh water just by looking at me and confirmed it with a buoyancy check. The briefings were thorough and informative and prepared us well for a form of diving that was totally new to me. The guide displayed a passion and a contagious enthusiasm for the cenote diving experience that certainly made it more enjoyable. As far as I could tell, he respected the limits of “cavern” diving but showed us as much as he could within those limits. I think that I would have had a much better experience overall if this guide had taken us out through a different operator.

I had previously been skeptical about diving cenotes and did not pursue such opportunities during my previous trip to Cozumel. My interest in diving originally stemmed from my interest in marine life, so I had no interest in sampling a form of diving with little or no aquatic life that also involved heightened risk. Having matured as a diver since then, I became more comfortable with the heightened risk and more willing to appreciate what new forms of diving might have to offer. If nothing else, I wanted to try it mostly because I wanted to see what all the fuss was about – well, now I know.

Some of the highlights for me included: the rays of sunlight penetrating from the surface; the floating methane from the decomposing plant matter; the density and fine detail of some of the stalactite and stalagmite formations; the coral fossils; and the trapped air pocket, where we could see tree roots. The water was crystal clear and, despite the official temperature readings of 73-74 degrees on my dive computer, did not feel that cold in my full 3mm wetsuit. In a refreshing contrast to the previous day's rough reef dives, the water was perfectly calm and still, which I found very soothing. Most of all, however, I found that I enjoyed the general darkness and the use of artificial lighting. I am a huge fan of night dives and have been hooked ever since my first night dive during my AOWD certification. Some people are uncomfortable with the darkness – I actually find it more comforting. Of course, I would need to do full “cave” diving in order to appreciate the darkness of caves fully.

Questions

There is a sticky thread on cenote diving in this sub-forum, but I have some other questions that may be relevant to others with a further interest in “cavern” and “cave” dives.

• How much of an investment would cave certification entail, in terms of both time and money?
  
  
• Would you recommend doing the certification locally at home (if possible) or in the Yucatan or some other popular cave diving destination? Are there any good places to train in the tri-state area or elsewhere in the Northeast?
  
  
• What if any Yucatan operators would you recommend as cenote diving specialists in particular, either for the initial cave certification or full cave dives for certified cave divers?
  
  
• I have gotten the impression that Playa Del Carmen and Tulum would be among the best towns in which to stay for cenote diving, due to their proximity to cenotes and as the locations of relevant operators. What if any other options are there in that regard? Is Cancun a desirable or even a feasible option in that regard, in terms of distance and operators?
  
  
• Are the rough water conditions that I experienced on the Cancun reef dives common or frequent there, or was I just unlucky to be there during a period of high winds?