I did my first cenote!

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FlyingPig

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Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA
I love it. Anyone has a good recommendation for a cenote to try?
This was not just my first time in a cenote. It was my first time in the fresh water, and it was my first time in the water below 81f.

I'm planning another trip to the riviera already. I can't wait to get back there.
[video=youtube;gOYraCtec5M]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOYraCtec5M[/video]

[video=youtube;CCA3e7h64WI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCA3e7h64WI[/video]
 
Angelita sinkhole. Also maybe Taj Mahal? There are some where the halocline occurs on a large cavern and if you have a really strong light with adjustable focus, you can shine at the haloclline and literally see wall to wall of what looks like the top of a lake. My DM had a HID with 250 watt bulb. I tried to get a shot of it with my 5 watt halogen and I could barely see it, let alone take a video of it.
 
Taj Mahal? Interesting name for a cenote:-D
I definitely regret leaving my LED lights back in the hotel. It would have been much more fun if I can just see a bit more.
We went through plenty of haloclines..... That was interesting, but I have no need to do that repeatedly.
I'd definitely like to see different formations in the caves and different lighting as you mentioned. Seeing the ripples on the surface through crystal clear water just takes my breath away....ok not literally...as you can hear in the videos above.
But I'd definitely want to do more.
 
There are tons of cenote there. Plus tons of caves that one can only go with certification.

Angelita is a giant sinkhole with a dense surfur cloud at the halocline level and the remnants of what collapsed from the surface sitting like an island in the middle of the cloud. You go through the surfur layer and you will enter a realm of darkness. You will not likely stay down there for long or deep, but during the transition layer, you might smell surfur, that is the gas permiating through your skin/mask, etc.

There is seeing the ripples and seeing a cavern full of ripples. Got to get the DM who hoards up those 250w HID bulbs.
 
I really love the cavern dives at Dos Ojos and Grand Cenote. Dos Ojos is very, very white, and some of it is very cave-like. Grand is just what its name suggests -- massive, very grand decorations, and some beautiful views out toward the light. I often swim the cavern line at the end of a cave dive there, just because it is so pretty.
 
FlyingPig:
Taj Mahal? Interesting name for a cenote:-D
I definitely regret leaving my LED lights back in the hotel. It would have been much more fun if I can just see a bit more.
We went through plenty of haloclines..... That was interesting, but I have no need to do that repeatedly.
I'd definitely like to see different formations in the caves and different lighting as you mentioned. Seeing the ripples on the surface through crystal clear water just takes my breath away....ok not literally...as you can hear in the videos above.
But I'd definitely want to do more.
Click to expand...

According to the signs that I read last month, it's actually Tajma Ha.
We have dove Chac Mool, Angelita (considered a more advanced dive because of the depth - we were at 155 so plan accordingly...), Tajma Ha, Dos Ojos and Grand Cenote. They're all fabulous, but I think Grand Cenote and Dos Ojos were my favorites. The rock formations are spectacular. We found an eyeless cave fish in Tajma Ha, which was also exceptionally cool. Angelita is one of those dives that everybody should make, once. It's sureal, but not something I'd do every trip.
 
Congratulations!

We did Dos Ojos back in January. It had very beautiful geological formations and was pretty easy to navigate. I can't compare it to the others near Cancun since it's the only one I've done, but we really enjoyed it.
 
Dirty-Dog:
According to the signs that I read last month, it's actually Tajma Ha.
We have dove Chac Mool, Angelita (considered a more advanced dive because of the depth - we were at 155 so plan accordingly...), Tajma Ha, Dos Ojos and Grand Cenote. They're all fabulous, but I think Grand Cenote and Dos Ojos were my favorites. The rock formations are spectacular. We found an eyeless cave fish in Tajma Ha, which was also exceptionally cool. Angelita is one of those dives that everybody should make, once. It's sureal, but not something I'd do every trip.
Click to expand...

Probably is Tajma Ha, since everything there ends in Ha.

I had trouble getting the dive shop I was using to take me to Angelita. Something about bandits and robbing the guy in the shack and all the equipments on the truck. They kept wanting to take me to some other sinkhole with the sulfur cloud, but at 130ft. At that depth, I would have been spending alot less time at the bottom. I went to another shop that was glad to take me. Also did a combo Dos Ojos/Grand Cenote as a second dive.

The only thing with cenote diving is we have to follow cave diving rules with the rule of thirds. You come out with 1000 psi and you think, we could have gone a bit more with the air left. Good thing with Angelita is that since it is not cave or cavern diving, we didn't have to follow that rule.
 
Lwang:
Probably is Tajma Ha, since everything there ends in Ha.

I had trouble getting the dive shop I was using to take me to Angelita. Something about bandits and robbing the guy in the shack and all the equipments on the truck. They kept wanting to take me to some other sinkhole with the sulfur cloud, but at 130ft. At that depth, I would have been spending alot less time at the bottom. I went to another shop that was glad to take me. Also did a combo Dos Ojos/Grand Cenote as a second dive.
Click to expand...

Ouch, that sucks.....perhaps you should let us know about the shop to avoid:-D
 
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