Trip Report: Cenotes with Diablo Divers!

[DiverJP]

My girlfriend and I have just returned from our week in Cancun, Mexico. As I detailed in the Cozumel forum, we spent a day diving in Cozumel. The next day was spent diving the cenotes with Diablo Divers. I had first learned of the cenotes while I was in Mexico about three years ago, but I wasn't able to dive them then. I resolved to make sure that I dived a cenote on my next visit. Based on research and recommendations found on this board, my girlfriend and I decided to dive with Dennis of Diablo Divers who goes by the name of Pez de Diablo here.

I can say without reservation that Dennis is the most professional, courteous, attentive, and safety-conscious dive operator that I've ever had the pleasure of diving with! Both my girlfriend and myself learned a great deal from him during our two cenote dives. The knowledge regarding bouyancy control that my girlfriend walked away with after diving with Dennis literally "changed her diving career!" (Her words...) She is a newly certified diver with only about ten dives, and the extra attention meant a lot to both of us. For myself, I also learned a great deal about cavern diving and bouyancy control and discovered things that I need to work on during our two dives.

We started out at Grand Cenote with a 55 minute dive time. After we had conducted buddy checks & weight checks, we descended and Dennis demonstrated the frog kick and led us on a tour of the cenote. Aside from the many formations in the cenote, I saw a catfish and remember the awesome sight of just looking over my shoulder and seeing the blue of the surface in the distance!

Between dives, we had an authentic Mexican lunch at a small restaurant and then toured the ruins of Tulum. Dennis is not only a talented dive guide but is also very adept at explaining Mayan culture!

For our second dive, we dove the west eye of Dos Ojos cenote. We had a 60 minute dive time during which we swam from the east eye to the west eye and back. The fromations were quite impressive. The Barbie line was an amusing sight that marked the turn point of our dive. My girlfriend was able to maintain nuetral bouyancy during this dive much better and her outlook on her participation in the sport of scuba diving was much more positive following this dive! When we were suiting up prior to the dive, Dennis was able to diagnose a minor leak with my high pressure hose that I had previously been unable to identify, and was able to fix it (at least temporarily) on the spot!

Although it was a little bit out of the way for him, Dennis was willing to pick us up at our hotel and return us later that evening for a nominal fee. We were able to travel to the dive sites and Tulum in the spacious air conditioned comfort of his truck, replete with all the diving gear one might need. During the ride, Dennis was easily conversant in any area that caught our attention and he provided an excellent overview of the diving that we were about to do.

For anyone contemplating diving the cenotes, I don't think you will be able to find a better level of customer service than that provided by Diablo Divers. Although I have not dived the cenotes with any other dive operation, I am confident in making the above statement after diving with Dennis. After hearing about it, I hope I am able to dive the Taj Maha cenote with Diablo Divers on my next visit!

As a side note, I still don't think that I have any interest in pursuing cave diving, but there may definitely be a cavern diving course in my future! Thanks Dennis!

JP

[francousteau]

. . . For anyone contemplating diving the cenotes, I don't think you will be able to find a better level of customer service than that provided by Diablo Divers. JP

Are you talking about the same Dennis from Diablo Divers that I dove with??? LOL
Just kidding!! He's great, isn't he?

[jawfish]

Thanks for the trip report, this info is rarely covered!!

[Harro10]

My son and I returned from a trip to Puerto Aventuras last Saturday. Dennis at Diablodivers was already fully booked while we were there but he assisted us in finding another indepentent cavern guide for the cenotes and also with booking an ocean dive. It could not have worked out any better for us.

[scubawife]

Harro, who did you end up doing the cenotes with? I'm planning to book with Dennis for our Dec trip, but just in case that doesn't work out, I'd like an alternative. The guide we used previously is no longer there.

[Harro10]

We used the legendary Kate Lewis. She and her husband have trained a large percentage of the cave guides in the area. We booked her through Dennis and were lucky to get her.

[Pez de Diablo]

We used the legendary Kate Lewis. She and her husband have trained a large percentage of the cave guides in the area. We booked her through Dennis and were lucky to get her.

I can't wait to tell Kate you called her legendary LOL.

Scubawife,

If I am busy I will pass on a list of alternate guides, there are a few other independant guides that are very very good as well.

Cheers,

Dennis

PS, Franco, watch it buddy

[5615mike]

Very nice report. Thank you. I plan on making a week long trip in the next year to Akumal and I will be calling Diablo Divers first.

[Soggy]

I also had the pleasure of diving with Dennis a couple months ago....great guy, great diver, great guide. We had a blast and he managed to keep my non-diving girlfriend entertained as well