Info Warning about Cenote Chac Mool and Kukulkan

[wetb4igetinthewater]

I'm still so naive that I still believe in people, even more when I'm outside diving.

I know I'm seen as an ATM when I travel. I've learned to trust no one.

 

[JungleDivers]

I'm sorry you are acting as if they are trying to "racket" you, and maybe you should have asked the administration at the entrance of the Cenote WHY.

This rule has been the same for years, and the reason is quite simple: Cenotes Guides/Dive shops sending unexperienced divers with poor buoyancy + cameras to dive the Cenotes, resulting in:

- damaging the speleothems of the Cenote (stalactites, stalagmites etc)
- poor visibility for other divers

Please keep in mind that the Cenotes are caverns, and that most divers diving it do not have the cavern certification.
It is a privilege to dive them as a recreational diver, and while you might be able to control your buoyancy while taking pictures, it is not the case for all divers.
And 40 usd for professional pictures is not expensive...

 

[KDAD]

After a few days back at home, we received the pics. Only 4 pics. He didn't answer any e-mail complain.
There was no language misunderstanding, we both speak spanish as mother language.

I was able to review and approve the pictures before buying and they were loaded then and there onto a SD card which I then verified. He also airdropped them to my daughter's iPhone so we ended up with 2 copies. Really only got the SD card as I don't iPhone.

Received 31 pictures and 8 short videos with me and/or my daughter in it plus a bonus folder containing 3 maps of Chac Mool and Kukulcan, another folder containing about 75 random pics of the cave, a 7 slide powerpoint of information on the cave and cenotes in general, and another 4 minute generic video of the cave.

 

[KDAD]

@Marie13 recognize the fins? They were your old/spare pair! The Jets she had were too heavy for someone that only uses 2# fresh/4# salt.

 

[Marie13]

@Marie13 recognize the fins? They were your old/spare pair! The Jets she had were too heavy for someone that only uses 2# fresh/4# salt.

How appropriate since I was just down in MX doing full cave! How does she like them?

 

[KDAD]

Same cave, no? She likes them - evens out her trim nicely!

 

[Marie13]

Same cave, no? She likes them - evens out her trim nicely!

Different caves for me. Glad she likes the fins!

 

[VsubT]

I'm sorry you are acting as if they are trying to "racket" you, and maybe you should have asked the administration at the entrance of the Cenote WHY.

This rule has been the same for years, and the reason is quite simple: Cenotes Guides/Dive shops sending unexperienced divers with poor buoyancy + cameras to dive the Cenotes, resulting in:

- damaging the speleothems of the Cenote (stalactites, stalagmites etc)
- poor visibility for other divers

Please keep in mind that the Cenotes are caverns, and that most divers diving it do not have the cavern certification.
It is a privilege to dive them as a recreational diver, and while you might be able to control your buoyancy while taking pictures, it is not the case for all divers.
And 40 usd for professional pictures is not expensive...

So if the reason is to limit damage, are buoyancy checkouts required for divers with <X00 dives? Seems like a reasonable precaution too. Plus, it’s a great upsell for Peak Performance Buoyancy courses if anyone doesn't pass the checkout dive. Not to mention the separate charge for the checkout dive itself.

The cavern thing seems like a missed opportunity. Instead of bending the rules/standards to put as many tourists as possible in a place the agencies say they shouldn’t be without proper training, why not enroll every rec diver as a cavern student?

Think bigger - there’s a lot of cash being left on the table here!


Joking aside, I’d have a tough time visiting a site operated this way. Sure feels like a racket with green-washed rationalization for the camera prohibition. Not as bad as the tea-bagging operators in Sharm who swim tourists once around a rock while dangling from their tank valve, but it’s on the same path.

 

[fates13]

I'm sorry you are acting as if they are trying to "racket" you, and maybe you should have asked the administration at the entrance of the Cenote WHY.

This rule has been the same for years, and the reason is quite simple: Cenotes Guides/Dive shops sending unexperienced divers with poor buoyancy + cameras to dive the Cenotes, resulting in:

- damaging the speleothems of the Cenote (stalactites, stalagmites etc)
- poor visibility for other divers

Please keep in mind that the Cenotes are caverns, and that most divers diving it do not have the cavern certification.
It is a privilege to dive them as a recreational diver, and while you might be able to control your buoyancy while taking pictures, it is not the case for all divers.
And 40 usd for professional pictures is not expensive...

It's $60 for solo divers and you get a great discount to $40/person or $80 total for two divers! Reviews from the past said it was $20-$25 just a few years ago. $20-$25 was at least reasonable. You're paying $100 for the guide at least, $12 for the entrance fee, and now $60 just for pictures/videos? What's next? Banning cameras from the reefs and charging people for photos for their dives in the ocean? I have zero issues with shops offering professional pictures for a fee for people who might not have their own cameras. I do have an issue when they ban you from taking your own pictures then charge a ridiculous fee for their exclusive services. I'm just giving a heads up for future divers like us, plenty of other cenotes to choose from.

 

[Marie13]

The cavern thing seems like a missed opportunity. Instead of bending the rules/standards to put as many tourists as possible in a place the agencies say they shouldn’t be without proper training, why not enroll every rec diver as a cavern student?

How many rec divers have the skill to pass a cavern class?