Cave and Cenote Diving - Dzonot-ila
Merida, Yucatan, Mexico
The cenotes of the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico are world famous amongst divers, especially those of the Riviera Maya, due to their shallow depths and proximity to major tourist destinations.
The cenotes I visited on this trip though are far less known, they are considerably deeper, shorter and usually involve some vertical caving. They are however magnificently beautiful and completely worth the effort.
This 3 day diving trip started with the Cenote, Dzonot-ila. There are more pages for day two and day three
On a cow track you should expect cows and they of course have priority. Here our guide Tony speaks to a local Mayan farmer about access top Dzonot-ila, while the cows sort themselves out.
The incredible diversity of the forest flora and fauna is one of the greatest attractions of diving off the beaten track. Here, what appears to be a mantis makes a bad cover decision on our truck's tyres.
The air is hot and humid and smells not so unpleasantly of baked cow dung, but the access problems are not over. Just before the cenote entrance is a stick fence, I guess constructed to keep curious cows out of harms reach.
Looking straight down into the bottom of the cenote 12 m (39 feet) below. The ladder is made from recycled narrow gauge rail track. This track was the foundation of a horse drawn railway that is still in use in some yucatan villages.
At the bottom, the cenote opens into a very large chamber, shallow enough to stand below the ladder where the breakdown pile (from a roof collapse a long time ago) has it's summit.
The stalactites are incredible, formed thousands of years before when the cave was still dry. This stalactite os not far off the size of a person!
Opening the gate to the cow track that eventually leads to the cenote.
Nobody had been near the cenote for a while, the track was OK for four leg drive, but not for our truck, but with a bit of hacking with a machete and some pushing and shoving we eventually made it to what is considered by some to be the prettiest cenote in Yucatan State.
Our Mayan friend watches us with interest, while his cows graze amongst the trees. Though the cenote is known and mapped, I doubt that it has been dived by more than 100 people since it's discovery.
This is the entrance! The cenote entrance is in fact a well just wide enough to fit a diver and a ladder. The well is used to water the cows on the hacienda.
We chose to lower gear into the well by rope, and don the gear standing on the breakdown pile instead of climbing down ready to dive.
As expected the water is crystal clear and the cave stunningly beautiful. This picture shows a tie off of our guideline being made.
The scale of the beautiful fluted stalactites in this very special Yucatan cenote can be seen scaled against the diver swimming towards them.
