Dos Ojos Cenote. Riviera Maya, Mexico.

The first cenote I ever saw, before I ever knew what a cenote was, was Dos Ojos. A faded, hand-painted sign on the federal highway 307 directed me 2.5km down a dirt road through the jungle. Decending into the sinkhole along a questionable set of wooden stairs, I slipped. Of course, it was worth it. The sight I saw was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and yesterday Luis Leal took me on what he called the "unofficial tour" of his cenote.

More than half of the dive was through caves, without any glimpse of the outside world. Gliding through inexplicably clear waters with 300 feet of visibilty, we passed through a halocline (where salt water and fresh water meet to create a hazy, psychedelic visual experience). Stalactites, stalagmites, columns as high as 4 meters and crystals litter these caves. One cave had an impressive naturally collapsed karstic roof and pigmentation in the limestone, evidence of prehistoric painting. Dos Ojos is known for the bat cave: a dark cave where you are able to surface that is the home to several hundred fruit bats. My favorite part of any cenote dive is when you emerge from a cave and see streams of light shooting into the cavern through the jungle. There's nothing quite like it and it takes my breath away every time.


The hand-painted sign, has since been replaced with a much larger, sophisticated one and at it's peak 250 divers visit the system daily. Luis Leal's dive shop is located right at the entrance to Dos Ojos.

Cenotes of the Yucatán, Mexico

One of the main reasons I find myself returning to the Yucatán Peninsula again and again is the unique natural wonder that exists here: Cenotes. What are cenotes? Most people have never heard of them yet they are the gateways to the largest underground river system in the world and heavily linked to ancient Mayan history. Mostly made up of crystal clear sinkholes and fresh water, they litter the coast-line between Playa Del Carmen and Tulum running perpendicular to the ocean. Attracting a certain kind of eco-tourist, they are open to both scuba diving and snorkeling excursions.

I will never forget the first time I dove into one. It was El Gran Cenote. After gearing up and a brief stroll through the jungle, we plunged into an underwater world that I was never aware of and that would change my experience of diving for ever. Stalactites, stalagmites, crystal formations, fossilized coral and animal remains in the limestone walls, and sunlight streaming through the cenote opening revealing the jungle above. It was truly breathtaking. I felt like I was flying through pages of a National Geographic spread. The water was so clear and still that I felt as though I was floating in a void. There's really nothing like it.

On my current Mexican adventure I have made it a mission to explore as many of these cenotes as I can, particularly the ones that are lesser known. So far I have explored two:

Xunaan Ha Cenote
Location: 500 meters off the 307 highway in the town of Chemuyil


A relatively small and isolated cenote, I was captivated by the carpet of bright green algae that covered the rocks under the water. There is also a small fox that roams here which I saw twice!


Jardín del Eden Cenote (part of the Ponderosa cave system)
Location: Near Akumal on the 307 highway



I visited this cenote twice. With a much larger opening it is ideal for snorkeling as well as diving and a large overhang allows for exciting cenote jumping! There are two entrances into the cave system, upstream and downstream so it's perfect for a 2-tank dive. Most importantly, there is also a lady making tacos right there!