I’m finally getting around to processing some images from my trip to the Mexican cenotes last August. A cenote, (pronounced say-noh-tay), is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of the limestone bedrock which then exposes the groundwater underneath. They are especially associated with the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.

You may have heard gruesome stories surrounding the fact that they were used by the ancient Maya for sacrificial offerings - this is true and many human remains have been found in them. But the ancient Maya believed the cenotes to be much more than simply a place to deliver their sacrificial dead. They considered them to be the portal to Xibalba, their Netherworld. Given all the knowledge that we now know the ancient Maya possessed, they no doubt also knew, or at least suspected, that the thousands of cenotes are interconnected, forming an underground labyrinth of tunnels. It was these tunnels I was diving in last August.

It’s a surreal form of diving - you enter in an open cenote, often crowded with tourists, but led by your expert guide (& boy does he need to be expert) you follow the tunnels. Think of majestic caves with stalactites & stalagmites & I was effectively flying through them! And then, as if by magic, we’d pop up in another open cenote, often in the middle of the jungle & inaccessible by foot. The water is pure & crystal clear because it’s been filtered through the bedrock - providing you don’t disturb the bottom this is some of the best visibility a diver will ever experience.

Initially I found it disconcerting to know I couldn’t surface if I had a problem, but I soon settled and proceeded to enjoy an amazing three days. Here’s a couple of images - more to follow plus a video over the next week or so.