What an awesome place. I would love to visit someday. Thanks for sharing 
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Cenote
- Thread starter duanes
- Start date
I have been to Quintana Roo four times, mostly for the cavern/cave diving.
Cenote el Pit (maybe a mile behind Dos Ojos) is interesting, we saw a human mandible at 140'.
Another really unusual dive is Cenote Angelita - there is a layer of hydrogen sulfide between 90' and 100'. Below it is pitch black and it is very surreal above, like swimming through a layer of thick smoke.
I've never dove in Cenote Manati, just snorkeled there a lot (we usually stay at Blue Sky Hotel about 50 yards down the road). I've heard that you can dive into the cenote and exit in the ocean - I've seen where it leaves the cenote and where and where it dumps out in the ocean, both are very narrow and it is supposedly a very sketchy trip at best.
The craziest cenote I've been in was a sacrificial well at a spider monkey preserve near Coba. They lower you down with rappelling gear through a small crack in the Earth (known as the Earths's vagina) and you snorkel in a cenote filled with the skeletons of hundreds of Mayan sacrifice victims.
I've done a few others - Cenote Azul, Cenote Car Wash, Grand Cenote, and a couple others that I can't remember the names. If you plan to go back, 'Cenotes of the Riviara Maya' by Steve Gerrard is by far the best book on cenotes, although it is probably a bit out-of-date by now.
Some photos from the inside:
Warning sign in Dos Ojos:
Skull of a sacrifice victim:
My wife surfacing from El Pit:
Human mandible in El Pit:
Cenote el Pit (maybe a mile behind Dos Ojos) is interesting, we saw a human mandible at 140'.
Another really unusual dive is Cenote Angelita - there is a layer of hydrogen sulfide between 90' and 100'. Below it is pitch black and it is very surreal above, like swimming through a layer of thick smoke.
I've never dove in Cenote Manati, just snorkeled there a lot (we usually stay at Blue Sky Hotel about 50 yards down the road). I've heard that you can dive into the cenote and exit in the ocean - I've seen where it leaves the cenote and where and where it dumps out in the ocean, both are very narrow and it is supposedly a very sketchy trip at best.
The craziest cenote I've been in was a sacrificial well at a spider monkey preserve near Coba. They lower you down with rappelling gear through a small crack in the Earth (known as the Earths's vagina) and you snorkel in a cenote filled with the skeletons of hundreds of Mayan sacrifice victims.
I've done a few others - Cenote Azul, Cenote Car Wash, Grand Cenote, and a couple others that I can't remember the names. If you plan to go back, 'Cenotes of the Riviara Maya' by Steve Gerrard is by far the best book on cenotes, although it is probably a bit out-of-date by now.
Some photos from the inside:
Warning sign in Dos Ojos:
Skull of a sacrifice victim:
My wife surfacing from El Pit:
Human mandible in El Pit:
Really cool, Duane!
Did you rent a car when you were down there or are there buses or other public transport that can take you to these spots?
Also, better to bring your own snorkel gear or rent theirs?
I've been to Cancun a couple of times and there are some great deals, especially outside of spring break season!
Matt
Did you rent a car when you were down there or are there buses or other public transport that can take you to these spots?
Also, better to bring your own snorkel gear or rent theirs?
I've been to Cancun a couple of times and there are some great deals, especially outside of spring break season!
Matt
All the blue dots are cenotes in the area.
I rented a car, there are probably cheaper ways to go, but I like to come and go as I please.
The renta car is less expensive than taxis or tour buses, and as I brought my own snorkeling gear, camera and stuff, easy to haul around. I didn't use fins, the cenotes I went in are small enough, and I find fins tend to stir up a lot of turbidity. The cichlids seem a bit skittish when one moves too fast. I did wear neoprene deck shoes though, the algae covered boulders are slippery when getting in and out of the water.
I saw a property for sale with 2 cenotes on it between Akumal and Puerto Aventuras, contemplating a tropical retirement.
The renta car is less expensive than taxis or tour buses, and as I brought my own snorkeling gear, camera and stuff, easy to haul around. I didn't use fins, the cenotes I went in are small enough, and I find fins tend to stir up a lot of turbidity. The cichlids seem a bit skittish when one moves too fast. I did wear neoprene deck shoes though, the algae covered boulders are slippery when getting in and out of the water.
I saw a property for sale with 2 cenotes on it between Akumal and Puerto Aventuras, contemplating a tropical retirement.
1 more group of pics, from our last Cenote, called Eden.
It was the largest, and most cichlid filled. Like the others the most populous fish was the Sailfin molly, but Jack Dempseys were very well represented and there was a small population of Mayan Cichlids, uropthalmus. Some of the Uros were very large, and all had frayed fins, as did all large Rocio. Here you could easily pick out mated pairs defending nests and young.
The mollies constantly graze on algae.
The algae coveres everything accept in the darkest spots or where it has been grazed away.
We stayed in Puerto Aventuras, just across the highway from a group of Cenotes, it is on a marina that had some interesting sites.
Safe and family friendly, kids could ride captive dolphins.
Many restaurants within walking distance, and a golf course with dog size rodents.
It was the largest, and most cichlid filled. Like the others the most populous fish was the Sailfin molly, but Jack Dempseys were very well represented and there was a small population of Mayan Cichlids, uropthalmus. Some of the Uros were very large, and all had frayed fins, as did all large Rocio. Here you could easily pick out mated pairs defending nests and young.
The mollies constantly graze on algae.
The algae coveres everything accept in the darkest spots or where it has been grazed away.
We stayed in Puerto Aventuras, just across the highway from a group of Cenotes, it is on a marina that had some interesting sites.
Safe and family friendly, kids could ride captive dolphins.
Many restaurants within walking distance, and a golf course with dog size rodents.
very cool Duanes!! i cant wait till my traveling and collecting starts thank you for contributing with the pics and background info, very cool
i cant wait till my traveling and collecting starts thank you for contributing with the pics and background info, very coolLooks a good trip, I have been twice to the Yucatan Peninsular, I am surprised you only saw P.melanura, there are 3 other species of cichlids which are found there, A.robertsoni in small numbers, P.freidrichsthalii and Rocio ocotofasciata.
The male sailfin mollies are stunning in Cenote El Jardin de Eden aren't they! Probably one of the most impressive fish I have seen especially when the sun hits them.
Dave
The male sailfin mollies are stunning in Cenote El Jardin de Eden aren't they! Probably one of the most impressive fish I have seen especially when the sun hits them.
Dave
