deanme
11-16-2009, 02:17 PM
Cave diving in Tulum Mexico is a wonderful experience. The Cenotes are a world treasure.
I stayed 8 fun filled days in Tulum Mexico, sleeping at the new and wonderful Xibalba Dive Center and Hotel, owned and managed by Robbie and Aneke.
www.xibalbadivecenter.com
The Xibalba hotel is very special, with luxurious amenities and quiet rooms, just one block off the main street in the heart of Tulum. Robbie provides tank fills on site and has his own compressor, blending custom nitrox fills. Cave diving classes are offered on site and advice on local Cenotes is excellent. A light breakfast is offered every morning, and a night watchman provides security for any parked cars. Divers are offered a place to store dive equipment. And most important, just a short walk three blocks south is Café Don Cafeto.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v51YuhCxiTI&NR=1
Life in Tulum revolves around this local restaurant. The coffee is outstanding, and the food always plentiful and excellent. Be sure and bring a big appetite. Across the street from Café Don Cafeto is one of the cab union shops, which provides for wonderful entertainment. While I was visiting Mexico, the very powerful cab union is attempting to elect a new leader, and some members are even picketing on a hunger strike. I observed several covert trips to Don Cafeto from those on the hunger strike, to which I silently thought, “so Mexico!!”.
While in Tulum, I dove the following Cenotes:
Two dives in Taj Mahal, upstream and downstream
Grand Cenote
Kolimba
Jail House
Dos Pisos
Pet Cemetery and the Blue Abyss
NoHoch
The Pit
I wanted to keep to the major Cenotes as all dives except The Pit were solo. Next trip I will get a bit more adventurous, and try some of the lesser dove Cenotes. I dove 32 to 36 percent O2 on most dives, which lasted from 1:30 to 2 hours, with one dive, Jail House, lasting only 55 minutes. I got spooked by the entrance to Jail House, which is very silty, and called the dive early. Next trip I may opt for saving some money and dive nitrox at Pet Cemetery and the Pit only. I took a stage on every dive, and 4 tanks at the Pit. All dives were side-mount. I used the stage for both extending my dive time as well as equipment backup. I have practiced switching a first stage between tanks while underwater, and felt comfortable with 3 sets of first and second stages in the water. I also dove with an extra mask and 4 lights.
Except for Pet Cemetery, where I watched two divers run a reel from the cavern line to the main line, I saw no other divers in the caves once I got beyond the cavern zone, except for one diver in the downstream (or is it upstream (non-Chinese-Gardens-dive to the right)) at Taj Mahal. I dive early, so that could contribute to my luck of having the caves to myself.
It rained a lot the first evening, Saturday November 7th, due to Hurricane Ira, but had wonderful weather for the rest of the week, with blue skies and scattered showers. This is the wet season, so the misquotes, although not bad in town, got pesky in the outskirts, and were downright rude at some of the Cenotes. To protect myself, I put on my wetsuit at the hotel before making the drive to the dive spots, with the only exception being The Pit and Pet Cemetery. I also sprayed on some bug spray I picked up at the local grocery store, San Francisco, and applied cautiously. The temperature was stunningly perfect, with a bit of chill in the air by sunrise.
The entrance to Chen Hol is a lot bigger, lowering stress of entry and exit. I decided not to rely on local arrows, and since I was diving solo and unfamiliar with the local navigation of the caves, I put in a directional arrow every 5 minutes or so, with multiple arrows at T’s and jumps, or at any confusing part of the cave. All arrows were clearly marked with my name and a number and removed upon exiting. Cookies were placed every 15 minutes. I placed main line entry reels and jumps everywhere, but for the most part limited my jumps and stayed on the “main line”. I figured even if I didn’t find my target destination, I would easily find my origin. All this navigation is in stark contrast to my diving in the Florida caves, where I place almost no main reels, arrows, cookies, or jumps, unless the jump is in a possible silting area (please refrain from any criticism on this public admission because really don’t want to hear it).
Some comments for those who might benefit from my experimentation with weights and diving side-mount. Next trip I’m going to try to hang a one or two lb weight off my right shoulder clip to balance the stage, and then clip off this weight when I clip off the stage on the line. I don’t seem to have this balancing problem when diving in Florida, where I dive with steel tanks. I guess the smaller aluminum tanks are more weight sensitive, and I rotated a bit to the left when carrying the stage. I attached a two pound weight on the bottom of the cam band to keep the tank from rising. I also took Robbie’s advice and put the cam band low on the tank, which helped to keep the butt end of the tank from rising as well. My wetsuit is 9 mil (or 3/8’s inch), and is very buoyant, so I like to dive with a two pound weight attached where my shoulder straps attach to my harness. I dive with these shoulder straps in Florida as well, so the only additional weight I used for the shallow Mexico caves with aluminum tanks are the two pound weights attached to the cam bands.
Diving the Pit was just spectacular. I entered with 4 tanks and dove for 1:55 hours. After slowly descending in the voluminous cavern area (see picture in link below), and being swallowed by the cloud of acid (forget which kind of acid) at 90 feet, Luis, my guide, shared with me some spots with human remains at 140 feet. I felt like such a big boy when Luis showed me the beginning of the gap line at 150 feet that descends into the lower part of the Pit. The gap line starts at 150 feet, and is designed to keep cavern divers and cave divers like myself from following the line deep into the bowls of the cave. I hovered at the beginning of this line and gazed down into the darkness for a few minutes, trying to imagine the sights to be seen, the risks involved, the planning to be made, the logistics to be overcome, and the hours of decompression time required after ascending up this line on a 300 foot plus dive. I guess everything is relative, and what I consider to be advanced is child’s play for those that actually use that line and descend into the depths of the Pit. At the end of the dive, after penetrating two side tunnels, I poked my head into the environment chamber at 30 feet, which has room for two divers, and again tried to live vicariously by imagining decompressing there for several hours after a 4 hour, 350 foot dive, before ascending safely to the surface. I glanced at my computer and saw I had 16 minutes of required deco at 10 feet before I could safely surface, and then I looked at my guide who was keeping an eye on me for any problems I might encounter, and I felt like a weekend warrior.
But weekend warrior or not, I had a blast. Can’t wait to return. Some pictures are posted at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/deanme9/Mexico09November#
I stayed 8 fun filled days in Tulum Mexico, sleeping at the new and wonderful Xibalba Dive Center and Hotel, owned and managed by Robbie and Aneke.
www.xibalbadivecenter.com
The Xibalba hotel is very special, with luxurious amenities and quiet rooms, just one block off the main street in the heart of Tulum. Robbie provides tank fills on site and has his own compressor, blending custom nitrox fills. Cave diving classes are offered on site and advice on local Cenotes is excellent. A light breakfast is offered every morning, and a night watchman provides security for any parked cars. Divers are offered a place to store dive equipment. And most important, just a short walk three blocks south is Café Don Cafeto.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v51YuhCxiTI&NR=1
Life in Tulum revolves around this local restaurant. The coffee is outstanding, and the food always plentiful and excellent. Be sure and bring a big appetite. Across the street from Café Don Cafeto is one of the cab union shops, which provides for wonderful entertainment. While I was visiting Mexico, the very powerful cab union is attempting to elect a new leader, and some members are even picketing on a hunger strike. I observed several covert trips to Don Cafeto from those on the hunger strike, to which I silently thought, “so Mexico!!”.
While in Tulum, I dove the following Cenotes:
Two dives in Taj Mahal, upstream and downstream
Grand Cenote
Kolimba
Jail House
Dos Pisos
Pet Cemetery and the Blue Abyss
NoHoch
The Pit
I wanted to keep to the major Cenotes as all dives except The Pit were solo. Next trip I will get a bit more adventurous, and try some of the lesser dove Cenotes. I dove 32 to 36 percent O2 on most dives, which lasted from 1:30 to 2 hours, with one dive, Jail House, lasting only 55 minutes. I got spooked by the entrance to Jail House, which is very silty, and called the dive early. Next trip I may opt for saving some money and dive nitrox at Pet Cemetery and the Pit only. I took a stage on every dive, and 4 tanks at the Pit. All dives were side-mount. I used the stage for both extending my dive time as well as equipment backup. I have practiced switching a first stage between tanks while underwater, and felt comfortable with 3 sets of first and second stages in the water. I also dove with an extra mask and 4 lights.
Except for Pet Cemetery, where I watched two divers run a reel from the cavern line to the main line, I saw no other divers in the caves once I got beyond the cavern zone, except for one diver in the downstream (or is it upstream (non-Chinese-Gardens-dive to the right)) at Taj Mahal. I dive early, so that could contribute to my luck of having the caves to myself.
It rained a lot the first evening, Saturday November 7th, due to Hurricane Ira, but had wonderful weather for the rest of the week, with blue skies and scattered showers. This is the wet season, so the misquotes, although not bad in town, got pesky in the outskirts, and were downright rude at some of the Cenotes. To protect myself, I put on my wetsuit at the hotel before making the drive to the dive spots, with the only exception being The Pit and Pet Cemetery. I also sprayed on some bug spray I picked up at the local grocery store, San Francisco, and applied cautiously. The temperature was stunningly perfect, with a bit of chill in the air by sunrise.
The entrance to Chen Hol is a lot bigger, lowering stress of entry and exit. I decided not to rely on local arrows, and since I was diving solo and unfamiliar with the local navigation of the caves, I put in a directional arrow every 5 minutes or so, with multiple arrows at T’s and jumps, or at any confusing part of the cave. All arrows were clearly marked with my name and a number and removed upon exiting. Cookies were placed every 15 minutes. I placed main line entry reels and jumps everywhere, but for the most part limited my jumps and stayed on the “main line”. I figured even if I didn’t find my target destination, I would easily find my origin. All this navigation is in stark contrast to my diving in the Florida caves, where I place almost no main reels, arrows, cookies, or jumps, unless the jump is in a possible silting area (please refrain from any criticism on this public admission because really don’t want to hear it).
Some comments for those who might benefit from my experimentation with weights and diving side-mount. Next trip I’m going to try to hang a one or two lb weight off my right shoulder clip to balance the stage, and then clip off this weight when I clip off the stage on the line. I don’t seem to have this balancing problem when diving in Florida, where I dive with steel tanks. I guess the smaller aluminum tanks are more weight sensitive, and I rotated a bit to the left when carrying the stage. I attached a two pound weight on the bottom of the cam band to keep the tank from rising. I also took Robbie’s advice and put the cam band low on the tank, which helped to keep the butt end of the tank from rising as well. My wetsuit is 9 mil (or 3/8’s inch), and is very buoyant, so I like to dive with a two pound weight attached where my shoulder straps attach to my harness. I dive with these shoulder straps in Florida as well, so the only additional weight I used for the shallow Mexico caves with aluminum tanks are the two pound weights attached to the cam bands.
Diving the Pit was just spectacular. I entered with 4 tanks and dove for 1:55 hours. After slowly descending in the voluminous cavern area (see picture in link below), and being swallowed by the cloud of acid (forget which kind of acid) at 90 feet, Luis, my guide, shared with me some spots with human remains at 140 feet. I felt like such a big boy when Luis showed me the beginning of the gap line at 150 feet that descends into the lower part of the Pit. The gap line starts at 150 feet, and is designed to keep cavern divers and cave divers like myself from following the line deep into the bowls of the cave. I hovered at the beginning of this line and gazed down into the darkness for a few minutes, trying to imagine the sights to be seen, the risks involved, the planning to be made, the logistics to be overcome, and the hours of decompression time required after ascending up this line on a 300 foot plus dive. I guess everything is relative, and what I consider to be advanced is child’s play for those that actually use that line and descend into the depths of the Pit. At the end of the dive, after penetrating two side tunnels, I poked my head into the environment chamber at 30 feet, which has room for two divers, and again tried to live vicariously by imagining decompressing there for several hours after a 4 hour, 350 foot dive, before ascending safely to the surface. I glanced at my computer and saw I had 16 minutes of required deco at 10 feet before I could safely surface, and then I looked at my guide who was keeping an eye on me for any problems I might encounter, and I felt like a weekend warrior.
But weekend warrior or not, I had a blast. Can’t wait to return. Some pictures are posted at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/deanme9/Mexico09November#