Post by Taylor on Apr 27, 2006 8:00:51 GMT -5
Exploring new depths in the Yucatan
April 24, 2006
Not everyone goes to the Yucatan Peninsula for fun in the sun, or even to gawk at freshly burnt, underdressed wild girls on spring break. Not far away from the all-expenses-paid debauchery of Cancun, more adventurous travellers can experience the awesome natural grandeur of underwater caverns - the cenotes of the Mayan Coast.
These underwater rivers once served as an important source of fresh water for the Mayan civilization. The cenotes (a corruption of the Mayan word "dzonot", meaning "sacred well") also served a spiritual function. At least one cenote in Chichén Itzá was a place of worship and sacrifice, including human sacrifice.
Formed over the ages by acidic groundwater seeping through the soft limestone and eating away cavities in the even softer rock beneath, cenotes have weathered rises and declines in sea levels which have left them intermittently dry and flooded. As a result, visitors can see many beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites - protrusions in rocks that look like icicles hanging down from the cave top or pushing up from the floor - in the dry parts of the cavern systems.
Continued erosion has eaten away the surface rock above the sinkholes, creating holes for sunlight to illuminate the spellbindingly beautiful grottos of this subterranean world and creating access points for the curious.
Hundreds of kilometres of interconnected caverns lie hidden beneath the surface, many of them as yet unexplored. Some have been made accessible to the public. Many visitors stop by for a relaxing swim in the remarkably clear waters. Others go further, exploring caverns and depths far from the security of the entry points. For them, several diving operations are available to rent out diving equipment and skilled guides.
Combining the thrills of spelunking and scuba-diving, cavern-diving is not for the claustrophobic or faint-of-heart. Many have died through being poorly prepared or equipped to deal with the unique dangers of this environment.
Regular scuba certification is all you need to dive at depths of up to 30 metres and distances of up to 60 metres from light and air as long as you are accompanied by a professional guide. Still, it pays to shop around for the best guide. You should seek out an experienced cave diver who can demonstrate the techniques and safety precautions that will decrease the inherent risks of this activity.
For some, cavern diving offers an interesting change of pace from open water diving. Others appreciate that it can be done in any sort of weather; the water is always calm, the temperate is moderate and the visibility is excellent as long as you remain in the sun-lit cavern areas.
Foraying further into the vast underwater complexes of caves should only be undertaken by a properly certified cave diver. Certification for cave-diving can take eight days and costs $1,660 at the Cenote Dive Center in Tulum, 132 kilometres south of Cancun. The price includes equipment rentals and 16 dives. Other companies offer similar programs and rates.
Exploring the cenotes of the Mayan Coast may be somewhat more perilous than getting watered-down pina coladas from an undertipped barman, but for those who aren't tempted by the superficial entertainment of the package deal resorts, the cenotes are a good way to get below the surface of the Yucatan.
www.canada.com/topics/travel/story.html?id=89125bac-fcb6-4baa-9e15-eb8685d9c411&k=78421
April 24, 2006
Not everyone goes to the Yucatan Peninsula for fun in the sun, or even to gawk at freshly burnt, underdressed wild girls on spring break. Not far away from the all-expenses-paid debauchery of Cancun, more adventurous travellers can experience the awesome natural grandeur of underwater caverns - the cenotes of the Mayan Coast.
These underwater rivers once served as an important source of fresh water for the Mayan civilization. The cenotes (a corruption of the Mayan word "dzonot", meaning "sacred well") also served a spiritual function. At least one cenote in Chichén Itzá was a place of worship and sacrifice, including human sacrifice.
Formed over the ages by acidic groundwater seeping through the soft limestone and eating away cavities in the even softer rock beneath, cenotes have weathered rises and declines in sea levels which have left them intermittently dry and flooded. As a result, visitors can see many beautiful formations of stalactites and stalagmites - protrusions in rocks that look like icicles hanging down from the cave top or pushing up from the floor - in the dry parts of the cavern systems.
Continued erosion has eaten away the surface rock above the sinkholes, creating holes for sunlight to illuminate the spellbindingly beautiful grottos of this subterranean world and creating access points for the curious.
Hundreds of kilometres of interconnected caverns lie hidden beneath the surface, many of them as yet unexplored. Some have been made accessible to the public. Many visitors stop by for a relaxing swim in the remarkably clear waters. Others go further, exploring caverns and depths far from the security of the entry points. For them, several diving operations are available to rent out diving equipment and skilled guides.
Combining the thrills of spelunking and scuba-diving, cavern-diving is not for the claustrophobic or faint-of-heart. Many have died through being poorly prepared or equipped to deal with the unique dangers of this environment.
Regular scuba certification is all you need to dive at depths of up to 30 metres and distances of up to 60 metres from light and air as long as you are accompanied by a professional guide. Still, it pays to shop around for the best guide. You should seek out an experienced cave diver who can demonstrate the techniques and safety precautions that will decrease the inherent risks of this activity.
For some, cavern diving offers an interesting change of pace from open water diving. Others appreciate that it can be done in any sort of weather; the water is always calm, the temperate is moderate and the visibility is excellent as long as you remain in the sun-lit cavern areas.
Foraying further into the vast underwater complexes of caves should only be undertaken by a properly certified cave diver. Certification for cave-diving can take eight days and costs $1,660 at the Cenote Dive Center in Tulum, 132 kilometres south of Cancun. The price includes equipment rentals and 16 dives. Other companies offer similar programs and rates.
Exploring the cenotes of the Mayan Coast may be somewhat more perilous than getting watered-down pina coladas from an undertipped barman, but for those who aren't tempted by the superficial entertainment of the package deal resorts, the cenotes are a good way to get below the surface of the Yucatan.
www.canada.com/topics/travel/story.html?id=89125bac-fcb6-4baa-9e15-eb8685d9c411&k=78421