Video: Scuba Diving Cenotes in Playa Del Carmen
Riviera Maya is famous for its breath-taking underwater caverns, called cenotes. Scuba divers have always had a fascination with these subterranean treasures where they can marvel at majestic geological formations and heavenly beams of sunlight shining into the water. Some cenotes even feature a halocline, the boundary where freshwater meets saltwater.
In this video Shawn Mahoney of Beacons Films takes you into a few of the cenotes in the Playa Del Carmen region.
The first cenote in the video, Angelita, reaches a max depth of 125 feet. You can see the murky sulfur cloud that obscures the otherwise crystal clear water. Sulfur can be poisonous if ingested, but is safe to swim through. The crazy thing about this dive is that as you pass through the cloud, even though your nose is covered, it smells strongly of rotten eggs!
Up next is Kukul Kan, which is between 40 and 50 feet deep. On sunny days, rays of light come shining in. The best time to see this happen is around eight or nine in the morning, after the sun is high enough in the sky.
Chac Mool is right next to Kukul Kan. In the video, it almost appears as if you’re looking up at a mountain. The water is so clear that it can be hard to tell you’re underwater! Cach Mool reaches depths between 40 and 50 feet.
The final cenote you’ll see in the video is Dos Ojos. This is another shallow cenote that bottoms out between 40 and 50 feet. It’s a local favorite and it’s easy to see why. This cenote features the “bat cave” and some amazing stalactites stretching down from the ceiling and stalagmites rising up from the floor.
Beacons Films is an adventure film company that scuba divers can hire to record their expeditions and provide cinematic quality films made from 4K Ultra HD footage. For more information check out beaconsfilms.com or Facebook.
