TRAVEL SPECIAL
DiveFest Mexico 2019
This special event takes place at Underworld Tulum from 4-18 May 2019 and will be an opportunity for BSAC divers to experience some of the best diving Mexico has to offer in the company of some like-minded divers . In-water activities will include courses , fun dives , equipment workshops and more , and a lively programme of socials , presentations and movies is included . For nondiving days , there are some fascinating Mayan ruins and nature reserves in Tulum , along with great bars and restaurants . For details go to www . underworldtulum . com
himself : 1 . Always have a continuous guideline to the surface 2 . Use the rule of 1 / 3 for your gas planning 3 . Don ’ t dive deep 4 . Build up your experience 5 . Use 3 lights … they go on . These rules ( and more ) have been developed to make cave diving in these types of caves a safe and enjoyable experience that a decent Sports Diver , with good buoyancy and trim , would be more than capable of doing . The most dangerous thing we experienced all week was being dive bombed by Mexicans swimming in the cenotes !
The facilities at Underworld Tulum have been custom designed for diving guests , they ’ re BSAC to the core , have a great selection of top quality kit , a well equipped workshop and are very welcoming to BSAC divers . If you ’ re looking at a Red Sea trip , then for a similar cost , consider something a little different instead and try cave diving . It ’ s ace .
PHOTO : ELAINE WHITE
Above : Impressive scenery at Dos Ojos
Right : Nick drips sweat into kit while he faffs
Part two : In which Nick Lyon is smitten , also bitten
Some 65 million years ago , a lump of rock the size of the Isle of Wight hit the Earth at what is now the village of Chicxulub , on Mexico ’ s Yucatan Peninsula . This was not good for any dinosaurs who had not already begun to evolve into birds . On the more positive side of things , many geologists believe it may have kick-started a process which allowed water to permeate and dissolve the coralline limestone bedrock to produce a vast cave network . As the sea level , into which they empty , fluctuated over many millennia , these caves flooded , then partially drained and 6000 of them underwent collapses of their roofs . To the local Mayan people , these open pools were not only a source of water , but the entrance to the spirit world . They called them ts ’ ono ’ ot , meaning ‘ water deposit ’. That word has been westernised as ‘ cenote ’.
I don ’ t know the collective term for coatimundis [ racoon-like mammals – Natural History Ed ], but as a bunch of them scurried along the side of the airport road at Cancun , Woz and I were reminded that this was to be somewhat different to a weekend at Portland . We were in Mexico to participate in an introductory cave diving course .
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