I’m back offshore now after having such an incredible vacation in Mexico and Seattle. It was a whirlwind of non-stop activity and adventure with the most wonderful guy.

Pretty much the perfect string of dates :).

We rendezvoused at the luggage carousel in Cancun airport, and off we went to collect our rental car and make our way to quite possibly the most sexiest hotel I’ve stayed at, in Playa del Carmen. (I’ll write all about it soon!).

The highlight of the trip was without a doubt going cenote diving.

Basically you dive deep inside these large fresh-water sinkholes within the jungle, through dark caverns and passages, inches away from forests of stalagmites and stalactites.

We went with a dive company called Dive Mexico who I highly recommend. They describe it as diving through an ‘extensive underground river system that flows to the ocean.’

I’ve never done anything quite like it, it’s such a different experience to diving in the wide, open ocean.

Getting ready I had butterflies in my stomach as I had no idea what to expect and I’m by no means a cave diver. The thought of diving through pitch dark tunnels was a slightly terrifying thought! (You don’t have to be a qualified cave diver to go cenote diving. I’m certified as PADI open water which was no problem at all).

Having discussed the dive plan with our dive master, as well as all the special hand signals for diving in the dark (you have to use your torch in a slow, circular motion to signal you’re ok, and back & forwards quickly if you’re in distress), I felt much more confident about the adventure ahead.

I was so psyched to get in and see what it was all about!

The first cave we explored was called Chac Mool. It was absolutely incredible!

Excitement building, we walked down some steps with all our gear on, and hopped in the large pool entrance amongst the trees and bushes of the jungle.

After  my descent to about 12m, I looked up and the scene above me was just beyond stunning. Rays of sunlight penetrated through the strikingly blue, clear water, creating streams of twinkling, sparkling light across the entire entrance. It was magical!

And hard to tear your eyes away from.

We continued swimming in to the depths of the cave, through a wide, dark tunnel and circled back towards the entrance again. This cenote is also well known as it has a halocline – the top layer is freshwater, which overlies salt water beneath.

It was fascinating to be swimming through fresh, crystal-clear water, to all of a sudden be surrounded by what seemed like a thick, fuzzy cloud, and then back to clear again. It’s a thrilling experience, especially when it’s pretty dark as you can’t really see a thing! After a few deep breaths I eventually got used to it :).

A few hundred feet away was the next cenote we went to, called Kukulcan. Again the halocline is prominent here. By this point I was really enjoying swimming in and out of the layers throughout the dive, it definitely adds an extra element of surprise!

I loved the eeriness of diving through dark passages (they were always wide enough to allow at least two people to swim through, and the reason it isn’t classified as cave diving), especially when you could spot shadows lurking across the cave walls..

Half way through the dive we popped up at an ‘air dome‘. It was brilliant to look up and discover a dense forest of stalactites right above us!

Both dives were fantastic and the highlight of my trip to Mexico. If you ever go to the Yucutan Peninsula, you should definitely check it out, even just to snorkel would be a great experience too :).