I was very fortunate to be able to enjoy 15 extended cave dives over two weeks. Most of the dives were between two and three hours in length, including a couple of dives that we swam more than a mile. Whew, my calves are still complaining!!
The first photo is from the Cavernas De Los Colmillos line, past Cuzan Nah in the Sak Actun system ( Grand Cenote Entrance).
The Cuzan Nah Loop is definitely the most photogenic dive in Mexico and I never get tired of it.
The second photo is a couple of Mayan Water Pots in the Chan Hol system. Chan Hol Cenote means "small hole cenote", which is what the entrance is. You crawl in through a relatively small mud puddle which is barely deeper than your knees. These pots are probably less than 5000 years old as they are relatively shallow.
The third photo is from the Nahoch Na Chich system (Bird Cage system), which was recently connected to Sac Aktun. This is about 3000' back just before you get to the Christmas Tree formation. Nahooch is very beautiful, but very, very delicate and really shallow.
The last photo isn't the best photo, but it was the most interesting dive for me. On the left side of the photo are the remains of an ancient Mayan, you can see the skull and jaw. There were five skeletons removed from this area (now in Museums) that were carbon dated to about 8500 years ago. There is a huge fire pit nearby, with scorched walls and ceiling, and the generally intact condition of the remains make me wonder if carbon monoxide poisening didn't take the lives of this old mayan family.
System Naranjal (Jailhouse Cenote). You should be able to click on the pictures for a larger image.
Have a great weekend!
