This is a question that can be applied to any diving all over the world, why should I dive in Fiji or Australia or the Mesoamerican Reef in Mexico. But when it comes to cave diving, we have to say the Yucatan Peninsula is the queen of cave diving trips!

Why you ask?

1. Visibility. People only dream of our visibility in the fresh water system that we have here. it is clear, it is not silted, unless you silt it, it is the closest to space travel you will ever feel. Many other caves in the world have competing water systems that feed into the caves. Though we have that here, they seem to compliment the water, not hinder it. Check it out for yourself, it is incredible.
2. Haloclines. This is when fresh water meets salt water. Normally in a thermocline the colder water which is all fresh will sink to the bottom. In our systems, salt water is more dense than fresh so the salt water with the fresh water creates a halocline, a distinct differentiation between these two water densities. The fun part, salt water is warmer so you end up with an inverted warmth factor. If you are lucky and you are the first to enter the area where a halocline exists, you can witness where the two water densities meet, and the distinction is amazing.
3. Natural formations. Due to the geography of this area, we are fortunate if not blessed to have some of the most decorated systems in the world. The stalagmites and stalatites are intact, finite and in some areas extremely large. YOu wont be finding this anywhere else in the world and we are proud to have such a great display of natural cave systems.
4. Eco mindedness. Due to the delicateness of the systems and the personal exploration completed by many of the professional cave divers here, there is a great awareness of the fragility of these systems. YOu leave the caves the same way you found them. Become the best diver you can be so that you do not create damage. The cave divers who live in the area are always looking for better ways to streamline their equipment, safe guard the caves, teach other cave divers the need for preservation and will not let new cave divers enter if they are missing this philosophy. Self regulation is one of the best attributes of our cave divers and property owners.
5. Transportation. Cave systems open to the general public have easy access. Most caves are within a 30 to 45 minute drive and some just 10 minutes away. Entries are made easy by property owners and equipment is easy to rent.
6. Local Guides. The best way to access the caves is through a local certified cave diver who has dive center support and lots of years of experience. Why spend thousands of dollars to get here and then get frustrated with finding the best dives, the jumps and the best way to do a traverse. Local guides can make your cave vacation an easy and educational experience. It really is the only way to go.
7. Information. The cave diving community is open, honest and full of information, not only about cave diving but about what you can do in the area, the best things to do during your non diving time and they may even share a beer with you. We are a friendly bunch and love what we do so you will find that you get not only cave information but a whole lot more.

The Riviera Maya is one of the best cave diving destinations in the world, not only for diving but also for training. If you are thinking of making the leap, the change, the jump, this is the place to be…

Well being the good reporters that we are, and knowing where Kay is most of the time, she granted us the interview the BBC could not seem to get.

1. Do you remember the day you discovered the PIT?

I remember the day Dan Lins and I discovered the Pit as if it was yesterday. We had been coming from the downstream side of Dos Ojos, through a little tunnel we had explored earlier, looking for leads that would have us continue our journey and exploration. Visibility was zero. Total white out from silt. We bumped and grinded over some flow stone into clear water. I was stuck at one point in the restriction, worming my way through. we had no idea where we were headed and thought this was going to be a dead end. Once through the restriction, about 30 feet beyond, we noticed light. Could it be? We swam out of a tunnel which was at a depth of 40 feet deep and into a round crevasse. A void, bottomless, with a the swirl of hydrogen sulfate simmered below like steam from a cauldron. I felt incredibly small, minute, in the enormous space. Until this point most of the cave systems in Quintana Roo had been shallow, less than 100′ feet generally. Passageways by comparison, small. After surfacing in excitement we decided to tie off and see where the bottom was. I lead and we went to 240′ deep having missed the deeper lead. It was the deepest I had ever been at the time. In later dives we learned the bottom was 400 feet deep and more horizontal than vertical. Dan and I wanted to find the shallow passage out of the pit, which would be the more promising continuation of the cave. While following the wall perimeter we found a tunnel at 40 feet that continued down stream.

2. What were your first impressions?

As stated above, i felt small in comparison to the huge gapping hole we had just entered. The entire experience was surreal and it was tough trying to digest what i was looking at. there were beams of light coming from the heavens and a steamy cauldron below me. having just come out of a small restriction, with zero visibility and no idea where we were going to end up, I might have said I was in heaven.

3. Was this your first discovery of a new system or had you discovered other systems prior to the PIT.

Before the Pit, I had had opportunities to discover, with other divers, the upstream side on Ponderosa, now called Eden, sections of Nohoch Nah Chich, parts of Cristalino and explorations of Dos Ojos which was at the time the second largest cave system in the world.

4. What was your favorite part of the PIT cavern and cave.

My favorite parts of the Pit dive, and all the dives that started there, aside from the geological wonder of it, was the time spent with the people I dove with there that included exploration work to photo shoots. During that time, the only way we could access the system was with long treks in the jungle with equipment on horses, marching ants taking us by storm on hikes out of the jungle in the dark. The time at camp as we set up for dives that involved numerous tanks and numerous hours were half the fun! I loved the time spent with some of the best divers I know; the laughter, the tears, the fatigue that comes with cave exploration, all made the pit a special time in my dive career. Cave exploration is an activity, above and below the waterline, that will push you physically, mentally and emotionally. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had ever.

The cave system featured in this BBC video is a system off of Dos Ojos called the ‘The Pit’.  Open Water divers can experience this system as a cenote, only able to dive within the mouth of the cave as it is technically a cavern.  Where Steve goes in this video is not part of the cenote, but the shots in the beginning and end of the video where you see the light rays is where open water certified divers can dive.  It is an advanced dive in the cenote portion due to the depth of this dive, up to 100 ft/30m but well worth the drive into the jungle.

Kay Walten, a dear friend and partner in social media crime, found the system over a decade ago when she was actively cave diving in the area.  She still lives in the area and has granted us an exclusive interview, an interview that the BBC could not get while they were here.  Her current passion is her website Locogringo and the development of social media.  She is a pioneer in whatever she does and continues to break barriers, make discoveries and push the envelope on land in 2010.  Her discovery was over 14 years ago but her memories are vivid of this day.  Watch for the upcoming interview of this exclusive interview.

Steve uses a side mount technique in this video when he is exploring the pit.  he is also using a scooter so he can penetrate further into the system.  You will witness the great skill of these divers and why the cave course is so essential to your development as a cave diver.

Steve and Sam are two of many cave divers who enter unknown systems in the area.  This video does a great job of highlighting some basic safety rules, the bread and butter of cave diving principles, that each cave diver follows each and every time they enter the cave.  Safety always comes first and you will see this with the use of air, cave lines, arrows and cookies.

The shots are fabulous and we will highlight some more BBC footage as we post our blogs.  Though a bit dramatic in the narrators language, it is all true!  without observation of the most basic safety rules you will not come out alive.

Many people come to this area with their passion in hand, personal money and a vision and explore the greatest cave system in the world located throughout the state of Quintana Roo and the Yucatan.  Many are still here, continue to explore and continue to dive with their heart on their sleeve to find more information about the systems that are below the jungle, the culture of the area and the natural wonders of the area.

In a photo shoot done by Wes before his death, the National Geographic highlighted a recent dive he did in a cave system outside of the area.  His photos are stunning and need to be shared.  It shows the eye he had, the range of his incredible dive skill and the dedication to he to cave diving and cave systems.

Wes you will be missed but more importantly, thank you for participating in the ongoing discovery of the Yucatan cenotes and cave system.      Your passion, your vision and enthusiasm was a great addition to the ongoing discovery of the largest cave system in the world.

This is a cave video, taken by our good friend Harry as he was exploring a new cave system the String of Pearls.  Harry is a long term resident and as you will see in the video a great great diver.  This video is not of a cenote, and please if you are exploring the idea of cenote diving do not take this as an example of a cenote.  THIS IS A CAVE and unless you are cave certified you would not be able to do this.  What i appreciate about this video is that non cave divers can experience a cave dive without penetrating the area.  this will either inspire you or it will confirm a belief that cave diving is not for you.

Oddly enough, harry and the videographer of film stayed with us during their exploration of this system in 2008 at Hotel Tropical Casablanca.  They were very hush hush about their cave diving during this 14 days as cave explorers do not release their information until they have documented the entire system.  Maybe CIA should mean cave investigation and authorizing instead of its normal definition.  These explorations are top secret and are shared once they are completed not during their completion.

This video is a great example of what a cave diver does and enjoys.  I am thankful it was posted and even more thankful for the time these two put into the exploration of the String of Pearls.

There is not a lot we can say prior to this video as it speaks for itself.

When you study these maps, which we do all the time, they are not only interesting and informative, but they can be works of art.  The thousands of diving hours coupled with the drawing and mapping time makes these more valuable then lets say , the Mona Lisa. 

Now I am sure that there are many who have an opinion about that statement, but hear me out.  The Mona Lisa was painted sitting in a studio, either from a vision of the painter or the painter was replicating a true person onto paper.  The artisit did not have to put on dive gear, find a buddy, take their slate , trek through the jungle, dive who knows how many times, and that is not even discussing the entry into the water, taking their notes and them mapping it out to create their ‘art’ that is used and admired by many.  Artists use many hours to create their art, but i dont know how many complete the prepartory work that cave divers complete in order to create their ‘art’.

Here are some examples of cave maps from the Quintana Roo Speleological Society www.caves.org

 to view this map in a large size go to this web page.

To show another detailed map there is also this map…a completely different outlook on what can be created.

 this can be viewed at this webpage.

 Cave mapping is amazing but credit really needs to be given to those cave divers who painsakenly have mapped and continue to map caves in the area.  They have volunteered their time and expertise to further the understanding of the caves in the area.  The Quintana Roo Speleological Society has made some great contributions and supported many divers since 1990.  Hats off to all the cave divers and artists who have contributed to cave understanding and knowledge.  From us, thank you!

An extreme sport is defined as a sport that meets the following criteria:

1.  have a high level of inherent danger

2.  are counter cultural

3.  involve speed, height, a high level of physical exertion

4.  highly specialized gear

5.  attract a younger demographic (what ever that means under 60, under under 30)

6.  higher number of inherently uncontrollable variables

7.  Is not a competitive sport though can stem from a competitive sport

8.  the sport inherently contains environmental obstacles and challenges

9.  enthusiasts are viewed to participate in a very dangerous or difficult sport

I think i could debate each of these points for many hours and could even go as far as debating the term ‘Sport”  for cavern and cave diving.  I will let each reader decide based on this criteria.

The history of cave diving can be brought to the idea of search and rescue.  Divers were trained to cave dive not as a sport as a way to rescue people who ended up in the cave systems either out of falling through a hole in a cenote on land, or those who thought that entering a hole in the earth without technical training would be a fun thing to do and found that they did not return.  IN this area, it became a way for divers to explore kilometers of systems that could not be accesses any other way but through the process of technical diving in overhead environments.  It was not viewed as a sport, in either instance, cave diving was a technical training that enable people to rescue or to uncover the mysterious of these inaccessable caves through normal means.

Since the process of cave diving and the popularization of overhead environment diving in ships and wrecks, and with the fascination of what lies beyond in the mayan systems of cenotes, cave instructors and cavern guides have been able to regularize cave and cavern diving for both technical and recreational divers.  The rigorous training is still there for cave divers, the education given to recreational divers if they wish to look at cavern (not cave) diving as an option while visiting the Riviera Maya.  and the instruction and education is done well, with caution and precaution.

Before you can cavern dive you need to satisfy the following criteria:

1.  have at least 20 dives in your log book

2.  complete a check out dive for your cavern guide or dive center instructor so they can determine if your buoyancy and basic scuba skills are appropriate for the overhead environment

3.  when you have been ‘okayed’ by your cavern guide, there is a very different and more technical briefing provided that introduces some basic technical diving skills, new hand signals, the rule of thirds, the role of the permanent line in the cenote and the need for small groups, no more than 4 divers per guide.

Cave diving has a seperate certification level all together and has levels of cave diving that you can work towards.  Cave diving is not for the recreational diver, it is the next step for those who feel they are ready to change their diving, their dive environments and where they can dive.  That is another post all to gether.

I have not answered the question is cave and cavern diving an extreme sport, as I would like you to make that conclusion.  Most importantly, both require a great level of skill and cave diving requires technical certification that can take up to 8 days to achieve.