Riviera Maya The Yucatan Peninsula Diving the Ancient Mayan Underworld is located in the south of the contiguous Mexican states. The ground here is heated by the tropical sun—35°C makes for a hot and impassable jungle. The bogs—littered with iguanas, snakes and crocodiles— are drying up. A rare trop- ical storm suddenly and unexpectedly flies up from the Caribbean Sea. Black clouds, peals of thunder, bright lighting, squalls of wind and rain last no more than 15–20 minutes and again the damp stuffy mind- melting weight of the stifling heat returns. It is not the best place to dwell for the white man. But this land saw an era over 1000 years ago, when it was occupied by a surprisingly small-in-stature, dark-skinned people—the Maya. Text by Andrey Bizyukin Edited by Gunild Symes Photos by Andrey Bizyukin Brigitte Veldman, J P Bresser Alexander Andrianov and Peter Symes 23 X-RAY MAG : 15 : 2007 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED travel Riviera Maya CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: Mayan ruins; The coast of Yukatan; The mysterious under- world of the ancient Mayan people PREVIOUS PAGE: Diver explores cave The Mayans completely adapted to the conditions of their environment, with superb observations of the nature around them, learning to cultivate maize and settling sea, everywhere smiling cheerful area does not exceed 18 meters, and in throughout their lands. In homage people with fins, snorkels, masks the vicinity of the city, there is only one to their Gods, they constructed and cylinders on their backs, a wreck. But one can see the same diving temples, pyramids and observatories. casino, noisy discos, night clubs pleasures you can find here in any other They developed an alphabet and and the popular Mexican bullfight place around Caribbean basin. So why wrote texts. They devised their every Wednesday. There are do experts recommend coming to this own calendar, composed legends huge divers’ supermarkets where location? To go here only for sea diving? and wrote down history of unique it is possible to buy everything one Definitely not. So why then, during the peoples. Mayans have maintained needs for diving. There are fleets high season, do 70,000 visitors come their unique guttural language and of dive boats heading out to sea when all the local hotels have put up the the original tenets of their culture up every morning with enthusiastic “sold out” notice? Why do these people to current times. skin divers onboard. choose Cancun and the Riviera Maya? Over 30 years ago, the government Certainly, there is interesting The answer to this question is that only of Mexico made a decision that for everyone in plunging into here, on the Riviera Maya, is it possible to changed the life of its native peoples. the underwater world of the see one of the truly great diving miracles The government set out to construct Caribbean Sea, to admire the of the world—the surprising and exciting a new resort on the southeast coast multi-colored tropical fishes, to world of the underwater caves of the of the Yukatàn Peninsula on a place place where the Mayan god lives), and are popular vacation spots and make- dive in thickets of soft corals, to take Yukatàn. hitherto unknown in a small fishing village. includes the area adjoining it which has up the diving capital of the Mexican pleasure in the strongest sea currents An old Mayan legend tells a story The city is now known as Cancun, which been built up with luxurious hotel—the Caribbean islands. Here, one will find around and to explore the underwater about how the gods, when they created translated from the Mayan language Riviera Maya. smart hotels, splendid palm trees, snow- bronze guns of Spanish galleons even the land, filled the peninsula with fresh means “the nest of the Snake” (or the Today Cancun and the Riviera Maya white beaches of coral sand, the azure though the maximal diving depth in this water, which they say is the “blood” 24 X-RAY MAG : 15 : 2007 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED travel Riviera Maya feeding the ground of the Maya. When caves have become the focus of mass and it is necessary for all participants on cave divers dive in water with a visibility limestone collapses within a cave, pilgrimages of skin divers from all over the cave diving excursion to have an of no less than 10 meters, a depth of no freshwater lakes (in the Maya language the world. Open Water certificate. more than 33 meters and a distance is “cenotes”) become the inputs to People that come here in the hottest from the cenote’s entrance of no more the magical underground world of the part of the day will take pleasure in Cenote Etiquette than 65 meters. Often, the dive group’s ancient Mayan gods. In the past, during the crystal clear cool waters (+24°C) At the entrance of the cenotes, departure is a distance of 300-400 seasons of heavy draught, cenotes were and swim for a while at the mouth of a you will have to hear a meters for 35-40 for Mayans the unique, sacred sources of cavern with only a mask, a snorkel and a short lecture on how to minutes from fresh water. Here, at the cenotes edge, small torch in hand. Those who are more correctly do the frog kick the entrance Mayan priests made human sacrifices brave dive here with a skilled guide—an with your fins, how to of the cave, and dumped the bodies of the victims instructor with one cylinder behind his show signals by torch, and on into the caverns. From here, they took back and a noisy cheerful company how to use a guide line many sites water for irrigating maize fields. But the of friends. The rules of cave diving are and how to use the of such terrible pagan customs are long past simple enough: one guide should have “one third” tank rule. routes, gone in history, and now the underwater no more than four underwater tourists, As a rule, beginning there is CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Mayan warrior dances to invoke the spirits; Divers explores cenote caverns; Cenote welcome sign 25 X-RAY MAG : 15 : 2007 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED travel Riviera Maya absolutely no daylight visible. “sit on an adrenaline needle” for a During these routes, it is always long time. possible to find several air chambers under the arch of a cave or outputs in Cave Diving Tourism dry cave halls. The popularity of cave Perfectly organized mass cave diving diving here has become so great that tourism is the brightest distinctive all dive centers offer similar rounds and feature and unconditional advantage will organize excursions almost daily. In of Cancun and Riviera Maya dive the afternoon, at an input to a cenote, centers. It is a real cave diving it is sometimes possible to see the lines paradise. To be on the Yukatàn and of several divers who are waiting for never dive the underwater caves is an opportunity just to begin a dive. to miss an opportunity to achieve a People go cave diving here only for diver’s greatest success. the pleasure of it. This is the reason why On the peninsula today, it is known it is has become so attractive for so that there are over 3,000 cenotes, many people. entrances to underwater limestone Underwater caves expand the labyrinths. Through the efforts of many diver’s erudition and open for them the brave cave divers, it was possible to Nah Chich, one of the longest cave mysterious world of the Mayan culture. prove that many of these cenotes diving labyrinths, having a total extent What you will see here completely were connected with each other and of underwater passages of more than contradicts preconceived opinions… had a general hydrological system. 68 kilometers. And in the deepest that cave diving is only for the elite— This means that if you dive in one of cave system, Dos Ojos, a depth of 106 groups of single-minded people who these cenotes, you can find an exit on meters has already been reached. always put on black equipment and the surface far from the place where Modern explorations and scientific cannot live without the feeling of you started your dive and come out in research confirms the old Mayan constant danger… those who like to another part of the jungle. So Nohoch legend about the huge underground THIS PAGE: Divers swim through passages and narrow crevasses. INSET: Ancient Mayan art 26 X-RAY MAG : 15 : 2007 EDITORIAL FEATURES TRAVEL NEWS EQUIPMENT BOOKS SCIENCE & ECOLOGY EDUCATION PROFILES PORTFOLIO CLASSIFIED RIGHT: Divers traverse the stony landscapes of the Mayan underworld; Dancers perform traditional Mexican dances: LOWER RIGHT Riviera Maya travel INSET: A cenote sits silently in the jungle river which connects together all checking equipment functionality the cenotes of the peninsula. It and capacity, one’s own and is my opinion whatever it is that one’s buddy’s regulators, gauges, exists here under the Yukatàn torches, reels, etc., as well as will be explored, and one of complete a bubble check. Once the greatest underwater cave again we repeat the dive plan, systems of the world will be and then we commence the discovered. Even though our time dive. was short here, our team decided Water tenderly embraces us, to try to make a few research fins wave easily, and we plunge dives into some of the most into the delightful known cenotes.