Mexico Day 5
Day 5 - Mayan Blue.
Another morning at the beach (although this time in the rain) left me heading to join Steve and Fred at Mayan Blue. I’d heard about this cave from Bob and was keen to see it.
We arrived at the cenote amid a cloud of mosquitoes who all appeared set on having European for lunch L The water looked very green and when we jumped in I found it was warm and full of fish – the little tetras which are common here.
We did our checks and when I put my mask on to check Fred for bubbles I looked down into a shoal of fish which must have numbered several hundred. I’m really not keen on these fish – they are related to pirhana and have very visible teeth – especially when up close like this. I ask Fred and Steve to hurry up and get on with the dive so I can get away from them which amuses Fred greatly. “OK – Clare is scared of some two inch long fish so she is going cave diving instead”
We head in to A tunnel which after yesterday’s Grecian cathedral appears like a gothic nightmare. Green water with white walls and black formations which snake down the sides of the tunnel which widens out into huge rooms. Visibility is quite poor for Mexico and we go in and out of a false halocline which makes the surroundings quite surreal and the cave hard to read. I consider thumbing the dive as I find the place very eerie and uncomfortable but tell myself to pull it together and settle down.
When we surface I ask Fred why it is called Mayan Blue as it is Mayan green, dank and dirty as far as I can see. He tells me that I’ll see from the next dive.
Dive two is B tunnel and I lead us in – or at least try to. Fred has indicated where the opening is and told me it is quite tight – but I drop down over the large rock pile that he pointed to and can’t see any opening. I persevere and eventually spot a gap between two large rocks which appears to continue down – I stick my head in and sure enough there is space behind it.
I tie off on branches in open water and again just inside the cave and then set off for the main line which is reasonably easy to find. The cave goes deep quite quickly and we go below the halocline proper into salt water.
The salt water is perfectly clear and has bleached the white limestone brilliant white. The water around our torches glows blue in colour – all around – and the halocline is visible just above us for much of the dive as a white shimmering line edged with blue. Formations here are fewer in number but white and the cave broadens out to large rooms again – each shaped very dramatically by the salt water layer. We surface and the mosquitoes greet us like a long lost lunch.
