YUCATAN DIFFERENTLY

YUCATAN DIFFERENTLY

travels

Text and photos Zbigniew Rogoziński

Mexico, and especially the Yucatan peninsula, reminds me (and not only me) of cave dives and cenotes. It is not surprising, because this region is a real paradise for this type of diving. There is no point in mentioning the names of the most popular dive sites visited by tens of thousands of divers coming here every year, because almost everyone who practises this sport knows them. However, just immersing yourself in these natural wells and penetrating miles of underground corridors is not all this region has to offer underwater explorers. If someone would like to take a break between visiting other caves, and still would like to dive, there are places that can delight and thrill those who decide to visit them.

The Yucatan Peninsula is washed on two sides by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The second largest barrier reef system in the world is located in the waters of this latter basin.

The Yucatan Peninsula is washed on two sides by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. The second largest barrier reef system in the world is located in the waters of this latter basin. The Great Mesoamerican Coral Reef stretches over 5,000 miles along the coasts of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. One of the elements of this huge structure are the reefs located on the island of Cozumel, which is located 20 kilometres from the city of Playa del Carmen, and it was these reefs that were our first diving destination.

To dive on one of the more than 40 places available along Cozumel (most of the spots are located in the Cozumel Reefs National Marine Park), we went by boat from the vicinity of our hotel. Boats sailing for dives dock a dozen or so meters from the shore, so in order to get to them, we first had to complete several courses, moving equipment from the beach to the boat, wading in the water to the waist. It took our boat about an hour to reach the places on the reefs of Cozumel, which we thoroughly used to clarify the equipment, although at the speed at which we slid on the waves, it was not an easy task. Our two reef dives took place along the underwater walls, which descended vertically to the bottom lying at a depth of about 100 m. Swimming, or rather, getting carried away by a fairly strong current, we passed over the beautiful structures of corals, huge coloured sponges, among which hundreds of other creatures were moving. Turtles, morays, stingrays, reef sharks and crawfish are just some of the inhabitants of this place, which we managed to spot during two, one-hour long dives. This healthy and diverse ecosystem provides a safe environment for more than 600 species of marine creatures, including a few that are nowhere else on earth.

In addition to snooping around the barrier reef, you can also try something else here. The waters around Cozumel, for a reason, are not particularly known as a wreck dive site. Most of the ships that sank in the rough coastal waters lie at depths inaccessible to any diver, and shallow wrecks are destroyed by seasonal storms and tropical hurricanes, which quite often pass through the area. Fortunately, there are several sunken ships breaking out of this pattern. One such wreck is the gunship C-53 Felipe Xicotencatl. The ship US Scuffles, which was originally the name and class of the ship, was built at the Wilson Marine Shipworks in Tampa in 1943. Immediately after the launch, the unit was sent to the Pacific, where it served until the end of World War II, clearing minefields and providing protection for transports from attacks by Japanese aircraft and submarines. At the end of the war, in 1946, she was removed from service and sold to the Mexican Navy. After arriving in Mexico, the ship was converted into an Admiral-type gunship and renamed C-53 Felipe Xicotancatl. For the next 37 years, from 1962 to 1999, the ship patrolled the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean Sea, serving rescue missions and searching for arms and drug traffickers. After 55 years at sea, C-53 was permanently withdrawn from service, and then, together with two other ships, was sunk as elements of an artificial reef. Thus, the wrecks became diving attractions, which allowed to reduce traffic on nearby reefs.

After descending to the surface, you can almost immediately see a wreck standing on an even keel, on the bottom, located at a depth of over 20 meters, over 56 meters. The ship was sunk in a place that allows easy access for divers visiting it, at a safe distance from the reef, in an area shielded from strong currents. Looking at this rather large wreck, it is hard to imagine the strength of the hurricane of 2005, which almost tore and moved the unit on the sandy bottom by more than 100 meters!!! Before the sinking, the ship was specially prepared for diving purposes. In addition to thorough cleaning of the unit, all wires and pipes were removed, and holes in the sides were cut to facilitate its penetration. There are not many deposits inside and outside the wreckage. This, as well as easy access to the interior and a small depth, encourages you to explore every corner of the ship during which you can see its inhabitants. In the 16 years since the sinking, this artificial structure has become home to various marine organisms. Sponges, anemone and corals have already taken over the decks and sides, forming dense colonies. During our diving inside the gunship, we saw really large crabs, crawfish, morays and glassfish shoals hanging in the corridors. In one of the cabins, there were hundreds of small, colourless shrimps, who did not know why they chose this place. Swimming around the wreckage, we encountered barracudas floating in the blue and large dusky groupers, and all of them were among a lot of smaller fish, looking for a safe hiding place in the recesses of this artificial reef.

The local waters hide another attraction for divers. Between November and March, in the waters near Playa del Carmen, there are female bull sharks that come here to give birth. This opportunity was, of course, used by diving bases, which introduced diving with bull sharks to their offer. Our diving with these predators took place from a boat, less than 400 meters from the beach. Despite such a short distance, at which we met those considered to be the most aggressive sharks, from tourists resting on the beaches, so far no attacks on people have been recorded here. The plan for our dive was simple. We went down to the sandy bottom, at a depth of about 25 meters, and waited for the sharks swimming in this place.

We were holding the rope fixed to the bottom, which helped us maintain our position despite the light current. The base that organised our dives doesn't lure sharks into bait boxes. This does not help in taking good photos, because these dangerous predators are rather shy and do not get too close to divers for no reason, but personally I am not in favour of teaching sharks to associate people with food ;). After several minutes of waiting at the bottom, we only managed to see the outlines of their silhouettes circulating at the border of our sight. So we decided to swim away from the rope and look for them. Such tactics proved effective. Swimming over the bottom, out of a sandy hill, we managed to surprise sharks several times, which, however, completely ignored us and quickly disappeared in the blue. Nevertheless, it is worth to spend a few dollars to see these beautiful animals in their natural environment and write such a dive into your diving CV :)

Swimming along a tangle of mangroves or tunnels, formed under a layer of peat pierced by mangrove roots, takes your breath away.

During our stay in Mexico, in the vicinity of the city of Tulum, we visited another place where you can "take a break" from cave dives, but not exactly. Casa Cenote, because we are talking about it, is a place which, despite its name, resembles a river which, by the way, does not occur in the Yucatan, rather than a typical cenote. The water from the underwater caves flows to the surface here, and then, meandering along the shores covered with mangroves, disappears again underground after a few hundred meters, and then through the sunken corridors connects to the open sea. This close and direct connection to the open ocean means that you can find here a very diverse fauna, both fresh and saltwater. Descending under the surface of the water, the uniqueness of this place is immediately noticeable. Swimming along a tangle of mangroves or tunnels, formed under a layer of peat pierced by mangrove roots, takes your breath away. On top of this you have an amazing game of lights and thousands of fish, from little dwarf cichlid and Yucatan mollies to really big tarpons. You feel like you're diving under the jungle. At the bottom, we met beautifully coloured blue crabs every now and then, which escaped to the side as we approached them. Another name for this place is Cenote Manati, because these large mammals used to visit this place. It is too bad that it hardly happens anymore. At the end of its "river section", the bottom of Casa Cenote becomes more rocky, with lots of cracks and caves. In one of these rock chambers, our guide showed us the skeleton of a sea turtle, which proves that this place is also visited by marine inhabitants. The closer you get to the sea, the more salt water flows with tides into this natural reservoir, and mixing with the fresh water that feeds the reservoir, it creates a halocline that blurs everything around you and creates wonderful light effects. Despite the lack of manatees, this cenote has its "pet" that we met during our dive. Panchito, this is the two-metre Morelet's crocodile, who lives in this cenote. Unfortunately, just like bull sharks, it is rather shy and after a quick swim over our heads, it hid in the tangle of mangrove roots. At the end of the dive, however, we managed to track it down and take a short photo session, although our model did not intend to help us much.

If someone still feels a lack of satisfaction as for the Yucatan attractions and communing with its nature, I suggest you take a trip to the Rio Lagartos reserve. The reserve is located on the northern coast of the Yucatan on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Within 60,000 hectares of the park, there are forests, dunes, mangrove forests, estuaries and 60 kilometers of beaches. The most popular form of visiting this place is a boat trip with a local guide. We sailed out of the fishing village with the same name as the reserve. During the two-hour tour, you can see hundreds of birds that live here 388 species: cormorants, pelicans, black eagles, herons, ibis, vultures, ospreys and flamingos – these are just some of those that we managed to spot. In addition to birds, many species of mammals, fish, amphibians and reptiles also live here, including two species of crocodiles: American and Mexican (Morelet's crocodile). According to our guide, the local crocodiles are harmless and you can swim with them or pat them on the head. While we let go of the first option (the water was too cold), I managed to confirm the version with stroking and I can still count on my fingers to ten. The best attraction of this place is an amazing arthropod inhabiting the local waters, a horseshoe crab, which unfortunately we did not manage to see during our cruise.

Flying to Mexico, I was focused on diving in cenotes and caves, treating other destinations as an interlude. On the spot, however, it turned out that while diving underground not only the Yucatan can delight.

PERFECTDIVER No. 3(21)/2022 27