Diving the Cenotes of the Yucatan

With eyes like dinner plates I lowered myself into the water at the entrance of the Angelita Cenote in the Yucatan... Frankly I found it all rather scary. 'So when did you last scuba dive?' asked the dive master. When I frowned and looked as though I was thinking, he simply said: 'Well, as long as it's within the last couple of years.'

Five years, more like. So when we were about to descend and he saw my eyes as large as dinner plates he did the right thing and grabbed me by the bcd to 'encourage' me to take the plunge.  I had come five thousand miles to do this and it wouldn't do to head back to London explaining I had been too scared to complete the assignment... Got to be bold. And so right he was, too. We submerged into one of the most magical experiences I have ever had, though as you'll see, I didn't really trust my critical judgement 30 metres down on the dive...

The original article, sponsored by Original Diving as it happens, was published in the Financial Times. Read The Thrill of Cave Diving in Mexico.

The cenotes are an extraordinary network of caves, holes and tunnels that have been eroded into the limestone bedrock of the Yucatan. They are mostly fresh water, though close to the coast fresh and salt water do mix, one sitting on top of the other.