by Sally McKinney
Riviera Maya rituals celebrate life: Margaritas on a terrace, a siesta beside the pool. Yet, back from the glare of sunlight on beaches, dense forests guard the portals of a limestone underworld: the Yucatan’s labyrinth of solution caves.
Do you have what it takes to explore?
Modern adventurers find an array of edgy options: hiking through steamy jungle; snorkeling in hidden cenotes; rappelling down cliffs; diving in the longest wet cave systems in the world.
Early inhabitants of the Yucatan found shelter in the same domed caverns; crawled through narrow, rubble-strewn corridors; and bathed in freshwater pools. They believed that sacred cenotes were gateways to the underworld they called Xibalba. . . a dark realm where souls went after death and the gods of death ruled.
Xibalba offers ever-scarier levels of challenge.
Will you follow a thorny path through tangled forest to see a hidden cave? Climb a rickety ladder to dive into a dark blue pool? Squeeze into a musty wetsuit. . .to explore an unknown subterranean world?
Early Mayans used Xibalba for sacred rituals. Archeologists have found Mayan incense burners and ritual metates used in these cave systems--before the last Ice Age ended and the dry systems flooded. Centuries later, ritual drinking and feasting still takes place in a cave called Alux. Named for a mischievous spirit, the cave has been through several modern transformations. At one time, the cavern had dining tables and a wishing well. After that, it became a dance club. After that it came to life once more as Alux Restaurant & Lounge. Early Mayans also had many uses for cenotes, the sacred portals to Xibalba. These deep natural wells appear when the limestone covering collapses. "Now, as in ancient times," says author Richard Harris in HIDDEN CANCUN & THE YUCATAN, "cenotes link the surface world of light and air with a deep, cold, secret underworld. . . ."
Stand for a while at the entrance to Cenote Dzitnup, and the tropic heat oppresses. A tunnel with rickety board steps curves down into a dark hole; theres only a rope for a hand-hold. Yet, emerge onto a rocky platform, and you’re enveloped by a limestone cavern enclosing a natural pool. High above, thin tree roots sway like ropes amid stalactites and the triangular bodies of sleeping bats. Through a hole in this canopy a dark-eyed boy in a red T-shirt watches three snorkelers push off from massive boulders. The cool, fresh water is a blessing.
Each of the Yucatan cenotes has unique features. At Cenote Ik Kil, in the lush green Ik Kil Parque Ecoarqueologico, skinny waterfalls spill from a limestone roof into a natural swimming pool. Between Playa del Carmen and Tulum, modern pilgrims refresh themselves in Cristalino Cenote, known for very clear water. Here--and at other cenotes--bathers use only eco-friendly sunscreen. Another cenote, El Jardin de Eden, evokes images of paradise.
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Along the cenote trail, the colors of these freshwater pools shift throughout the day like sparkling gemstones in a string of beads. Cenote Manati-- a series of pools--can be found amid mangroves where Sistema Nohoch Nan Chich enters the sea. Along the Tulum-to-Coba road, snorkelers at the Grand Cenote find speleotherms formed centuries ago. The famous Cenote Azul was once thought to be bottomless. Despite this, it’s been found to be 61.5 meters deep and 185 meters wide.
An award-winning company called Alltournative R features cenote swims on its adventure, ecology, and culture tours. Alltournative R has been helping rural villagers to profit in sustainable ways as regional development expands.
On a Mayan Encounter Tour, guide Ricardo Diaz Cortes challenges each client to overcome fears. Will the slim, older woman dive from the rocky edge of a darkwater cenote? No way. Will the spunky Canadian woman secure the harness, then slide down a cable to the far side of a lake? Yes. Will that sturdy guy from San Francisco be able to rappel down a cliff? Swing out above open water? Of course!
When the mythic Hero Twins traveled through the Mayan Underworld, they were challenged by the Gods of Death. Their tests were life-threatening, and even the place names were frightening: Trembling Canyon, River of Blood, the House of Killer Bats. Using sharp wits--and a few magic powers--the twins triumphed over death. . .or so the story goes.
How will you meet the challenges of Xibalba?
Explorers with cave diving skills have already met--and continue to meet--the many challenges in the Maya Underworld. Sistema Dos Ojos (Two Eyes), 36 miles long, was one of three locations used for JOURNEY INTO AMAZING CAVES. When IMAX diver/ photographer Brad Ohlund worked on the film he said floating through Dos Ojos was "like being in a dream."
Cave divers who explored Sistema Dos Ojos helped establish Hidden Worlds Cenotes Park . At Dos Ojos, divers with open water certification--and good buoyancy control--find much to explore. In Caverna de Murcielagos ( Bat Cave ) they encounter delicate stalactites as well as thick, sturdy pillars. In the Dreamgate Cenote, divers traveling upstream can enter a spectacular cavern; those floating downstream experience yet another wondrous room.
Grupo de Exploracion Ox Bel Ha (known as GEO), operated from mobile base camps located close to each cenote entrance. Divers who used portable compressors and side-mounted tanks also moved about in Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPV’s).
As the daring explorations continue, the measurements keep changing! Sistema Ox Bel Ha is now 102 miles -- the longest wet cave system in the world. Early in 2007 divers discovered that Sac Actun and Nohoch Nah Chich actually function as one system! Known as Sac Actun, and now considered 98 miles long, this now ranks as the world’s second longest wet cave system.
As a cave diver/explorer, how deep will you go? Do you know that the floor of one cavern in Sistema Dos Ojos lies nearly 400 feet below the earth?
Diving/exploring with the GEO team showed Sam Meacham that "these flooded cave systems play an important role: transporting fresh water from the interior to the Caribbean Sea ." The systems are also the "primary source of potable water for the population." Underwater explorers know that the Yucatan’s fresh water cave systems are natural wonders to be treasured.
In 1998, cave diving tour operators and others formed APSA (the Association of Aquatic Services Providers of the Riviera Maya). APSA has improved guide training, safety, and diver certification in the region.
Maybe you’re not really that adventurous.
Even if you nap in a hammock under a ceiba tree, you can’t escape Xibalba! The early Mayans placed the sacred ceiba at the center of the universe. The tree’s roots tapped the subterranean darkness, and the leafy branches reached up toward heaven.
