CAVERN SCUBA DIVING IN RIVIERA MAYA, MEXICO

Points of rock hung from the ceiling, piercing the water's surface and extending down another few feet like upside down porcupine spines. Ripples surrounded them and, with our lights, they seem to float detached, in mid air.

Or really, in water.

Yeah, this was definitely a trip to another planet. Or closer, Carlsbad Caverns without gravity. We were flying, weightless, in it all.

Scuba diving in a water-filled cavern in Mexico is like nothing else you've ever seen. And Akumal, midway down Mexico's Riviera Maya on the Yucatan Peninsula, is the ONLY place on earth you can do this without tons of training.

You need only open ocean scuba certification for two reasons: you stay in the "cavern zone," meaning you can always see at least a glow of outside light. Plus there are these really competent cave trained guides to lead you and, if necessary, literally hold your hand.

What caused all these incredible formations is limestone and rainwater. Rain turns a bit acid on limestone and slooowly eats the rock away. Thousands of years later, you have dry tunnels. But the water still drips and then causes stalactites, stalacmites, flowstones and lots more. Then some of these caves fill back up with water and, voila, you've got a weightless landscape like no other.

Early Mayas (there are, by the way, still real Mayas around, and they're called Mayas, not Mayans) believed that these cenotes were the entrance to Xi Balba—the feared underground. They were sacred places of worship and, legends say, sacrifice. They were also the only source of fresh water, which made them even more precious.

There are hundreds of such diveable caves and caverns here, though the ones limited to cavern divers top out at about a dozen.

Going into this place is like swimming down the throat of Jaws. We swam through jagged points coming from the ceiling and the floor. And immediately, we were surrounded by points of rock hanging from the ceiling in sprays of sharp spines. They continued on like this for the entire hour-long dive ... folded walls and fragile columns so thin, you could have circled them with your fingers. Sometimes, the columns were smooth, with colors dripping vertically but more often, they had horizontal rings, like a million paper thin plates stacked atop each other.

We saw shrimp and catfish and always, those tiny fish called tetras.

And when we came out, gliding through the columns and spires, it was as if we had been spit out of some gigantic creature's mouth. Into Jaws and out again.

INFO BOX

The spring fed water in the cenotes runs about 77 degrees, so a shorty wetsuit is recommended, and because you are in fresh water, you can eliminate half the weight you would use in the ocean.

For cavern diving, you need only standard open water scuba gear, along with two battery powered lights but no snorkel. You stay within sight of natural daylight.

Non cave certified divers can dive cenotes only with a guide. A sample price is $70 US for one tank, $130 US for two. Decent quality rental gear is available.

Fancy "all inclusive" hotels line the beaches nearer Cancun with smaller hotels in the Akumal area, including beach bungalows. Further south is Tulum, a post-hippie collection of on-the-beach inns where dressing for dinner means putting on a T-shirt.

Contact:

Riviera Maya: www.rivieramaya.com
Akumal Dive Center: www.akumaldivecenter.com
Private dive guide: [email protected]

Xel Ha is Disney meets the Caribbean. No, it's not a Disney park. But it sure seems like one.

It's part of Riviera Maya, a 75 mile stretch along the coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula on Mexico's east coast. Since 1997, the area has exploded with fantastic luxury hotels and, even better, several theme parks like nothing else you've seen.

You pay one price and get nearly everything ... snorkeling, food, beaches, ziplines and so much more. Swimming and walking with the stingrays and dolphins are extra at Xel Ha, but, wow, are they worth it.

Sure you can sit in bleachers at an ocean show and watch dolphins jump and twirl. But here, you are under water. Next to them. Touching them. Feeling their power as they wind up for a jump.

At 13 feet below the surface, we were a bit deeper. Again, we had a guide/trainer and again, he motioned us to stop. Then he flicked his hand and two dolphins appeared, hovering in the water while we stroked their smooth, slick skin.

And as suddenly as they had appeared, swoosh, they were gone. And back again, this time turning over so we could see and stroke their stomachs. But it was when they jumped that we really felt their strength. They twirled, like little tornadoes, leaving only bubbles in their wake. The water rolled and we actually got pushed by the underwater wave.

We learned there are 15 dolphins at Xel Ha, most born either here or at neighboring Xcaret. And though we didn't try it, we saw other people swimming on the surface with dolphins ... getting pushed and pulled by them and having lots of fun.

We did try snorkeling the mangrove river, nearly a mile long with fish that swim up to you and stingrays burrowing into the sandy bottom. And there were the games. First we snorkeled past low cliffs with ladders and stopped to watch folks jump into the water. Next was a ropes course where you hold onto one rope and walk along another, trying not to fall into the water which is only inches below.

But it was the zipline that stopped us short. Of course, we had to try it. There's a series of these low lines where you just sit in a sling and slide giggling into the water.

Back at the exit dock, we watched clouds of fish swim around the pilings and more stingrays flit about. And then, we found the hammocks and the mango coconut drinks. And we just enjoyed the sun. XEL HA INFO: The list of activities at Xel Ha is almost endless: snorkeling, snuba (like scuba but easier), hammock massages, swimming with dolphins, under water trekking with stingrays and dolphins, ziplines, cliff jumps, rope walks, mountain bicycling. The entry fee buys some activities and all food and drink.

There are two other parks in the area, Xcaret which has water activities but also focuses more on Maya culture, and Xplor, which is more for adrenaline junkies, with treetop ziplines, snorkeling and rafting in actual caves plus a drive in an amphibious vehicle through jungle and into water-filled caves.

Then, if you want another way to see the spectacular features in the cenote caverns, there's Rio Secreto, a 90 minute hike and swim through one of these partially water filled tunnels with spiky stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

	Visitors stop for a group photo. Photo courtesy of Rio Secreto

Contact:

www.xelha.com
www.xcaret.com
www.xplor.travel
www.riosecreto.com