Photos and Blog by BARE Ambassador Simon Lorenz
We love Mexico so much, and after this trip, we love it even more! I had been with groups to Yucatan before, but at different times. That is the amazing thing about Mexico: it offers such different animal interactions throughout the season. In the summer season, we had the opportunity to snorkel with whale sharks and manta rays, dive with manatees–and come face-to-face with the American Crocodile.
Snorkeling with Crocs
We started this trip in the most extreme way, snorkeling with “Salties,” short for saltwater crocodiles in Chinchorro Banks, an offshore reef close to Xcalak at the southern tip of Yucatan.
The crocs are slow moving because of the heat and are open for a snack provided by XTC croc handlers. In the morning, we hunted lionfish in the surrounding reefs–this species is a menace to the reefs of the entire Caribbean. Fish are tied on lines and thrown in the water to the crocs. The ambush-minded predators mostly sit still at the shallow lagoon floor and wait for an opportunity to pounce at the lionfish. They were so focused that they didn’t seem to notice us, which allowed us to observe, film and photograph these incredible creatures. It’s bizarre, but after some time in the water with them, we got comfortable being at arm’s length with their razor-sharp teeth
Manatees or Mermaids?
Xcalak also has some very interesting dives, so that was our next stop. The reefs weren’t too interesting, but there were two big highlights. Manatees swam in blue water, seemingly taking a break from feeding in the shallow waters between the reef and the beaches. Rather than seeing them eat seagrass, we witnessed them swimming, looking surprisingly graceful. Seeing them swim, it made sense how sailors once believed they were mermaids.
The second highlight was a dive in an underwater canyon that’s home to a massive school of tarpons. Tarpons are odd-looking silvery fish that have an unusually shaped head that allows them to swim close to the surface to ambush prey at the surface. As special as it is, Xcalaks Tarpons are massive! Each of these fish are around 1.5m long, the size of a fully-grown Grey Reef Shark! As long as we remained calm, they would circle around us like a school of giant jack fish.
From here we headed north to do the all-year classic of Yucatan–the Cenote caverns. There are hundreds of these fresh-water filled caverns hidden under the thick jungle. Each cenote has its own character. The classics like Taj Mahal or Dos Ojos have large stalactite filled caverns with clear water of up to 100m visibility. As the water doesn’t move, all sediment travels to the bottom. Clear-water diving really seems like flying.
Another fabulous cave system is Chak-Mool, where unfortunately cameras are forbidden. It features the largest cavern rooms as well as the most interesting thermoclines where different layers of water mix, blurring our vision when we transfer from one layer to another. We also dove Ponderosa Cavern, but this was a rather busy dive, and a lot less interesting than all other caverns.
Whalesharks in Cancun
After enjoying the restaurants and drinks of Playa del Carmen, a busy but colorful tourist town close to the cenotes, we spent the last few days in Cancun. I am definitely not a fan of this Americanoid Tourist Mecca with its massive hotels and fake beaches, but it offers access to the largest whaleshark aggregation in the world.
Our speed boat took us 30km out to the north of Cancun. In the middle of the blue, the currents bring Tuna eggs to the area, which seem to spawn all summer. Whalesharks and manta rays cruise through the blue water and filter the tiny eggs, invisible to us humans, out of the water. The food source must be rich, as the whalesharks come in vast numbers–up to 500 are counted in the area on some days.
Many boats also come out. Sometimes well over 50 boats will cruise the area, and if whalesharks are there, it can get very busy. Fortunately, we booked a private boat and the very experienced guides of Solo Buceo brought us to the sharks earlier in the day so we could stay longer. This gave all of us plenty of whaleshark and manta ray time. It’s phenomenal to swim next to these massive 5-8m long sharks that are absolutely not bothered by anything but feeding. You have to pay attention, but fortunately the only thing that can happen is a close pass and a gentle slap by the passing tailfin.
Equipment
Having such a diverse set of different diving experiences in one trip, one must plan to bring smart kit. My BARE 3mm Velocity was perfect – it’s the most comfortable suit to put on and wear and it gave me just the right temperature for all dives.
It gets very chilly in the cenotes, so I wore my BARE 5MM Ultrawarmth Hood to keep my head warm, and my super comfy 3mm Ultrawarmth Gloves as well. Underneath I had an extra layer of a 5mm Ultrawarmth Vest.
As the diving was so diverse, I needed fins that would be good for diving, free diving and cave diving. My choice for this trip were the Oceanic Manta Rays that are light weight with a good acceleration but reasonably good to avoid kicking up sediment in the caves. What has always really impressed me are their abilities for free diving, due to their light weight and great flexibility, duck diving is super easy with these fins.
I was diving with my ever-flexible Hollis HTS2 BCD that can be remounted to be a lightweight BCD for warm water diving or a tech dive BCD for twin tanks and deco gases.
What a trip – manatees, crocs, multi-colored freshwater caverns, manta rays and whalesharks – all in one week. We love Mexico even more than before!
ABOUT INSIDER DIVERS
INSIDER DIVERS is a service for divers who want to dive with like-minded divers in the best dive spots in the aquatic world. Simon Lorenz and his guides accompany every diving trip. All itineraries are bespoke, and especially arranged to provide the best possible dive experience. We are not always the cheapest possible trip, but you will dive with the best operators and learn the most about the region where you are diving. Our trips come with free background presentations on flora and fauna, and our trainers can help with any questions or training needs with regards to your diving or photography skills.
ABOUT SIMON LORENZ
A life-long traveler who speaks 6 languages and has dived on all 5 continents, Simon’s life evolves around the underwater world. A former Marketing Director, he now dedicates his time to underwater photography, leading scuba diving trips and workshops, journalism, pool photography and the distribution of underwater photography products.
Simon feels at home wherever there is water and animals. He is PADI Instructor, TDI Tech Diver and AIDA Freediver. With his travel company, INSIDER DIVERS, he and his fellow insiders aim to provide unique diving experiences for groups of like-minded divers. As a PADI instructor and a professional photographer, his key ambition is to further the capabilities of his guests. With specialized itineraries and detailed background presentations, these trips are aimed at divers who want to learn more about the animals and habitats that they visit.
For those interested in developing their underwater photography skills, Simon provides the perfect environment for this with his photography workshops, in some of the top diving locations. Passionate about photography, his photographs and articles have appeared in a number of publications such as Sport Diver, Scuba Diving, CNN.com, Action Diver, DIVER UK, AsianDiver, ActionAsia, Plongeurs Intl, TAUCHEN, Unterwasser, and Dive Pacific. His work has also been depicted on the cover of a number of numerous magazines, and has been used by NGOs for their charitable work such as the World Wildlife Fund and the United Nations. He is an Ambassador for various scuba brands such as Hollis, Atomic Aquatics, Bare, Isotta and Lorenz Watches. Simon wants to help protect the oceans he loves. As member of the advisory board of the Hong Kong Shark Foundation, he supports activities against shark fin consumption.
He has supported The Nature Conservancy, Micronesian Conservation Coalition, LumiVoce and other institutions in various projects for ocean conservation.
“All my favorite gear items need to improve on my dive experience. Since my first Hollis M1 mask I have been a big fan of Hollis for its smart designs and great reliability. My HTS 2 is extremely variable and I can change it easily between recreational as well as tech diving set ups.””
Learn More: Insider Divers
