NAHARON (Crystal) CENOTE
LOCATION:
DIFFICULTY: EASY. Another cave diving training location provides some open water areas before you drop into a black, black, black, cenote. If you like dark/black, this is a great place to go. There are a few restrictions, however, nothing that is unmanageable by a small elephant with situational awareness. The most difficult part of this cenote are the slimy stairs and if you’re not a fan of algae, just try to ignore it until you get in the cave. Non-divers who wanted to swim here didn’t like the native cenote seaweed so they tore it out… now it’s just a disgusting green algae bottom (however the turtle coved in algae that was hiding was pretty cool). It’s fine in the cave. It’s always better in the cave. 😉 Anyway, back to the slimly stairs… be aware of this because it is really easy to slip and fall.
WC FACILITIES: Yes
FOOD SOLD HERE: Depends- Generally no, however sometimes there is a nice Mayan dude who is selling refreshments and small snacks. Still, your best bet is to pack a lunch. AND WATER, DAMN IT, HOW MANY TIMES I NEED TO TELL YOU TO BRING WATER?
ACTIVITIES FOR NON-DIVERS: Yes. Swimming in the Cenote seems to be a lot of fun for many though there is a lot of algae on the bottom. If this doesn’t bother you, sure, enjoy!
CURRENT ENTRY FEE: $300 Pesos
SUMMARY: This place is great because it is SO TANNIC. DARK, BLACK, BLACKNESS… The walls are dark brown/black. Even with lights on, you feel swallowed by the cave as it absorbs the light. Walls are stained dark due to tannic water at some time. This is one of my favorite places because I am a huge fan of dark caves, preferring them a little bit to the white caves (though honestly, I love ALL caves). If you are lucky, you might see some blind cave fish. There is a halocline further back in the cave along one of the lines as well as some (very) minor restrictions.
I want to stress again that this is a BLACK CAVE… your primary light will be absorbed by the blackness. I think it’s fantastic but I can see that this might test the mettle of weaker constitutions. 😉
DIVE ENTRY: Be extremely careful upon entry here. It is slick with algae. If it’s busy, it can be hard to put on tanks due to the slickness of the bottom and all the algae floating around.
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