News
Cenote Diving Part 2 – Little Angel
Read Part 1 here.
I recently learned that Buddhists do not believe in happiness. Instead, they assert that the general ‘suffering’ of life or ‘dukkha’ as they refer to it is something that we all should acknowledge and work hard each day to accept. It is the absence of dukkha that the rest of us would recognise as happiness. 5000 miles away from the grey skies of England and my cluttered desk lay the placid waters of Angelita Cenote, and upon seeing her I am filled with a sense of calm serenity. As we prepare to slip beneath the green water of a sink-hole nestled quietly in the jungles of Riviera Maya, it is safe to say that there will be no dukkha for us here today.
Luis is leading what will turn out to be an unforgettable dive; Angelita or ‘little angel’ is unique and difficult to justifiably describe. His briefing by the edge of the glorious fresh water pool fills us with nervous anticipation as we are reliably told from someone who has dived the Cenotes for close to twenty years that this is by far his favourite. We will reach a depth of 40m; regarded the maximum one should safely go on a single tank of air. During our descent we will lose sight of each other as the sunlight cannot penetrate the layer of mulshy water after 30m or so. Due to the nitrogen in our system, the depth of the dive and the overall freakiness of the dive site itself, Luis explains to us that everyone suffers from nitrogen narcosis when taking on Angelita; a condition that temporarily renders a diver feeling somewhat drunk and light headed. We will get ‘narked’ today. This dive, he tells us, will separate the men from the boys.
After more than 500 dives in locations all over the World, this is the first time I recall feeling slightly anxious since my early training dives more than a decade ago. Anxious, but utterly excited.
Laden with cameras, Sam and I step carefully into the water by a small wooden platform on one side of the Cenote while Luis plunges in from a higher point on the opposite fringe of the spherical swamp-like sink hole. We float to meet in the centre and take a look around us. We are in no hurry. Birds can be heard singing to each other in the trees that surround Angelita and dragonflies dance around our heads just inches from the water’s surface. We smile, nod and signal that we are ready to begin our descent.
The broken branches of gnarled trees waste no time in presenting themselves beneath us. It is as though a long forgotten forest has slipped beneath the water for only a fortunate few to witness. Our descent deepens through a foggy haze of particle rich water and seconds later the light leaves us as if a switch has been flicked off unannounced.
Blackness…
If not for the narrow beam of light from our torches, complete darkness surrounds us. Scattered on the Cenote floor are leaves of brown and yellow. We navigate around the protruding branches. Sam will later tell me that it is at this point that the narcosis set in. I don’t recall getting ‘narked’ but I certainly had a strange feeling. The previous day I had dived a Cenote called Chac Mool without Sam; I would later describe it to her as the setting for Indiana Jones if it were to be filmed underwater. On a similar note, Angelita stirs up evocative comparisons of Sleepy Hollow or better yet, Alice in Wonderland, only a much darker version than even Tim Burton’s re-make. Like Alice, we are now falling down the rabbit hole. Whether up might be down is almost impossible to tell… light creeps back to us; the fog of the dense water all around does its best to convince us that we are not diving at all. Instead we emerge from a cloud, flying through the forgotten forest in water that could be air.
We sweep around the edge of Angelita during our slow purposeful ascent. The past 30 minutes have elapsed in what now feels like mere seconds. The other world, the unusual place that has captivated us like never before is now disappearing beneath our fins; it is forsaken for the portal that now waits a few feet above our heads. The sunlight pierces the surface of Angelita and reveals the familiar world we left behind. Trees and clouds can be seen all around us; just an arm’s length away we need only to reach out, another fin kick or two and the mystique of the Little Angel will become a recent memory. Warmth kisses our cheeks and daylight hurts our eyes as we take our first breath of earthly air and look to each other for a reaction. What just happened? We are unable to effectively describe the feeling, the experience we just shared. We are elated. Luis has been here hundreds of times before but it’s clear to see that Angelita remains a special place for him. It is magical.
Freya Stark said something beautiful that I find poignant after such a day; “Good days are to be gathered like grapes, to be trodden and bottled into wine and left for age to sip at ease beside the fire. If the traveller has vintaged well he need trouble to wander no further, the ruby moments glow in his glass at will.”
Angelita is a ruby moment I will treasure forever.
Free Octopus with every purchase of a SCUBAPRO regulator system
Just in time for the spring season, divers can save money with the FREE OCTOPUS SPRING PROMOTION! Until July 31st SCUBAPRO offers an Octopus for free
with every purchase of a regulator system!
Get a free S270 OCTOPUS with purchase of these combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with A700
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with S620Ti
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with D420
MK25 EVO Din mit S620Ti-X
Get a free R105 OCTOPUS with purchase of the following combinations:
MK25 EVO or MK19 EVO with G260
MK25 EVO or MK17 EVO with S600
SCUBAPRO offers a 30-year first owner warranty on all regulators, with a revision period of two years or 100 dives. All SCUBAPRO regulators are of course certified according to the new European test standard EN250-2014.
Available at participating SCUBAPRO dealers. Promotion may not be available in all regions. Find an authorized SCUBAPRO Dealer at scubapro.com.
More information available on www.scubapro.com.
Jake Davies boards Ghazala Explorer for an unforgettable Red Sea diving experience…
Overnight, the wind picked up, making the planned morning dive a bit bumpy on the Zodiacs to the drop point on Thomas Reef. There, we would dive along the reef before descending through the canyon and then passing under the arch before ascending the wall with a gentle drift. The site provided great encounters with more pelagic species, including shoals of large barracuda, tuna, and bigeye trevally.
Once back on the boat, it was time to get everything tied down again as we would head back south. This time, with the wind behind us, heading to Ras Mohammed to dive Jackfish Alley for another great gentle drift wall dive before then heading up the coast towards the Gulf of Suez to moor up at the wreck of the Thistlegorm. This being the highlight wreck dive of the trip and for many onboard, including myself, it was the first time diving this iconic wreck. I had heard so much about the wreck from friends, and globally, this is a must on any diver’s list. Fortunately for us, there was only one other boat at the site, which was a rarity. A great briefing was delivered by Ahmed, who provided a detailed background about the wreck’s history along with all the required safety information as the currents and visibility at the site can be variable.
Kitting up, there was a lot of excitement on deck before entering the water and heading down the shoreline. Descending to the wreck, there was a light northerly current which reduced the visibility, making it feel more like the conditions that can be found off the Welsh coast. At 10m from the bottom, the outline of the wreck appeared as we reached the area of the wreck which had been bombed, as our mooring line was attached to part of the propeller shaft. Arriving on deck, instantly everywhere you looked there were many of the supplies which the ship was carrying, including Bren Carrier tanks and projectiles that instantly stood out.
We headed around the exterior, taking a look at the large propeller and guns mounted on deck before entering the wreck on the port side to take a look in the holds. It was incredible to see all the trucks, Norton 16H, and BSA motorcycles still perfectly stacked within, providing a real snapshot in time.
Overall, we had four dives on the Thistlegorm, where for all of the dives we were the only group in the water, and at times, there were just three of us on the whole wreck, which made it even more special, especially knowing that most days the wreck has hundreds of divers. Along with the history of the wreck, there was plenty of marine life on the wreck and around, from big green turtles to batfish, along with shoals of mackerel being hunted by trevally. Some unforgettable dives.
The final leg of the trip saw us cross back over the Suez Canal to the Gobal Islands where we planned to stay the night and do three dives at the Dolphin House for the potential of sharing the dive with dolphins. The site, which included a channel that was teeming with reef fish, especially large numbers of goatfish that swam in large shoals along the edge of the reef. These were nice relaxing dives to end the week. Unfortunately, the dolphins didn’t show up, which was okay as like all marine life they are difficult to predict and you can’t guarantee what’s going to be seen. With the last dive complete, we headed back to port for the final night where it was time to clean all the kit and pack before the departure flight the next day.
The whole week from start to finish on Ghazala Explorer was amazing; the boat had all the facilities you need for a comfortable week aboard. The crew were always there to help throughout the day and the chefs providing top quality food which was required after every dive. The itinerary providing some of the best diving with a nice mixture of wreck and reef dives. I would recommend the trip to anyone, whether it’s your first Red Sea liveaboard in the Red Sea or you’re revisiting. Hopefully, it’s not too long before I head back to explore more of the Red Sea onboard Ghazala Explorer.
To find out more about the Northern Red Sea reef and wrecks itineraries aboard Ghazala Explorer, or to book, contact Scuba Travel now:
Email: dive@scubatravel.com
Tel: +44 (0)1483 411590
Photos: Jake Davies / Avalon.Red
-
News3 months agoHone your underwater photography skills with Alphamarine Photography at Red Sea Diving Safari in March
-
News3 months agoCapturing Critters in Lembeh Underwater Photography Workshop 2024: Event Roundup
-
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs2 months agoCreature Feature: Swell Sharks
-
Blogs2 months agoMurex Resorts: Passport to Paradise!
-
Blogs2 months agoDiver Discovering Whale Skeletons Beneath Ice Judged World’s Best Underwater Photograph
-
Gear Reviews3 months agoGear Review: Oceanic+ Dive Housing for iPhone
-
Marine Life & Conservation2 months agoSave the Manatee Club launches brand new webcams at Silver Springs State Park, Florida
-
Gear Reviews2 weeks agoGEAR REVIEW – Revolutionising Diving Comfort: The Sharkskin T2 Chillproof Suit