the centones are basically sink holes or collapsed cave ceilings that have flooded with water.  very very clear water.  not all cenotes are associated with active cave systems, but the two we dove were definitely active at one time, both having many beautiful cave formations.

 weird to do a little hike in your gear through jungle and then get into fresh water.

 

i'm not gonna lie, these dives were a little mentally challenging.  first off, the rules are a little different with air usage, buoyancy, and surfacing.  nothing crazy, just different.  with these considerations in the back of your head, you then have to dive down into darkness (with a flashlight) and become completely enclosed in a rock system.  

once we started descending, i began playing out escape scenarios in my head.  telling myself - instead of focusing on the negative: surfacing isn't an option, think about the positive: there are five of us down here, which means four back up regulators if my air runs out.  four other flashlights.

in dive training years ago, i remember the instructor saying that you can forget basic things when you are out of your comfort zone under water.  this dive was the first time that has really happened to me, and it was forgetting how to control my buoyancy.  i was weighted a little heavy and for the life of me couldn't figure out how to not just sink to the bottom.  thankfully our dive master was like, hello, inflate your bcd a little.  duh.  i'm actually glad i experienced that forgetfulness in a safe environment - it's a good lesson for the future.

all of this was in the first five minutes, and i'd like to think i pulled it together for the rest of the dive :)  it's easy to forget you are nervous when soaring among stalactites and bacon formations.  but let's just say my air consumption was a little embarrassing the first dive.

cenote diving is incredible for a few reasons.  the visibility is insane.  you can see as far as you can see in the air on a clear day.  there is very little visible life.  it's like spelunking with the ability to fly.  at some points there are open pools and the light shining down through the water to the cave floor looks like aliens beaming up objects to their ship.

other than the incredible light displays, i think the coolest part of the dives was swimming up and down through the halocline.  at some point, the caves get deep enough that they are below sea level.  below this depth the water is salty, and above it the water is fresh.  the line where the two meet is called a halocline, and the effect of the waters next to each other is beautiful.

this is a pic of the halocline that someone else took where you can clearly see the dividing line.

and here's a really cool pic someone took of one of our dives through the cave named 'tajma ha'.  it did look like this in real life, but alas, there just was not enough light for our camera.

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and finally, here's a video i made of our dives.  the lighting is terrible because it's so super dark, but it's the best we could do without better equipment.  i think you can get a good idea of what it feels like to be down there.

honeymoon in fiji - part 2, aka: mackerels and mantas and sharks, oh my! 

eric and i love animals and we love the ocean, so snorkeling and diving are on the top of our vacation lists every time.  this trip was no exception and we got to check off some pretty cool things.  i saw my first sharks close up, eric saw his first squid, and we both saw amazing mantas so close you could touch them.

first off: holy mackerel!  i've been waiting to type that since we saw them :)  while looking for mantas we came up on this ball.  have you ever seen so many fish?!  their mouths are open!

then while snorkeling on two different occasions we found ourselves in groups of squid!  they are so beautiful and change into crazy colors.  it was a special treat.

i still have never been able to see sharks while diving, so we scheduled a shark dive!  we saw tons of grey reef sharks that were bigger than eric and a black tip.  i loved watching them swim around so gracefully, although we didn't get super close... next time!

and i've saved the best for last.  manta rays!  wow, they are amazing.  the biggest one we saw was 7 meters from wing tip to tip.  they're majestic like eagles gliding back and forth and doing circles, i could watch them swim for hours.  the visibility wasn't amazing, but that's great for the mantas - there was lots for them to eat.

fiji underwater is awesome.  we were pretty much like this the entire trip.  

does planning a trip just make you want to plan a hundred trips?  does it make you over zealous and think that you can pack way more in than is humanly possible?  me too.   while planning our honeymoon and australia, i've been reminded of all the other places still on the list.  it's like no matter how many you cross off you can never make a dent in the list of all the places to see.  

my top 6 list is below.  what's on yours? and what are you waiting for?!

1. Antarctica - the 7th continent.  between the long boat ride, freezing conditions, and not a great chance you'll actually get to set foot on land, this is at the top of the list just so it can get crossed off and finally say all seven have been done.  although, the thought of seeing some sweet penguins and pretending i'm shackleton does make it much more appealing.  plus you could check out patagonia on the way!

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2. South Africa - let's pretend for a minute that i'm ballsy enough for this ridiculous dive destination.  not only do you have the sardine run, which appears to me to be one of the most incredible things you can witness, they also have tons of sharks and other megafauna.  can you say cage diving with great whites?  i can already tell this trip would cost an absolute fortune.  and there's no way i'm going all the way to SA and not also checking out the big 5 (elephant, lion, buffalo, leopard, rhino) at kruger national park.  maybe we'll win the lottery?

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3. Equador/Galapagos - so many reasons... blue footed boobies, giant tortoises, great snorkeling, quito, otavalo highlands, darwin, i could go on and on, we would need months here.

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4. Cocos Island - aka the uninhabited island from jurassic park flyover scenes.  it's a costa rican national park and though i would love to spend lots of time on this island that Jacques Cousteau called the "most beautiful island in the world", the waters have an extra special offering.  the unusual counter-currents and steep drop offs around the island give you pretty much the best exhibition of megafauna known on earth.  having to do your trip on a live-aboard seems worth it as you can see tuna, mantas, sharks, whales, dolphins, turtles, sea lions, and whale sharks all on one trip.  that's what they say anyway, so put it on the list!

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5. The Silk Road - i've been wanting to do a silk road trip since the tuvan throat singers came to A&M and we got to spend the week with them.  the history of these trade routes where people began some of the first major globalization and cultural exchange makes this trip seem rewarding in such a unique way.  not to mention the scenery looks incredible.  plus you can sleep in a real yurt.

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6. Iceland - because who doesn't want to land in crazy cross winds, see auroras, and experience one of the most extremely natural beautiful places in existence?  can't afford a trip to another planet? go to iceland!

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p.s. can you tell from these pics that my favorite color is blue? :)