Looks can often be deceiving. This was the case with the tannic, stagnant pool of water off the coast of Tulum. The entrance was a mere crack - just wide enough for a diver to enter with doubles. Not surprising, no one had dived the cave before.

Throughout the exploration week, a group consisting of Alejandro Alvarez, Fred Devos, Christophe Le Maillot, Simon Richards, Daniel Riordan, and Per Thomsen surveyed 8,100 ft. of passage in the newly named Sistema Maya.

The main passage has been described as a gigantic roller coaster, with a number of shallow breakdown areas leading to to deeper portions of the cave. It is interesting to note that at 40 ft., the halocline was far deeper than one might expect. Exploration conditions proved challenging with zero visibility and falling chunks of ceiling.

December 2004