This design is for anyone who loves exploring the unique Cenote features on the coastal waters of Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Diving is one of those sports activities that opens a window into a world we only get to visit temporarily. The physical limitations and constraints don’t allow us in that environment indefinitely. In these moments we get an aquatic glimpse of another world; one where fish and creatures of all shapes and sizes call home. Everything is different down there. Sounds are muffled, the compression from the pressure and weight of the water squeezing the air–even the colours–out of us.
The cenotes certainly can feel like an alien planet. Yet they are an integral part of this beautifully diverse planet we inhabit. The cenotes of Mexico are some of the most unique aquatic features in the world. They comprise a series of underground water chambers created by sinkholes collapsing. The Yucatan peninsula is home to some of the largest cenotes in the world, with a concentration of over 7000 cenotes. Some freshwater ones have such crystal clear waters, one feels suspended in mid-air while diving. Some Cenotes are sacred ancient Mayan sites where archeologists have discovered artifacts, even remains and skulls dating back to the Mayans and older.
In this composition, I wanted to capture the extremes of light and dark, the refraction of light through the water, and the scale of this underwater world almost swallowing the diver in its immensity. The diver surfaced up from the mysterious depths towards the light and familiar world.
