Do it in the water in Mexico!

Go to Mexico, fam!

The idea was to dive Cozumel, one of the prettiest dive spots on earth because of it's stunning underwater biodiversity, thanks in part to its enormous barrier reef. And it was pretty. Lots to see while you drifted across the ocean floor. But when someone told me about the cenotes, I wanted to check them out. Little did I realize it would change my life. The Cenotes are sinkholes with pools of water all across the Yucatan Peninsula. Approximately 8,000. Many already mapped. Many unmapped and even unexplored. Like, these are the kinds of experiences they make thrillers out of. Anyway, although you can snorkel them, it's worth getting your dive certification to dive them. (Cenotes are also the only caves you can dive without cave diving certification). And you can get certified there, too. Also, umm, fly boarding. Yeah. Do that. The stop over in Mexico City wasn't linked to this trip, but it should be. There is no partying in Cozumel or Playa del Carmen. It's purely for divers. But there's plenty to do in the capital, particularly visiting that Plaza Del Garibaldi and getting serenaded by authentic mariachis. Further Out can help you plan your itinerary including local tour operators, foods to eat, and #sidemissions to try. Fill out the form below to learn more.

 

Day 1. Arrived at Cozumel. Settled into our hostel.

Day 2 and 3. Dived the reef. Flyboarded. Word.

 

Day 4 and 5. Flyboarded. Then took 45 minute ferry back and forth from Playa Del Carmen to dive cenotes.

In #Cozumel, even the taxi drivers #dive. It's kinda ridiculous. But if you lived next to one of the most amazingly biodiverse reefs in the world, you'd dive it, too. So yeah, I had to see if for myself. And whoa! The currents are so strong, you basically just stay still while you're drifting along in the current. If the current were faster, I'd be f*cked. So I had to learn to control how fast I moved in the drift. And this is me controlling my drift. And yes, the sea was this blue. #driftdiving #whitefins #nofilter #latergram #Mexico

A photo posted by Al Berrios (@alberrios) on Sep 5, 2014 at 4:38pm PDT

So I was on my way to go diving and saw a sign for "flyboarding" and one thing lead to another and yeah, well, you know me... #whathadhappenedwas #flyboarding #200thpost #dreamcometrue #lookmanohands ...wrapping up an epic week in the #Caribbean. More stories coming soon.

A photo posted by Al Berrios (@alberrios) on Sep 2, 2014 at 9:03pm PDT

If you would have asked me a few years ago if I'd ever consider diving into a lake in some f*cking #cave in the middle of nowhere #Mexico, I would have given you my notorious, "You crazy" look. And yet, here I am #cavediving the in the #Yucatan, the only caves on earth where you can #cavedive without a certification. This cave here is part of the Chac-Mool system and happens to be a halocline cave, where the first 20 feet or so are fresh water and the deeper you go, it turns to salt water. Salt and fresh water don't mix, so the salt patches look like invisible blobs, like the way the Predator turned invisible in movies. Yeah, it was that awesome. Huge thanks to #CenoteXperience for this. You can't see it in this pic but it was pouring raining that day and to look up at rain hitting a body of water you're 30 feet under, with that color passing through...

A photo posted by Al Berrios (@alberrios) on Sep 4, 2014 at 1:26pm PDT

#tbt to this time last Sept when I realized how much sh_t I still haven't done with my life that I still want to do and how I just decided to do them because if you don't do what you love with the time you got, then you're wasting your time #f_ckyourdesk #whatchawaitingfor #iaintwaitingforyou #gonediving #cavediving #barrierrief #yucatanpeninsula #nevertoolate #VeinyForeheadsAreSexy #everydamnday

A post shared by Al Berrios (@alberrios) on Sep 3, 2015 at 1:16pm PDT

"After a total of 8 dives, 4 of which occurred the previous two days in the beautiful, blue, open water between Cozumel and the mainland, I wasn't sure what could top that experience. I arrived on the mainland specifically to dive the famous cenotes and was ready to have a good time. I certainly didn't expect my life to change." Read more on TripAdvisor.