Blogs
Zombie Wear or Dive Gear? 5 Spooktacular Dives for Halloween
A blog by Pro Dive International
What do divers do on Halloween? Dress like a zombie, trick-or-treat through the neighborhood to scare little kids, watch a horror movie on Netflix, or attend a party at a friend’s haunted house? How about swapping your traditions for some spooktacular dives?
Our favorite 5 Spooky Dives for Halloween counting down…
5. Underwater Museum MUSA
What could be more surreal and eerie than diving amongst 100s of life size human figures sat on the seafloor, slowly being claimed by nature.
This underwater museum in Cancun was created by a non-profit organization devoted to the art of conservation. MUSA features over 500 sculptures, most of which created by the British sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor, as well as five Mexican sculptors. There are three different galleries submerged between 10-20 ft/ 3-6 m deep.
The museum was created with the objective of saving the nearby coral reefs by providing an alternative destination for divers, and officially opened in November 2010. The statues provide a new type of artificial reef allowing art to save the ocean. The statues are made of pH-neutral cement and have many holes in them allowing marine wildlife to colonize easily. After only a short time under the water, the statues have begun to be transformed by nature.
Musa Cancun – copyright Jason deCaires Taylor
4. Mama Viña Wreck
As you drift along the sandy seabed a huge dark shape starts to appear, the Mama Viña – an old shrimp boat guarded by a large fierce looking barracuda and a giant green moray eel.
This wreck was intentionally sunk in 1995 by Xcaret Park and has since developed an artificial reef. Today it belongs to one of the top dive sites on the Riviera Maya.
Sitting at 30 meters, Mama Viña is covered in colorful sponges and corals, and is home to a large array of marine life. Peer through the windows to see the resident glassy sweepers shimmering inside and try to spot the lobsters and eels hiding in the propeller. Spend the dive circling up the boat to join the large barracuda at the mast.
Mama Viña – copyright Manuela Kirschner
3. Night Diving in Cozumel
As darkness falls across the reef, creatures crawl in search of food, and bioluminescence starts to shimmer.
What creeps out onto the reef after the sun goes down? Join the vibrant party under the sea as huge basket stars unfurl their arms into the night, parrotfish create their mucus bubble beds, giant lobsters, king crabs and octopus prepare for hunt, and bioluminescence sparkles up the scene.
Check out our Top 5 party guests with Pro Dive’s recent blog…
Squid – copyright Elizabeth Maleham
2. Wreck C-53 Felipe Xicotencatl
Witness the great prow of this decaying World War II battleship looming out of the depths. Explore its empty hallways now taken over by sponges and marine life. Visit her final resting place and experience a piece of history becoming part of nature.
This 184 ft/ 56 m long ship was built as a US Navy minesweeper in Tampa in 1944 during World War II and awarded a Presidential Unit Citation and five battle stars for her service at sea. After the war, in 1962 she was sold to the Mexican Navy.
Originally named USS Scuffle, the ship was renamed ARM DM-05, and again in 1994 after Felipe Santiago Xicoténcatl, who served as a General in the Mexican Army. Converted into an Admiral Class Gunboat she guarded the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea in Search and Rescue operations. In addition to providing surveillance of illegal arms and drug trafficking.
In 1999 after providing 37 years of service to the Mexican Navy patrolling the Gulf of Mexico and the Mexican Caribbean for illegal arms and drugs, she was finally retired and sank, as an artificial reef and dive site. Sitting at 21m meters and rising up to 12m with many large openings for easy penetration.
C-53 – copyright Larry Cohen
1. Cenote Angelita
A cenote unlike any other! Descend into the deep green waters onto an underwater island, surrounded by misty clouds from which dead tree limbs protrude.
Enter another world on this dive, a deep circular pit surrounded by trees in the jungle, which is famous for its hydrogen sulfide cloud at 88 ft/ 27 m. This 10 ft/ 3 m thick cloud encircles the debris and trees that have fallen in over the years, creating the effect of an island rising up through the clouds.
As you sink deep into the dark waters of cenote Angelita you can start to make out massive trees looming out of the mist below, swim over the island and amongst the huge trees and branches rising out of the mist making this an unforgettable site!
Angelitas – copyright Alex Lindbloom
Contact us to join!
reservations@prodiveinternational.com
www.prodiveinternational.com/contact-us
Header image: Mama Viña – copyright Manuela Kirschner
Blogs
Jeff chats to… Christopher Bartlett, MD of Indigo Safaris, about scuba diving in Dominica and Mexico (3 of 5)
In the third in this exclusive series of five videos, Jeff Goodman, Scubaverse Editor-at-Large, chats to Christopher Bartlett, Managing Director of Indigo Safaris, about their diving and wildlife adventures, and some of their top destinations. In this episode Christopher talks about Dominica and Mexico.
For more information, please visit www.indigosafaris.com
Rather listen to a podcast? Click on this link to listen HERE.
In this ongoing series, we speak to the people who run dive centres, resorts and liveaboards from around the world about their businesses and the diving they have to offer…
What is your name?
Pablo Calderon Cadiz
What is the name of your business?
Takata Experience
What is your role within the business?
Owner / General Manager
How long has the business operated for?
6 years
How long have you dived for, and what qualification are you?
I have been diving for 16 years; I am a PADI IDC Staff Instructor
What is your favorite type of diving?
I really enjoy all types of dive but deep dives and dives with crazy topography are by far my favourites.
If you could tell people one thing about your business (or maybe more!) to make them want to visit you what would it be?
We are a dive center and also a research center, so we merge both into one big idea. When you dive with us you also benefit the reef, as we put part of that money into our restoration program. We are also one of the only dive centers in the world that has a full research center working together with us. That’s why our official hashtag is #Divewithpurpose
What is your favorite dive in your location and why?
My favorite dive in Mahahual is Piratas, because of the beautiful topography and the amount of big animals you can see, such as turtles, manatees and sharks.
What types of diving are available in your location?
One of the best things about Mahahual is that there are dive sites for all levels, from shallow reefs with beautiful life to walls that can go down to 150 meters within 5 minutes from the shore. You can always choose what you want, if you are looking for biodiversity, topography, shallow sand patches or very deep walls, we have them all.
What do you find most rewarding about your current role?
The diving industry is an industry that is constantly evolving and from my role I am able to always bring that to Takata. I am always looking for ways to create a solid business culture, to make sure the people that work for us can always develop themselves from a professional perspective, but also from a personal one. We have created many different programs that are unique to us, where we merge the dive and research center. All that is possible because I can take those decisions. To see how your dream becomes true is the biggest reward ever.
What is your favorite underwater creature?
Sharks are my number 1, and if I can be more specific, Hammerheads!!!
As a center what is the biggest problem you face at the moment?
I feel that many dive centers in the world don’t know yet what makes them unique, so the way for them to attract people is to charge very low prices, sometimes that is very difficult, because the one that is next to you can charge 30% less than you for the ¨same service¨. I believe we should always find what is unique to us and to create a value on it. We should all focus on the professionalization of our industry.
Is your center involved in any environmental work?
As I mentioned before, we have a full research center, our director has 2 master degrees and our 2 biologist both have PhDs. Actually our research center was name as Actor for the UN Decade On Ecosystems Restoration for the next 10 years.
Our research center works together with the Mexican government to ensure a sustainable development in the area and to implement big scale conservation and restoration projects in Mahahual.
Are there any exciting changes / developments coming up in the near future?
As we are a new company, there are always exciting thing coming our way, in these years we became an IDC center, UN partners, we did a small hotel and we are looking forward to develop our research center even more. We would like to become the biggest research center in Mexico which is very ambitious and to become leaders in diving, restoration and everything that involve costal ecosystems. We dream big because we love what we do.
How do you see the SCUBA / Freediving / snorkeling industry overall? What changes would you make?
I think the industry is doing ok but not great. For sure freediving has grown a lot in the last 10-15 years. There are several organisations around the world who do great work, but we need more people and businesses looking to do the exceptional. Sometimes talking with diving friends around the world, we all agree that this is probably one of the few industries where the prices we charge are the same or even cheaper than 5 or 10 years ago. We urgently need to proprofessionalize the industry and put the correct value on our product and services.
Finally, what would you say to our visitors to promote the diving you have to offer?
If you guys are looking for a unique immersive experience where you can mix your passion for diving with deep understanding of marine and costal ecosystem, then we are your choice.
Where can our visitors find out more about your business?
You guys can follow us on IG: Takata.experience
Our website is: www.takataexperience.com
Relief Fund raises over $26k to support PADI Members impacted by recent Maui fires
Oonasdivers say Hola! to Mexico
Celebrate 20 years of Pro Dive International!
Re-introducing Humboldt Explorer – remodeled and ready for divers
Jeff chats to… Bill Beard and Vanessa Willing about diving in Costa Rica (Watch Video)
Scuba Diving in Mexico: Diving Cenote Angelita (Watch Video)
An American Diver (Watch Video)
Jupiter Shark Dive (Watch Video)
Jeff chats to… Christopher Bartlett, MD of Indigo Safaris, about scuba diving in Dominica and Mexico (3 of 5)
Manatee Madness
Jeff chats to… Bill Beard and Vanessa Willing about diving in Costa Rica (Watch Video)