Richard Wylde and Fred Devos mapped the Minotauro system the late naughties. The second of our maps...
The Minotauro map available is here along with an NSS-CDs article
These photos were taken during a dive with Instructor Danny Riordan of Zero Gravity in April 2007.
As you enter Minotauro there is a small restriction in the cavern zone which you must pass, shown below (Zero minutes into the dive)
Now two minutes swimming from the entrance - there is still material that has fallen in to the Cenote on the floor. There not much
flow at this point.
This is just into the lower section where the depth drops to about 25 ft (9M). This is a wide low beading
plane area, which I think is especially beautiful. There are a number of jumps off this area, including a
short cut to the clockwise circuit line. Now 21 minutes into the (albeit slow) dive - we were talking photos.
Danny rounds a corner.
and just a little further on, in the same area.
It can get a bit dark in here, as this 'photo illustrates.
Another 4 minutes in - some 30 minutes after leaving the surface, we are in another beading plane.
Now close to our turn time for this dive, and the further into the cave, at some 44 minutes from the
surface. There's some silt stired up here - perhaps by me.
Danny and I swapped places - with me carrying the secondary strobe, and Danny taking the 'photos.
This photo is close to the near vertical assent to the shallow section near to the extrance:
and a second or two later. Notice the line on the left hand side. Always very comforting to see this.
This is in the lower section (4M - 12 ft)
Now back into the shallow area, some 56 minutes since we lost site of the sun.
The photos were taken with a Nikon Coolpik 8700 camera install in an Ikelite 8700 Housing and 200 Joule flash. The model diver
also had a slave flash attached, triggered by a hand-held sensor.