| Isla Mujeres Mexico |
Scuba Diving on Isla Mujeres
  Manchones Reef
Manchones Reef, is the place for beginner divers and snorkelers and is the most
popular reef on Isla Mujeres. The 35 foot dept is shallow, with clear waters and
you do not need to be Padi certified to dive. You will have to be accompanied by
one of the many scuba diving companies located on Isla. You will be given
instruction by the certified Padi divers that will accompany you on your diving
discovery adventure.
Manchones reef host an abundance of fish and coral . Be sure to heed the advice
of your instructors and not touch any of the coral, especially the red coral.
You will aslo be able to visit the underwater Cruz de
la Bahia, or the Bay Cross, planted into the Manchones Reef in 1994 as a tribute
to the men and women who have died at sea. Many divers make the pilgrimage here
to pay homage to those who have died, and to enjoy this majestic dive spot. This
is also the spot where the Mexican memorial organized by Ramon and Maria Bravo
in coordination with the Mexican goverment, took place for the famous Jacque
Cousteau.
Cave of the Sleeping Sharks
In 1969, intrepid free diver Ramon Bravo discovered streamlined sharks
apparently sleeping in a cave at Isla Mujeres, off the Yucatan Peninsula. Funded
by the National Geographic Society, Eugenie Clark and co-workers traveled to
Isla Mujeres in 1972 and 1973 to investigate this unprecedented phenomenon.
Their field research revealed the species to be the Caribbean Reef Shark (Carcharhinus
perezi) and that the water inside these caves have an unusually high oxygen
content and reduced salinity, possibly due to freshwater upwellings from the
Mexican mainland. The sharks remained in the caves for hours at a time, actively
respiring by pumping water over their gills 20 to 28 times per minute. Clark
speculates that the enhanced oxygen content may make breathing easier for the
motionless sharks and may produce a narcotic effect the sharks enjoy. Since
reduced salinity loosens the grip of skin parasites, Clark has suggested that
the sharks may use these caves as 'cleaning stations', allowing shark suckers
(remoras) to more effectively remove copepods, leeches, and other ectoparasites.
Although dubbed 'sleeping sharks', whether these animals actually sleep in the
caves is uncertain. Divers report that the eyes of these sharks follow them
intently as they move about inside the cave, suggesting that the sharks are not
truly asleep. Sleep in vertebrate animals is characterized by profound changes
in the electrical signature of brain activity, and it seems likely that brain
waves could be monitored in the field electronically from a distance (to the
best of my knowledge, this has not yet been done). How sharks originally locate
these caves is uncertain, but individual sharks seem to return to the same caves
time and again. Clark has suggested that the sharks may find the caves by
electrical cues sensed by their ampullae of Lorenzini (this seems unlikely
because — given the amount of background 'static' in the marine environment —
the functional range of the ampullae is limited to a foot or so). To date, at
least four and possibly five species of whaler shark are known to enter the
caves at Isla Mujeres: the Caribbean Reef, Tiger (Galeocerdo cuvier), Lemon (Negaprion
brevirostris), Blue (Prionace glauca), and probably the Bull (Carcharhinus
leucas).
Information gathered from
elasmo research
Other Dive Areas to ask one of the professional dive companies on Isla Mujeres
Yunguae Reef
Media Luna Reef
Canonero Shipwreck
La Bandera Reef
Punta Sur Drifts
Snorkeling
Manchones Reef and El Farito by Boat
Garrafon
Villa Kiin/Avalon
Day Trips to Contoy lsland
Contoy Island is a bird sanctuary and is situated about 45
minutes from Isla Mujeres by charter boat. In this secluded national park you
will observe numerous species of birds.
There are bathroom facilities and a government owned museum. This is a full day
trip and can be arranged by many of the water taxi's licensed for the park.
Dolphin Encounters
Dolphin Adventures is a day park located on the Bay side
of the Island known as Sac Bajo. You can have a dolphin encounter ranging
from $95-$175 (reservations are suggested), or you can just hang out for
the, enjoying the multiple activities, including food and drink. Entry fee
$40 US. You can access the park by Taxi for about $5 or 50 pesos each way,
by bicycle and or by golf cart.
Sea Turtle Conservation Park
Biking
Shelling
Sport Fishing
Hacienda Mundaca
Hacienda Mundaca, entry fee approx $2-$3 US, was built by a pirate by named
Fermin Antonio Mundaca de Marechaja landed on Isla Mujeres. He built this home
to win the love of a young Mayan woman he fell in love with. She is
only known today by the name he called her , La Trigueña (The
Brunette). Mundaca built an elaborate hacienda, erected archways and laid paths
throughout the gardens. He landscaped and decorated the area with trees and
plants brought from all over the world . Unfortunately, before he finished this
masterpiece, the brunette married another islander.
Currently Mundaca's masterpiece lies in ruins in the midst of the remains of his
fortress. The pirate, Mundaca eventually died of the plague in Mérida, but
his small tomb can still be seen among the headstones of the cemetary in centro
near Playa Norte (North Beach). His headstone bears no name, but is adorned with
a grinning skull and crossbones and displays the inscription, “As you are, I
was. As I am, you will be.”
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