MCEP/CINDAQ January , 2010 Updates

2010 promises to be another exciting year for exploration in Mexico. We plan to continue our efforts in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve which offers an incredible diversity of habitats. While we will be pushing exploration in both the Boca Paila and Caapechen entrances, we will also be assessing other areas of the reserve for further exploration. With this in mind we spent one day in the southern part of the reserve locating and assessing cenotes on January 7th. We were able to locate 4 new cenotes in this area, one of which appears to reach 55 meters of depth. While locating the cenotes is one thing, actually diving in them will take a great deal more logistical planning due to the fact that they are so remote. We look forward to more trips out into the biosphere. Each time we travel there we feel deeply privileged to have the opportunity to explore such a place.

Participants: Fred Devos, Chris Le Maillot, Sam Meacham.

Our thanks go out to the Reserves Director Francisco Ursua of CONANP and the many people who make these projects possible: The Waitt Institute for Discovery, The National Geographic Society, The Nature Conservancy, Global Underwater Explorers (GUE), La Reserva de la Biophera de Sian Ka’an, Joyce and Lester Coleman, Jerry Simpson, Will Harte, Alex Angell and Eva Manessiotis, Louisa Meacham and John Faraguna, Pedro & Federico, Capitan Juan, Haciendas de Bacalar, Centro Investigador del Sistema Acuifero de Quintana Roo (CINDAQ) & Zero Gravity Dive Center.