‘The narrow entrance of Cenote Corral focuses the pulsing light beams’ by Martin Broen
The last thing anyone wants when they’re submerged in deep water far beneath the surface of the Earth and with a limited air supply is to get trapped.
But if you’re going to spend time exploring the flooded underground sinkholes, caves and tunnels of the Yucatán Peninsula trying to navigate tight spaces while carrying four or five oxygen tanks and camera gear, it’s always a possibility.
‘The passageways of a cave make a vertical climb at Cenote Chan Ayim’ by Martin Broen
“Fortunately, it’s only happened a couple of times,” says photographer and technical diver Martin Broen. “Once in Kentucky Castle, a cenote [sinkhole] that’s part of Sac Actun, a large underwater cave system we were trying to navigate. It was getting more and more restricted, so we said, ‘This isn’t working – let’s go around.’ We turned around. But the tunnel had filled with sediment from the ceiling and floor.
“We had a reference line to follow but we couldn’t see any more – we could only see 30cm ahead. You’re trying to navigate a restricted space with no visibility and you start getting stuck. You move 20cm then get stuck. This happens five or ten times and suddenly you get badly stuck. You try to move forward or backward but you can’t move. At that point, your breathing starts going fast.”
‘A standing tree looms within a hydrogen sulfide cloud in Cenote Angelita’ by Martin Broen
Born in Argentina but now based in New York, Broen has explored more than 280 of the Yucatán’s cenotes. Experience has taught him the worst thing a diver can do is panic.
“That’s when you need to stay calm – you don’t have the luxury of time or air in that situation,” he says. “At that point I realised one of my regulators on one of the tanks had detached and got trapped two metres behind me. I couldn’t reach it. My dive buddy was behind, and he found it – he detached me from the constraints. In those kinds of moments, you just have to go through the motions and figure things out."
‘Suspended in a tannic acid rainbow, a diver explores the Deli Shop chamber of Cenote Chikin Ha’ by Martin Broen
“Cave divers do this for fun but I’m a photographer – I’m not a cave explorer. I find myself in those situations because I try to reach photographic opportunities. I’m getting used to it.”
Broen’s atmospheric images from his deep explorations of Mexico’s cenotes are gathered together in his latest book Light In The Underworld. The Yucatán Peninsula is believed to contain anywhere between 6,000 to 10,000 cenotes, possibly more, so he is far from finished with the subject.
“It’s a playground,” he says. “Many of the cenotes are not even ‘discovered’ yet. Often, you go to a place where someone has a piece of land and they’ll say, ‘I have a cenote. Do you want to come and explore it?’ You could be the first person ever going there.”
Light In The Underworld by Martin Broen is published by Rizzoli at £70. Read more about Broen’s underwater adventures in the April-June 2025 issue of the RPS Journal.
The RPS Journal is available exclusively to members. Join us to receive our award-winning magazine and read more inspiring features. Explore full member benefits here.