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ARE WE YOUR CUP OF TEA? WHY OR WHY NOT TO TRAIN WITH UNDER THE JUNGLE IN MEXICO.
This is a very common question, and as a diver looking to pursue technical or cave diver training, it’s a good question to ask. As one of the owners of Under the Jungle, I have worked diligently to create training materials, course structures, and procedures that will result in the most well-trained divers possible. This is the result of twenty years of personal experience diving and exploring caves around the world and a combination of my entire team’s knowledge. It’s a work in progress, and our courses are constantly evolving. As the owner, I think we have some of the best training available!
Any dive shop you contact will tell you they have the best training and the best courses. Some will even disparage other dive centers in order to promote themselves! We will never do this because, having lived in Mexico for decades, I know there are many good dive shops and instructors in the area, and I think highly of the general level of training in Mexico.
Instead, it’s best to consider our philosophies and background in teaching and what diving in Mexico is like and see if you think it will be a good fit for you. We might not be! The most important thing when booking a course is to ensure that what we offer is what you want. Otherwise, no one will be happy. We do this because we love it, and we want you to love your experience as well. I’ll divide this into two parts: (1) Under the Jungle Philosophies and (2) Training in Mexico.
UNDER THE THE JUNGLE PHILOSOPHIES
#1: Do the crazy thing as safely as possible.
Cave and technical diving have so many inherent risks that they can be truly dangerous. The more extreme your dives are, the riskier it is. I have never, and will never, tell someone not to do a particular dive, even if it is pushy or extreme. Instead, I encourage people to take any training that will help them do what they want to do with minimal risk. If the training does not exist, I am happy to work with them to create protocols and procedures that will reduce the inherent danger in the dive they want to do. “No” is not the answer. The answer is “How?”
We support exploration, extreme dives, and solo diving. It would be hypocritical not to, as I do all these things myself. With that in mind, we teach very rigorous pre-dive equipment checks, detailed procedures, and careful protocols, not because we want to restrict divers but because we want to help them gain the freedom to do this extreme sport safely. And it can be done safely.
I have been accused of being overly careful or cautious. I would counter that I very much am not; I just don’t want to die, and I do some really extreme dives! Divers who find careful checks or protocols unnecessary have probably not had the wealth of experiences, failures, and incidents that we have. We aim to teach divers a solid base of protocols that will carry them throughout their diving career, no matter how extreme the dive is. Everything we do or teach we have learned in our own adventures and we apply to our own diving. Yes, we are demanding. So is the environment we dive in!
#2: Offer clear organization and flexibility to students.
Over the years and hundreds of courses, we’ve worked to develop training schedules and materials that offer a clear structure. When I am a student, I find it very helpful to have an idea of what will be taught during the course and how it will be organized. This allows me to prepare for each day and reduces the stress of knowing where I am in a course and whether I am achieving my goals. In designing our training programs, I wanted to offer my students the same level of organization.
Along with our course outlines, we have training materials, lectures, and procedures carefully written out and made available to our students online, allowing them to prepare in advance for their training or use as a review after a period of diving inactivity. We provide our students workbooks with printed procedures, places for notes, and dive logs so that they control the information they have learned during training with us.
That said, we do not stick to the outlines religiously. We are happy to adapt to our student’s needs, pre-existing knowledge, and challenges. Suppose a student already knows how to do a particular skill. In that case, we will have them demonstrate it in the water and not waste time reteaching things they already know. If a student would like more time during training to practice or refine a skill, we are happy to provide it. We will go as hard and fast as students want or as gently and carefully.
#3: Help students develop judgment and become independent.
One of the central tenets of Under the Jungle’s practices is to enable students to independently dive at their certification level with a similarly certified buddy. This is much more time-consuming and labor-intensive than simply training dives to be comfortable following a guide. We have had great success and will even help our graduates find buddies. While we are always happy to guide our alums, nothing is more thrilling than to see former students get together, plan dives, and execute them on their own, and it’s so rewarding to hear about their adventures and explorations around the world.
Part of helping students become independent is helping them develop judgment. When we teach, we always explain the reasons for our protocols and their logic. No single procedure will fit every diving environment. If our students understand the logic behind the procedure, they can adapt what they have learned with us to wherever they dive. They can develop safe amendments to what they learned in Mexico with us to fit any dive they do. Our procedures are not the end; they are the beginning and provide a solid base from which to grow your diving career.
Similarly, every instructor at Under the Jungle is a seasoned, experienced diver who actively dives far above the level they teach. Every one of us has stories to tell, and we love to share them with our students. I’ll openly admit to my students that I have made mistakes in the past, share my stories, and explain what I learned from them. As will all of my instructors. We have no goal other than for you to learn from our base of knowledge and become the best diver you can be. I hope you will find the Under the Jungle team both enthusiastic and humble.
#4: Let students make mistakes.
One of the best ways to learn is from your own mistakes. It’s certainly how I learn. I am the type of person who, if you tell me not to touch a hot stove, will immediately ask how hot it is and then touch it to feel it for myself. As such, I understand the need for experimental learning and the benefit of allowing students to figure things out for themselves under the watchful eye of an instructor who will stop them if they do anything dangerous.
Of course, the first few times a student tries something, we will coach them on the procedure and technique. However, once they have a solid base of understanding, I like to let them make mistakes, learn from the experience, and correct themselves. This helps students understand the reasons behind the existing protocols. It is much more empowering when they realize they can fix things themselves and self-correct. Once a student can debrief their mistakes and suggest solutions, I know that my work is done and they will continue to learn throughout their diving career.
I also like to let students try things. If someone asks, “Can I do it this way?” And I have no good reason why they shouldn’t, and the procedure sounds logical; we’ll usually try it. Sometimes, it’s an abject disaster, sometimes a valid alternate procedure, and sometimes what they come up with is brilliant, becoming the new shop procedure. Either way, we all learn.
WHY TRAIN IN MEXICO?
It’s easy to assume that training in Mexico will be easier than in other locations because the cenotes have warm water, are relatively shallow (unless you are doing technical training), and have very little flow compared to other locations in the world. While this is true, I would say that the training in Mexico is some of the most difficult on the planet!
Here are some things you will learn from training in Mexico.
#1: Control.
The shallow, delicate nature of the caves and caverns here requires the highest level of control. From buoyancy to propulsion techniques, every movement must be precise and considered. Divers who have trained in areas with high flow or less decorated caves will often struggle with the diving in Mexico, as it’s simply impossible to teach perfect hovering and precise kicks in places where the flow buffets the students around. Conversely, students who learn in Mexico must still learn to manage strong flow in other locations. However, in my experience, none of our previous students have had issues with that. In most cases, this only required a little orientation with a local diver or guide. Think of it this way, if you can delicately dance between stalactites in two meters of water with perfect buoyancy, pulling yourself along the floor in high flow is easy (and honestly really fun!).
#2: Extremely complex navigation (for cave diving).
The caves in Mexico are vast labyrinths of fascinating tunnels. Compared to many locations in the world, the cave systems in Mexico are some of the most complex. They are certainly the most extensive. Learning to navigate safely, track where you went, and read maps is challenging. Mexican caves are some of the best places to learn this. Many divers trained in other locations have difficulty navigating in Mexico and will often need a guide. Unfortunately, the vast majority of fatalities in Mexican caves have been divers who trained elsewhere, mis-navigated, and became lost in the complex cave systems.
#3: Decompression and depth management.
It’s true that the caves in Mexico are generally relatively shallow, and it’s simple to complete cave training without ever being concerned about your decompression status! However, we do have deeper caves in Mexico, as well as deep sinkholes, which are fun for technical training. During full cave diver training, we work with students who are not decompression certified to use planning software to get the most out of deeper dive sites within the recreational depths limits while safely respecting the NDL. For decompression-certified students, we include simple decompression cave dives near the end of the training.
Here are some of the things you will not learn in Mexico.
#1: Extreme flow management.
While we do have dive sites with moderate flow, there are certainly regions in the world with stronger flow than Mexico. While considerations for diving in flow are discussed during training, students should consider hiring a local guide or diving with a seasoned local diver in other locations with strong flow for a few dives. That said, we’ve never had feedback from students that flow management was an issue in other locations. For technical training, we do offer ocean dives with stronger flow. The current of the coast can really pick up, and it’s very enjoyable to drift over the reefs and along walls!
#2: Cold water diving.
The water in Mexico is warm. It’s fantastic! Students can learn in wetsuits or drysuits with light undergarments very comfortably. While developing movements and muscle memory with gear in warm water can be beneficial when transitioning to cold water, anyone who has learned in warm water should expect some crossover challenges to cold water diving. That said, we will do our best to discuss cold water considerations during training so students know what they are getting into in chillier dive sites.
If you have made it this far in my dive shop manifesto, thank you for taking the time to read the whole thing! I love our happy little dive shop, staff, instructors, and the growing community of divers and explorers who use Under the Jungle as their home base. Please take the time to consider all your options for training and diving, and if you feel that we are the right fit for you, I look forward to you reaching out. I hope to meet you in person one day.
Happy diving,
