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Words By Blake
Descending into the cool cenote from the heat of the jungle, my wife and I arrived at the edge of the limestone opening and looked down into the depths of the sacred blue waters below. For the Maya, cenotes were spiritual thresholds between the physical world and the underworld. Formed in the limestone of the Yucatán, these natural underground reservoirs were considered sacred portals. I entered the cool water and moved into a thriving hidden ecosystem filled with fish, turtles, and even alligators. I dove deep into the cenote toward the lilies as they reached up toward the light at the surface, carefully swimming through the delicate stems of the lilies as they stretched upward. Beneath the cave walls, everything was quiet as the lilies gently swayed in the crystal waters. I descended on a single breath, positioning myself deep in the cenote with a custom-made underwater housing for my camera, and made the photograph on one breath. During these days of shooting the magic of Mexico, my wife and I chose to elope in one of these cenotes and were married in a private ceremony guided by a Mayan shaman. Being in these sacred waters gave the image a deeper meaning, tying it not only to the underworld revered by the Maya, but to one of the most personal moments of my life.
