My time in Mexico was finally coming to an end, but you know I couldn’t leave Playa del Carmen without hopping in a cenote to dust off my cave diving skills.

My friends Alli and Alan volunteered to show me around Cenote Minotauro.

I haven’t been cave diving since my refresher in 2024, and if you missed the videos, I discussed my relationship with fear and anxiety. It felt important to share because I believe, regardless of your number of dives and experience level, it’s still normal to get nervous before a dive.

This was my first time at Minotauro, and as you saw on the map, there are many adventures to choose from in this cave system. We decided to check out the main line of Minotauro with a jump to Cenote Escalera. Abby was waiting for me back at the hotel, so we planned one long, chilled-out dive.

Even though I felt a bit better about caves after my refresher, I wasn’t sure how this was going to pan out. What I experienced blew my mind.

I am a naturally anxious person, and although I’ve learned skills for managing it, the unmanageability can rear its head when I’m dealing with something outside of my comfort zone.

So, as we swam deeper into the cave system, I thought that at some point, the usual fear would kick in. But it didn’t. The beauty of the cave brought me into the present moment. My breath, steadying and assured as each kick cycle took me further and further away from our exit point.

Intense exhilaration hit as I explored the first halocline of the line. The contrast between the cool, fresh water and the deeper, warm salt water made my exposed skin tingle.

And that’s when it hit me. I realized during this dive that over the past year, I have challenged myself outside of diving, resulting in a boost of self-confidence. I’ve struggled and learned about my sailboat and navigating a vessel on the water. I’ve done intimidating DIY repairs and even taken my boat out for solo trips in the Pacific Northwest.

Although at a high level, boating has nothing to do with the actual sport of scuba diving, all of that growth and self-esteem development spilled over into my sense of self in the water.

This is not about undeserved over-confidence. Some divers fall into the trap of thinking they know it all, and that is a recipe for accidents.

This is about getting right-sized. It’s about developing a deep understanding of your training and trusting yourself to execute that training.

While I was positively befuddled by this experience, it is proof that even if you’re not able to get in the water, you can welcome any obscure opportunities to develop as a diver. You can work on skills related to problem solving, effective communication, anxiety management, situational awareness, or confidence. You will be amazed by the impact this kind of growth will have on your experience in your scuba gear.

114 minutes after descending into the crystal clear water of Minotauro (plus a few extra moments spent in our Cenote Escalera detour), we returned to the familiar wooden ladder in the water.

I’m also sure that my dive guides had a huge influence on the positive experience I had in the cave. Alan and Alli are exceptional divers and have been working in this area for several years. They are currently launching their new business, Salt State Dive & Travel, so if you want to dive with great people, reach out to them to book your trip.

I feel as though this dive showed me a glimpse of what this season of my life has in store for me. I can’t even begin to express how challenging things have been. The lessons I’m learning are beyond comprehension. I’m sure more and more will be revealed as I prepare to shove off for a life of cruising and diving with my sailboat. I don’t know what any of it will look like, but I’ll continue to put one foot in front of the other, trudging the road of happy destiny.

And who knows? Maybe I’ll see you in one of these gorgeous caves in Mexico in the near future.

See what trips are coming up. I always give my community first dibs on spots, so you can sign up for Patreon (and get trip discounts) or my email list to be the first to know about new expeditions in the future.