Freediving Isla Cozumel, Chankanaab Adventure Park
Chankanaab Adventure Park by Andre Navarro
Gorgeous and fun Isla Cozumel ! Out of all the interesting areas to explore on Cozumel, Chankanaab Adventure Park is a must. About 15 minutes south of Centro, Chankanaab Beach Adventure Park is a day use beach wonderland resembling a swank resort's beach side luxuries, including a cenote. My favorite area to explore is the ocean out front. You don't have to go far either. As soon as you get into the water, you're going to see a variety of corals, sponges, fish, caverns and even underwater statues.
Chankanaab Underwater Caverns by Andre Navarro
Let's begin with the beautiful and diverse shore reefs and underwater caverns feet from shore. You can either pay a reasonable day use fee to enjoy the location's many amenities or enter from the south over the jagged shore reef for free. As you swim along the shore reef, the first thing you'll notice is the spread out variety of corals, sea whips, sea plumes and colorful sponges. In these same areas, you'll find many colorful and diverse Caribbean fish feeding or gliding by. Like the bright yellow with black stripes Sgt Majorfish. Sergeant Majorfish are extremely friendly and curious. They will swim right up to you within inches, often in a huge swarm of fish.
Sergeant Majorfish and Sea Plumes of Cozumel by Andre Navarro
Another of my favorite fish to observe is the Smooth Trunkfish which resembles a little underwater space alien. They have the cutest little grumpy face with puckered lips that only a mother could love. If they weren't in the water, they look like they would fly away back to their mother ship. They have an odd triangular shape and many small fins in unusual places. As they swim along the reefs, I can't help but to follow them for as long as they let me. And they are pretty tolerant, not minding much at all unless I get too close by accident.
Smooth Trunkfish of Cozumel by Andre Navarro
The underwater caverns are on the southern end of the property. As you get closer to them, the water begins to feel cooler along the surface. You'll also notice the water begins to get murky in an odd way, also along the surface. And when the water feels extremely cold and appears mysteriously blurry, like someone spilled a truck load of cooking oil, you have arrived at the caverns. The underwater caverns are where the fresh water from the cenote and forest run into the ocean. This cold fresh water can not mix immediately with the much warmer salty ocean water creating a blurry waxy looking area that is also cold. It tends to float towards the top, but in the area of the caverns, it's everywhere.
Heart Passage at Chankanaab Cozumel by Andre Navarro
Right before entering the cavern area, there is a cool swim through that is shaped like a heart. Once you swim through the heart, you are in the cavern corner. As you make your way around this inner area, you'll see the opening into the huge caverns. The further you go along the caverns, it opens up along the entire side, leading under the shore reef into darkness. There are a couple passages that I like to swim through that go into the darkness, but you can see light at the other end. It's extremely important to understand where and how far the exit is of a swim through before you attempt it. Some of the caverns disappear into the darkness, under the jungle.
Chankanaab Underwater Caverns of Cozumel by Andre Navarro
Once you reach the other end of the caverns, the underwater scenery turns back into shallow shore reef with clusters of corals, sea fans, sponges and lot's of fish. The shore reef has many cool small opening and tunnels that only the fish can swim through. These areas are concentrated with fish. You'll find large gatherings of yellow French Grunts into the hundreds. You'll also see many colorful Parrot Fish. The most common are the Yellow Tail. My favorite are the Spotlight Parrot Fish which come in two very different colors and patterns. The male has a bright red stomach with red checkered upper area. The female comes in bright aqua blue with highlights of darker blue and green. They're both extremely beautiful that look like works of art. They're usually wandering around, nipping at things for the algae.
Male Stoplight Parrotfish of Cozumel by Andre Navarro
Female Stoplight Parrotfish of Cozumel by Andre Navarro
As much as I love viewing all the fish, I can't help but to admire the sea whips, plumes, fans and various corals that are all around. It's amazing that they are actually animals, not plants as they may appear. There are numerous Purple Sea Fans everywhere along with Sea Whips and Plumes that are usually purple and yellow. It's beautiful the way they all gently sway back and fourth in the current. There is a decent amount of Fire Blade Coral along the reefs along with occasional Pillar Corals. Here, you'll experience all these animals together In a dense area, filled with fish and crustaceans like a little city buzzing with life.
Sea Fans, Whips, Plumes and Corals of Cozumel by Andre Navarro
Pillar Coral at Chankanaab Cozumel by Andre Navarro
As we make our way to the famous underwater statues, we'll pass over a deeper coral reef filled with fish. This deeper reef is mid property and about 40 yards from shore and 18 feet to the bottom. Some of these rocky reef structures are car size and reach halfway to the surface. You'll find a wider variety of fish here like huge groups of snappers and grunts. There is much to see and explore here, assuming you can make the dive down. Snorkeling from the top, you'll just be able to see the tops of the larger reefs clearly. 
Deeper Reef fish of Chankanaab, Cozumel by Andre Navarro
Deeper Coral Reefs of Chankanaab, Cozumel by Andre Navarro
Now on to the famous underwater statues of Chankanaab Adventure Park. These statues are the reason I found this location and what motivated me to explore it in the first place. My favorite being the giant Christ statue, made of bronze and standing 14 feet from the bottom, almost reaching the surface. With a short 5 foot dive down, you can reach the head of the statue. If you can dive all the way to the bottom, you'll get an amazing view from an angle with a water sunny sky that most will never see.
Christ Statue of Chankanaab, Cozumel by Andre Navarro
Christ statue at Chankanaab, Cozumel by Andre Navarro
The other two statues are small compared to the Christ statue. The Virgin of the Sea statue stands a little over 2 feet tall and is hard to see unless you make the dive down. And the last statue is of a Mayan Pyramid. Standing about a foot and half tall, it is the smallest of the three. All the statues are within 50 yards of each other and about 100 yards out mid property. The Christ statue is under a yellow rope float buoy to mark it's location.
Virgin of the Sea statue of Chankanaab, Cozumel by Andre Navarro
Mayan Pyramid statue of Chankanaab, Cozumel by Andre Navarro
There is so much to see and explore here, it took me two days to experience it all at a relaxing pace and capture it all on video. From the beautiful shore reef inhabited by hundreds of fish to the larger deeper rocky reefs to the underwater statues and the mysterious shore reef caverns, this location will fill your day with awesome ocean exploration.
The accompanying Youtube videos are first hand footage captured by Andre Navarro while freediving Chankanaab Adventure Park of Isla Cozumel, Mexico. You can also view hundreds of beautiful photos of the awesome ocean life and underwater environments of Isla Cozumel in the Photos section, Images of Isla Cozumel, MexicoPublished by: Andre Navarro of Ocean Earth Green
I’m Andre Navarro, Southern California freediver and underwater videographer. I create ocean life adventure videos to connect viewers to our amazing underwater world to motivate stronger conservation and ocean life awareness. You can follow my ocean adventures here at OceanEarthGreen.com and view all my current and past videos at Youtube.com/OceanEarthGreen.