Scuba Dive or Underwater Photo Shoot? (May 12, 2026)
I get it. The cost our our boat dive was $150 each. That’s reasonable for a two tank dive here in Cancun, Mexico. But for another $90, we can have a ton of pictures and videos shot during our two dives. The cost of digital underwater photos and video is next to nothing, but it does change the nature of the scuba dive. From “explore Cancun” to “pose for this picture, okay now this one. Perfect, just 40 more to go!”
This coral reef is sponsored by Cancun’s Volkswagen Beetle. Really!
I’ll get back to this in a minute, but let me diverge for a second and talk about an incredible sponsorship opportunity here in Cancun. We all know we need to build back the many reefs that have been lost to Global Warming, right? But why drop a boring box when you can get a company like Volkswagen to sponsor this effort and build their brand among avid scuba divers. Sounds like a terrible Mad Men pitch, right? Only it already happened about a decade ago and we’re seeing the coral reef form around not one but TWO Volkswagen Beetles. Huh?
There’s an even cooler part of this discovery that connects to a local artist, but given just how hard our dive master and his editing team worked to bring you this content, feast your eyes on this short 2-minute video compiling our 2-hour photo shoot … I mean scuba dive:
MTV music video meets underwater photography (possibly AI editing tools) and GoPro. Whatever … it works and gives the essence of our dives. After you get over the “are we scuba diving or doing a commercial shoot?” You fall squarely into an episode of The Last of Us as you get creeped out by the coral life growing on 50 statues that appear like dead bodies in decomposition. At least, this is how it felt to Will and me, but you see for yourself.
50 statues of men, (pregnant!) women and children growing coral
So this is Cancun’s underwater museum. Why are there 50 statues for scuba divers to swim around?
“The project was launched in 2009, had the goal to create an artificial reef to protect the Manchones Reef area, and help the marine life restoration in the Cancun and Isla Mujeres area. The Cancun Underwater Museum (Spanish: Museo Subacuático de Arte, known as MUSA) is a non-profit organization based in Cancún, Mexico devoted to the art of conservation. The museum has a total of 500 underwater sculptures, most by the British sculptor Jason DeCaires Taylor and the others by five Mexican sculptors, with three different galleries submerged between three and six meters (9.8 and 19.6 ft ) deep in the ocean at the Cancún National Marine Park.
The museum was thought up by Marine Park Director Jaime Gonzalez Canto and Jason deCaires Taylor, with the objective of saving the nearby coral reefs by providing an alternative destination for divers. It was started in 2009 and officially opened in November 2010 with the main obetive of protecting the Manchones Reef area.
In Solo Buceo Cancun we only visit the Underwater Museum's main area located near Isla Mujeres. Tis area contains the wolrd famous Silent Evolution.”
So it’s certainly different. I mean every scuba dive is different from every other dive, but a planned underwater museum created to help grow more coral reef? If it weren’t so creepy, it would be awesome. I don’t recommend this site for first-time divers. It’s challenging enough to “relax” when breathing under water. You don’t need realistic-looking statues that appear to be decomposing as you dive.
Here’s a more “normal” staged shot of father, son and conch shell
I have at least another 30 or so videos and pictures to share. What? You’re done already? I know, in this swipe up, down, left or right world we live in, if there’s not something totally different, we tend to skip ahead. Yes, I could present Will and me jumping off the boat, swimming around, posing in front of … well … everything, but I think you get the idea. So, I’ll just wrap up with a few shots from the boat instead.
Yes, we are OK and ready to dive. Will is excited to dive in Cancun, MX
Yes, “I’m king of the world … ala Titanic.” How many people have taken this exact shot since this movie, I wonder? But with the bright aqua blue water, how could I resist?
As Will wraps up his time with me here in Mexico, we are leaving this part of the world on a high note. Tomorrow, we go to Mexico’s version of Disneyland only with ziplines, cenotes and what looks to be an epic water slide. We’ll see. This should be a great way to send Will off on his last full day here in Cancun, Mexico.
