Swimming in the Cenotes on Kay´s Birthday
Trip Start
Jan 01, 2007
1
13
141
Trip End
Ongoing
Merida,
Mexico
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
We are still in Merida. Frank started the day by making a wonderful Mexican breakfast of Huevos con Chorizo (eggs and spicy sausage), avocado, tortillas, queso (cheese), and fruit.
Then we jumped in a collectivo (public shared van) to tour the Cenotes de Cuzama. Cuzama is a small town in a region that used to farm henequen. The area was dotted with henequen plantations all over, with long networks of lightweight rails connecting them. The harvest was transported on horse-drawn trolleys along these rails.
The henequen plantations are no longer in use, but the rails and trolleys are now used by residents to cart tourists to visit the regional cenotes
Chuck wagon!
. A cenote is a cave unique to the Yucatan penninsula. A network of underground rivers spans underneath the penninsula. This network also contains hundreds of cenotes, which make fantastic swimming holes!We got off the bus at the trolley station, and formed a group with 2 Colombians (Esteban and Gonzala), 3 Argentenian guys, and a mother-daughter from Mexico. We shared a trolley cart with Esteban and Gonzala and had a lot of fun with them. Esteban is studying Marine Biology and finishing his doctoral thesis in Cozumel. Lucky for us - his specialty is Caves! He was a wealth of knowledge and you could tell he was passionate about his studies. It was fun watching him when we arrived at each Cenote - he was like a kid in a candy store, excited to explore inside the cave and under the water.
We visited 3 cenotes, within 10 kilometers of the trolley station. The first cenote was quite large and open above. The second was smaller and darker, with long tree roots hanging down from the ceiling to the water. It had an eery sense. The third (and last) cenote was magical - large and round and closed on top, but with a few rays of light shining in. The water was a brilliant shade of blue. The pool was doughnut shaped, with cone of sediment in the middle. All three pools were accessed by climbing down a long wooden staircase
Church in Cuzama
. The last one was a wooden ladder that went straight down (no angle). Kay passed on that one.After our fun at the cenotes, we jumped back into our horse-drawn trolley for a ride back to the station, where our Collectivo was to pick us up. Unfortunately, we were 20 minutes late, so the Colletivo was gone already. We were 2 kilometers from the nearest town, where we could catch another Collectivo every 30 minutes. There were several pedi-cab (bicycles that tote 2 passengers) that offered rides into town for 20 pesos per person (about 2 dollars each). From our group: the Mexican mother and daughter immediately jumped into a pedi-cab and the 3 Argentinians started the long hot walk back to town. We stood there and discussed our options with our Colombian friends, Esteban and Gonzala. Meanwhile, a police truck drove by. I started to wave my hand and asked Esteban if it was common to hitch a ride. The truck continued on and the guys told us that yes, it was common in Colombia to hitch (as I had observed in Ecuador). We looked up and saw that the Argentinians were climbing into the back of the Police truch - they hitched a ride with the police! A few seconds later, another truck drives by and we stick our hand out. He stops and we jump in the back. The kind local dropped us off in town, and within minutes a Collectivo headed for Merida showed up. A classy ride this time - a tall Mercedes-Benz van! We all dozed off to sleep in the comfy seats
Dive on In!
.That night, Frank and I went wandering in town looking for a nice restaurant for my birthday dinner. Armed with a handful of suggestions courtesy of our Lonely Planet guidebook, we set out for the streets of Merida. We checked out each one, and quickly walked past each one after noticing the picture-based tourist menu in front of each one and a front room full of tour-bus-tourists. Strolling around, we passed by a latin Coffee Shop, and I spotted a girl drinking a milkshake. That was it! After a couple weeks of tortillas and tacos, we were ready for some comfort food. A Chocolate Milkshake, club sandwich, and an order of greasy french fries were exactly what I wanted and got on my birthday. It was perfect!
The next morning, we woke up early and caught a bus to Uxmal and Campeche with our friends Sabastien and Guilliema from Quebec (we met them in Valladoid and again in Merida at the hostels).
Love, Kay
Comments
Happy (belated) Birthday!
Happy birthday Kay, glad to hear Frank is still keeping you in the style to which you are accustomed! Sounds like you are both having a blast, although we miss not having you around in DC. It's great to be able to follow your travels in (almost) real time. Sam and I just got back from snowboarding in Colorado - i had a major wipeout but fortunately landed on my head so no damage there. Sam was not so lucky and managed to break her wrist when she caught an edge. She is now the proud wearer of a cast up to the elbow. (and you thought it was always me that got plastered...)