Maya people & the(ir) cenotes
Here's our last but not least (at least for the moment) post about Mexico. We have talked about our itinerary, our journey to Merida, our trips and Mayan sights in the area. And what else could we save for this special moment? Of course, Mayan portals to the underworld or in other words - cenotes.
During our trip we have only been to two and a half cenote, skipping one that we could go to. But one step at a time.
Our first cenotes experience was Ik Kil which we combined with Chichen Itza as it's only some 6 km by car. Not only did we do so, but lots of people had the same plan. This is not the almost private cenote experience that you might hope for. However, if you don't mind and just want to cross a cenote, any cenote, off your bucket list or you're on a tight schedule this will do.
This cenote was really ready for the crowds. You have a big parking lot, lockers for your things and even a lifeguard on duty. Not your typical cenote experience as I said before. We started off a bit childishly :D (yes, my fault) cause I asked Telchac if he thought I should have my flip flops on when going down, he advised it wasn't necessary. So we went and after first few wet stone steps, I started complaining that I didn't take my flip flops. You know how we, women, are, it got bigger than big and then we didn't talk for a few minutes (I didn't talk to be exact. To top it off when we were leaving, I wanted a popsicle and again Telchac strongly advised not to do it, because it was not made from purified water, at least he thought so :D). Despite these very serious relationship moments that took its toll on us :D the rest of the time was great. What surprised me was that there were fish in the cenote. I don't know why but I did not expect any living things in there. Once you get used to that and the fact that the water is not warm you can enjoy it all. There was also a small platform that people were jumping from. We weren't so brave (yes, me again, but I don't want to make everything about me :D). If I ever go back there, I will definitely jump!
The other that we visited were Cenotes Dos Ojos. It's called two eyes because there are two cenotes close to each other, dah :D. From the moment you reach the parking lot, you can see this is not an Ik Kil kind of touristy cenote. It's smaller, there are fewer people and basically, nobody was swimming there. We saw several groups of divers (I'd shit my pants if I went diving there). We were the only ones swimming, I do not know why. People only came (fully clothed), took a few photos and left. On the other hand, we did not take any photos :D which is a real pity because it was amazingly photogenic.
The half that I mentioned at the beginning was a cenote that we were supposed to visit but did not make it. It was directly on the grounds of our hotel in Temozon and you could book a private visit there but since we were only staying for two nights and had our days packed with things away from the hotel, we simply did not make time for that.
Cenotes are such weird and incredible places and they are all over Yucatan and Quintana Roo. So if you're ever here, choose the one that suits you best and get there!
We departed Mexico with three bottles of mezcal in our luggage, tanned faces and lots of photos. And from the moment the plane took off we knew we come back for sure. C U somewhere else in two weeks!
During our trip we have only been to two and a half cenote, skipping one that we could go to. But one step at a time.
Our first cenotes experience was Ik Kil which we combined with Chichen Itza as it's only some 6 km by car. Not only did we do so, but lots of people had the same plan. This is not the almost private cenote experience that you might hope for. However, if you don't mind and just want to cross a cenote, any cenote, off your bucket list or you're on a tight schedule this will do.
This cenote was really ready for the crowds. You have a big parking lot, lockers for your things and even a lifeguard on duty. Not your typical cenote experience as I said before. We started off a bit childishly :D (yes, my fault) cause I asked Telchac if he thought I should have my flip flops on when going down, he advised it wasn't necessary. So we went and after first few wet stone steps, I started complaining that I didn't take my flip flops. You know how we, women, are, it got bigger than big and then we didn't talk for a few minutes (I didn't talk to be exact. To top it off when we were leaving, I wanted a popsicle and again Telchac strongly advised not to do it, because it was not made from purified water, at least he thought so :D). Despite these very serious relationship moments that took its toll on us :D the rest of the time was great. What surprised me was that there were fish in the cenote. I don't know why but I did not expect any living things in there. Once you get used to that and the fact that the water is not warm you can enjoy it all. There was also a small platform that people were jumping from. We weren't so brave (yes, me again, but I don't want to make everything about me :D). If I ever go back there, I will definitely jump!
The other that we visited were Cenotes Dos Ojos. It's called two eyes because there are two cenotes close to each other, dah :D. From the moment you reach the parking lot, you can see this is not an Ik Kil kind of touristy cenote. It's smaller, there are fewer people and basically, nobody was swimming there. We saw several groups of divers (I'd shit my pants if I went diving there). We were the only ones swimming, I do not know why. People only came (fully clothed), took a few photos and left. On the other hand, we did not take any photos :D which is a real pity because it was amazingly photogenic.
The half that I mentioned at the beginning was a cenote that we were supposed to visit but did not make it. It was directly on the grounds of our hotel in Temozon and you could book a private visit there but since we were only staying for two nights and had our days packed with things away from the hotel, we simply did not make time for that.
Cenotes are such weird and incredible places and they are all over Yucatan and Quintana Roo. So if you're ever here, choose the one that suits you best and get there!
We departed Mexico with three bottles of mezcal in our luggage, tanned faces and lots of photos. And from the moment the plane took off we knew we come back for sure. C U somewhere else in two weeks!