the great vacation - part III

 

cenotes

 

wow cenotes - what are they

 

I give you Wikipedia

 

"A cenote is a deep natural pit, or sinkhole, characteristic of Mexico, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath."

which does not even begin to grasp their magic

 

 

when I first saw this hole in the ground with water in it

I was scared and did not think I would go in

it was so powerful

 

 

we were so hot and it was so inviting

 

 

 

the light shining down through the main hole made the

water brillant blue

 

the camera does not do it justice

 

this was the first cenote I had ever been too

it was a short bike ride from our hotel in Tulum

 

it was so magical

and we had the place all to ourselves

 

the next day

we took the bus to Coba

a town about 30 miles into the jungle from Tulum

 

our plan was to visit the ruins of Coba the next day

 

 

we found a hotel in town and asked about bikes

you can rent bikes at the ruins

but you can rent bikes here for the cenotes

 

cenotes?  we had not heard of any there but

oh yeah, we wanted to rent bikes to the cenotes

where are they?

 

 just on the other side of the lake

 

on the other side of the lake was a sign that said cenote toward the road leading out of town

 

it was hot, but we were on a nice black topped narrow road

with almost no traffic - we pedaled for miles

we had been on the dirt road turnoff for what seemed forever

when we saw a car, I flagged it down

how far I said, I am about to turn around

wow, said the girl, it is just around the next corner

and we were just saying - these people on bikes are hard core

 

when I saw that to get to the cenote you had to go down stairs in a well

I was not going

 

 

180 steps later

 

 

 we came out into a huge cave

filled with water

 

 

2 people were leaving when we got there

then we had the place all to ourselves

 

 

it was the most amazing place to swim

I think if I had not been so hot from the bike ride

I never would have gone down those steps

I don't like caves

 

 

but I love water

 

 

 

this cenote was discover in the 70's when some crazy guy with a rope went down though this hole

 

it is the only light to the outside, except for a tiny hole that they have put a light bulb though

and then run a generator to power it

 

 

the water was very deep and very clear

refreshing - not cold

 

 

these rocks are believed to be the ruins of an ancient stairway

to the fresh water

that collapsed several centuries ago

 

an interesting side note:  after we had been swimming for awhile

and enjoying our solitude - a bus load of tourists showed up

they croweded down, jumped in swam around and I thought oh no

Willi said don't worry they are on a tour and will be gone soon

then just as suddenly as they got in, they got out and were gone

and we had quiet once again

 

when we left, they turned off the generator

 

 

the bike trip back was so much easier and cooler with a dripping wet bathing suit

 

 

 

next day - Coba ruins

which deserve a whole post on their own