Water water everywhere

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We had another adventure today. It's getting to be quite the habit, isn't it?

It rained again today, and our whale shark tour was cancelled. Bummer but one can't control the weather. We were promised a refund within a week.

Instead we took the bus down to Tulum. The ADO buses are fancy, new ones and not cheap. It's a two-and-a-half hour ride down to Tulum (with a couple of stops on the way), and it rained every minute of the way. We got off at the central bus station and started walking towards one of the cenotes. At least it wasn't cold! Just wet. Very wet. We walked to the Calavera cenote, about 45 minutes walk away, but we stopped at a small restaurant for breakfast. It was nearing noon already and they were just opening. Coffee, fruit and an omelette hit the spot! Besides, Tamar needed a rest because her sandals were blistering her feet nicely.

We walked (in the rain) to the cenote and paid the entrance fee. Now, the Calavera cenote is really nice, but the people who run the place are not! And after we'd been to Choo-Ha and Tankach-Ha, well, Calavera doesn't compare. They did have a gaggle of friendly geese there that did welcome anyone with a snack. The Calavera cenote is a large opening in the ground that opens up to a big bell-shaped cave, like the others we've seen, but here the cave was filled with water, so you can jump the 4 meters from the opening into the pool. Also, there are two small openings, slightly larger than manhole covers, next to the big one with little signs saying 'Jump Here'. So we did. There were a bunch of other people there, mostly foreign tourists like us, and we had a good time despite the rain. Everyone jumped into the pool, swam into the cave, peeked at the bats and swallows who were trying to sleep and in general having a good time.

While we were there we suddenly saw bubbles rising to the surface, and large shapes slowly rising from below! Turns out that this cenote is used by divers and two groups of German divers ended their dives while we were there.

We had just decided to leave and head for other cenotes in the area when the couple we'd met yesterday at Tankach-Ha arrived. They were happy to see us, and we them, and they advised us to go see the Sac Actun cenotes, at the end of the road past the well-known Dos Ojos cenote. They said that if you see only one cenote, then Sac Actun is the one to see. We figured why not?

So we collected our stuff and went to try and catch some transportation. We lucked out and within minutes caught a taxi. An old, run down little car with a funny young driver. He knew the place and we agreed on a price. It was quite a distance, and a good part of the way was on a dirt track filled with potholes! Our driver definitely earned his fee!

When we got there we were approached by one of the guys operating the place. Turns out that the only way to see the cenote from the inside is with a guide, at the cost of $30 each. That's US dollars. Plus, there was no way back to town (Tulum or Playa Del Carmen) unless our driver waited for us. The reason for this, as was explained, is that the cenotes are on private land and the owner doesn't want lots of tourists destroying the place. He wants to limit visitors to 100 a day. So, high prices and no advertising. The only way you'd even know about the place is by word of mouth.

Well, we'd made it to here so we decided what the hell, right? We were not sorry for a minute!

The tour consisted of about 15 minutes of free time to change into bating suits and to go have a look at the open part of the cenote called the 'Pet Cemetery'. Just by looking around you could imagine how it formed. It was a huge underground cavern and the whole central part of the roof collapsed. The result is an open pit, shallow in the middle and deep around the edges. The middle part is covered with trees and other plants, orchids are flowering on the trees, frogs live in the undergrowth and bats hang out in the covered part of the cave. It really is special! Plus, by then the rain had finally stopped. Now we had water only from below.

The next part of the tour was getting life jackets and snorkels, and following our guide Antonio into the underground portion of the caves. So we left our stuff in the taxi, taking only the gopro (with a fresh battery), and along with one other couple, joined Antonio. He gave some basic rules (stick together, don't touch the stalactites), cracked some bad jokes and off we went.

Antonio told us about how we were actually visiting two connected cenotes. A cenote is actually an opening into underground water. He explained how the water level was higher than usual at the moment because of the rain, and that we'll have to be careful not to bump our heads on the stalactites while swimming between them. He wasn't worried about our heads. No, he was worried we might harm the stalactites! Priorities, right?

We swam around the central 'island' of the Pet Cemetery and into the cave proper, passing a sleeping bat on the way. We wound our way between the stalactites, slowly swimming deeper into the cavern, Antonio's flashlight the only source of light. When he held it under the water the cave was filled with an eerie greenish glow.

After some time swimming the cave opened up into a huge room lit with a single floodlight. At the center of the room was a small wooden platform and stairs going up and out a small opening in the rock above. The water seemed clearer here too, and the cave deeper. The water was so clear that we could easily see the details in the deep cracks and crevices in the cave floor far below. There were pillars of rock reaching from the floor below to the ceiling above, and tree roots hanging from the ceiling. When the roots reached the water, they widened and ended in a wide stump, like and upside-down mushroom with its head in the water. In some places tree roots had twisted around rock pillars, each supporting the other.

We swam around the central platform, and then started making our way back to where we started. Somewhere along the way Antonio played a trick on us, turned off the flashlight and swam on ahead. With light only from the cavern behind us we couldn't tell which way to go, as there were several branches to the cave. Antonio left us to ponder the problem before turning on the light and guiding us safely out.

We got to the starting point of the tour and climbed the stairs back up to ground level. We all agreed that it was an amazing experience!

Our funny taxi driver was there waiting for us. He drove us back through the jungle and on to Tulum, to the Collectivo stop. A collectivo is a sort of cheap part taxi part bus service, like the Sherut taxis in Israel. Anyway, we learned that the collectivo to Playa Del Carmen leaves every few minutes, and another leaves from there to Cancun frequently as well (there's no direct collectivo to Cancun). So no rush. We found a pharmacy and got bandages for Tamar's blisters. After a full day in wet sandals she needed them badly. I used one too. Then we went to find something to eat.

The main street was full of touristy restaurants, i.e. low quality and high prices. By chance we looked down a side street and saw a couple of restaurants, one of which was full of locals, so we sat there. Just looking at the menu we saw the prices were maybe 10% of the touristy places, and it was packed with people who should know what's good. We found the last free table.

Tamar ordered a burrito and Jamaica, which is a juice made with (I think) hibiscus. The waiter, with the aid of Google Translate, said it was a flower. I had Empanadas with pineapple and mint juice. It was all very good! Dirt cheap and we barely managed to finish it all.

After dinner we got on the collectivo and true to form, it filled up and left within three minutes. The driver sped along the road, stopping now and then for people to get on or off, and dropped us at the main collectivo station in Playa an hour later.

There we were first on the van, and sure enough, five minutes later we were off, even though the van wasn't full. We picked up a few passengers along the way, but like the previous ride, we were the only foreigners in the van.

We got to Cancun at about 8:30 and walked back to our hotel. On the way we went through a park where some stalls (mostly food stalls) were selling their wares. The action was either just starting or just ending. Few people were about and some of the stalls were closed up. The hotel manager told us that they opened there every evening until late. So we showered and went to look around.

Well, the place wasn't exactly hopping at 10 at night either. Not many people around, and most of those were families eating junk together. We bought a marquesitas, which is similar to a crepe, but rolled up instead of folded, and super crunchy. Also, the Mexicans serve it either sweet (with chocolate, bananas or other sweet stuff) or savory, with chicken, hot sauce, sausages & such. Ours was chocolate with banana. A bit sweet for my taste but Tamar loved it.

Anyway, enough for today. After the marquesitas we returned to the hotel and promptly crashed. Tomorrow we're off to Chiapas.

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Photos

Calavera cenote
Tamar jumping into the water