An unlikely hero

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Yucatan geology 101 - the Yucatan peninsula (south-east part of Mexico) sits ontop of a massive slab on limestone. As such, there are no rivers on the surface - rainwater almost immediately drains through the limestone to an underground river system beneath.  As the water erodes to limestone above, the rock collapses to form big caves (sometimes open to air, sometimes not) called cenotes, which are dotted throughout the jungle and form one of the biggest cave networks in the world.

Infinitely preferring freshwater over seawater, this sounded like just my bag.  So I came here (here being Tulum) from Cozumel on Monday.  

Once I had checked into my hostel, I went out for a bit of a gander round the town, but given that involved a 15 minute bike ride along a major highway, I came back before it got dark. On my return the Australian couple (Jackie and James) i was sharing my dorm with were in the room, and there was a little cross-eyed Siamese kitty curled up on my bed.  I vaguely thought I should kick him off (there were signs that you shouldn't let animals in the rooms), but I couldn't bring myself to do it.   You know me and cats...

So later that evening, Jackie, James and I were sitting under the gazebo chatting and drinking with another australian couple when someone spotted a snake slithering along the ground.  We got up to take a closer look, and James went to get his camera.  He managed to get a couple of good shots of it and with the flash we could see that it was black with orange stripes, which the Australians diagnosed as a coral snake.  With the the excitement little snakey got a bit scared and slithered quite quickly in the direction of our room.  It stopped short and stayed still for quite a while, so we left it be and went back to our seats.

A little while later the hostel owner came and joined us, and when we told him we'd seen a snake and described it's coloring, his look suggested that it wasn't necessarily of the harmless variety.  This of course had me a little worried, because as mentioned it was last seen quite near our room (and by "room" I mean little more than a tree hut with mosquito netting - it wasn't really snake-proof).  When I voiced my fears, the hostel owner suggested that before we went to bed, to just point a fan towards the floor (apparently to wind upsets them and they'll leave)... I stilled wasn't really filled with confidence.  But a few sentences later I mentioned that the kitty was sleeping on my bed, and the hostel owner's like "oh! If the cat's in there you'll be fine.  Snakes won't go into a room if a cat or dog's already there".

Who would have thought Little cross-eyed kitty's not just cute, but an effective means of snake prevention... And he's slept on my bed every night. My saviour.

Aside from snake/cat stand-offs, Tulum's been wonderfully relaxing, the cenotes are as expected, wonderful.  I went diving in a couple yesterday and it was amazing.  Being fresh water with very little current, the visibility is unbelievable.  It was a little nerve-wracking looking up to see nothing but stalagtites above you (ie so if something happened you couldn't just swim to the surface for air), but looking back towards the light when you're deep in the caves is just incredible, very National Geographic.   And as I said... It's freshwater (although super-calcified, apparently that water has 8 times more calcium than milk) so you feel so clean when you come out. It's great.

Thankfully I come back through here near the end of my next tour (which starts tomorrow - getting ready for three weeks of non-stop ruins and beaches) so I haven't seen the last of the cenotes.

Sorry no photos this time, the cenotes are kinda hard to get photos of, being water-filled caves, and does one really need a photo of a cross-eyed Siamese cat?

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Comments

[Georgia]

go kitty!!
That all sounds VERY adventurous Stacey. I hope you got some sleep. I would have been up all night. Not sure if you are on the facebook much but Jaime and Jono had their baby and he is so cute its stupid. Also we saw Marg's baby last weekend and she is a little cutie too - a little bit yellowy from some jaundice but mostly looks like a nice tint. We are well and happy - I have started sewing again.. ahhh so domestic. I have made a tote bag and a plastic bag holder so far. I am getting my skills back before I get back into making clothing. You never know I might whizz you up some jim jams or something as a late/early chrissy present when you come!! Anyway, just realised this comment might get posted so will send you a normal email next time. Take care xxx