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Published: January 26th 2009
We took a day trip from Merida to see some cenotes. These are pools of water from underground sources, in caves and such that you can swim in. The water level changes from year to year depending on how much water there is in the ground. The water is usually warm, and very clear because it is filtered by the rocks. In Mexico there are several hundred known cenotes that can be visited, and more are being discovered all the time.
We took a 2nd class bus to a tiny town close to the cenotes with two other guys staying at our hostel (both from Canada!). From there, we got in two-person carts that are powered by a guy pedalling a bike attached to the back. After some serious haggling, we think we were still ripped off for this fare. After a 15min ride, we then boarded a pony-drawn cart that ran on a 150-year-old railroad through what we think was an old plantation. We stopped at three different cenotes, which we climbed down into and swam around in. We snorkeled and scaled the walls. The pools were very deep, but warm, and we could see right to the bottom.
There were bats! and fish. How did the fish get in there???
The fourth and last cenote was a real cave, which had to be entered via a rusty (but firm) narrow metal ladder that descended for about 10m. Scary, but worth it, although we preferred the previous ones in which we could swim. This last one had stalagmites and stalactites, but also a lot of dust.
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Tot: 0.111s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 12; qc: 67; dbt: 0.0744s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
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Alex
non-member comment
Dang.
I wish I could go to some dang caves. Dammit I wish I was there. Full of jeal.