A Visit to the Cuzama Cenotes
Well, I'm going to have to tell you, it's a small world out there. Shortly after we arrived at Isla Mujeres, we met a couple, Patrick and Nancy Harrington, who had their boat docked at the same marina, Marina Paraiso. Their boat, Stolen Child, a 42 foot Tayana is documented in Moss Point, Mississippi. Now, what are the chances of traveling 800 miles from home and ending up at the very same marina with two good folks from Mississippi??? Patrick and Nancy had spent a week in Mérida at a language school and visited the cenotes near Cuzama during their visit. They had such a good time that not only did they convince us to go, they went back with us!
On Saturday, June 21, we traveled by ferry from Isla Mujeres to Cancun (25 minute ride), taxied downtown to the bus station (10 minutes) and then took a 4 1/2 hour $30 USD air-conditioned bus ride to Mérida. (Notice how I keep pointing out air-conditioned?? Stay tuned, NON air-conditioned bus ride to follow!). We arrived in the afternoon and stayed in a quaint little downtown hotel, Hotel Luz en Yucatan, that Patrick and Nancy had previously visited. If you didn't know where this hotel was located, it would be hard to find. The hotel is housed in a Colonial edifice, built on and around what was once a convent to the Church of Santa Lucia next door. The sense of tranquility and calm remains. Each of the 14 rooms in the Luz en Yucatan is different. It was funny... Nancy and Patrick had already stayed in several of the rooms and delighted in staying in a different one each night! Some of the rooms have kitchenettes, some have balconies, some have patios. They all have a nice hammock in the room. There is a beautiful pool located in a courtyard and the laid-back atmosphere lends itself to relaxation and restoration. I highly recommend this THE place to stay in Mérida! Tom Williams and his staff will make sure that you have a wonderful stay. I could easily spend an entire month here hanging out, relaxing, and seeing the sights in Mérida and the surrounding area. Click here for their website and a tour!
Hotel Luz en Yucatan
What is a Cenote?
By now, you may be wondering... what IS a cenote?? The Yucatan Peninsula is a porous limestone shelf with no above ground lakes or rivers. All of the fresh water rivers are underground. Being porous, caverns and caves formed where the fresh water collects. Hence, the cenotes or "sink holes". In the Yucatan, there are about 3000 cenotes, with only 1400 studied extensively. They were once the only source of water in the Yucatan jungle. The water that collects in the cenotes is crystal clear, turquoise in color, and about 78 degrees F. The stalactites and stalagmites that form in the cenotes are natural works of art. In many, holes in the ceiling allow light to filter through, giving the cenote a magical feeling. There are four types of cenotes- those that are completely underground, those that are semi-underground, those at land level, and those that are open wells like the one at Chichen Itza.
Cuzama Cenote Trip
The next day, we set out for our trip to the Cuzama Cenotes. A visit to the Cuzama cenotes is something truly unique that you can do when visiting the Yucatan Peninsula and we did not want to miss this experience. We left Mérida at 12:30 p.m. by bus. Bus fare $1.20 USD each. Why so cheap? Yep, this is the NON-air-conditioned bus I talked about earlier. When I got on the bus, I momentarily panicked because I thought my window wouldn't open. LA came to my rescue and, really, the ride was not too hot, considering we were traveling in the heat of the summer. This, my friends, is NOT a tour bus. We four were the only tourists on the bus. This is a local bus that travels and stops along the way to anyone and everyone who raises a hand by the roadway (crying babies included). Cuzama is located southeast of Mérida and is a one-hour bus ride (with about 50, 000 stops on the way!).
And then, the fun begins! When we got off the bus, young Mexican boys were waiting with bicycle taxis for two. The $4 USD 15- minute taxi ride took us through downtown (loosely defined... Cuzama is a VERY small town) and out of town to the next phase of our journey. Cool mode of transportation, huh?
Here, antique wooden horse-drawn platform rail carts awaited to pull us down 200 year old rail tracks (which once led to a hacienda) about five miles into the jungle to visit three different cenotes. We paid $5 USD per person for the trip.
On the day we visited, there were several rail carts going up and down the tracks. Whenever we met another railcar, we would get off the railcar and our guide will pull the cart and the horse to the side to let the other rail cart pass, and then we would be on the way again. And, did I mention BUMPY?? The rail carts were a fairly, teeth-chattering, ride. No way to drink anything on the way. Cigarettes wouldn't even stay in your mouth (sorry, Mama!). Fortunately, the ride to each cenote was only about 20 minutes or so. I'll have to say... this trip is not for the faint hearted. You have to be in pretty fair shape for the heat, the climbing, the swimming and the three hour trip in general going straight through the jungle. It was, however, truly beautiful. The jungle to each side of the rail tracks was wild and un-tamed... definitely no off the beaten "track" exploring! There were tequila agave plants along the way, and many beautiful orange and yellow butterflies escorted us into the jungle.
The first cenote, Chelentun ("laying down rock") , by far had the easiest access. It is a "semi-open" (semi-underground) cenote. (We didn't think so at the time, but in retrospect, it was definitely the easiest!) Steep cement stairs and a handrail made it fairly easy to go down to a platform and then wooden stairs for a refreshing swim in the crystal clear water, a welcome break after the bus ride, bicycle taxi ride, and BUMPY rail cart ride. We spent about a half hour swimming, laughing, taking a few photos, and then it was back on the railcar to continue our journey.
Sign at Cenote "Chelentun" Type: "Semi-Open" "No Littering" A view from the top before descending the steps
Stairs leading down to Cenote
View from the Water
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Waiting to Go to next Cenote-The horses are unhooked and allowed to graze. Patrick and Nancy
The next cenote we visited was actually the cenote at the end of the rail tracks. Bolonchoogal ("nine drops of water") is the subject of many photographs used for publicity on the cenotes in the Yucatan. It was quite impressive and by far the hardest to access. The entrance is a NARROW hole in the ground and we climbed straight down a rail tie ladder into the dark. Once you get down about 30 feet, you end up on a DARK platform, then down two flights of winding stairs IN THE DARK. I held onto Nancy, who was in front of me, shuffled my feet and grabbed with my toes to find each wooden step as we slowly made our way to the water. As our eyes adjusted to the dim light, we were treated to a magical sight of stalagmites and stalactites with beautiful colors. This was definitely the highlight of the three cenotes we visited. It was very hard to take photos though due to the low light. I had my handheld water-resistant Olympus digital camera, and my photos did not do this cenote justice!
Descent into Paradise
Looking up at the Top of the Cenote A View of the Walls
Swimming in Paradise
The last cenote, Chansinic'che ("tree with small ants"), had fairly good access compared to the previous cenote. A small hole in the ground led to some narrow concrete steps, but once you went down a few steps, the cenote opened up onto a wide platform where the more adventurous (Patrick and LA) leapt off into this beautiful cenote. This cenote was the largest and had nice areas around the edge to sit and watch the other tourists.
Beautiful Clear Blue Water
Susan and LA enjoying a Swim
We came out of the jungle and bicycle taxis were waiting. We made it back to town just in town to catch an air-conditioned collectivo (a small bus) ride back to Mérida, complete with loud music. As I watched the local countryside go by, I thought about the day's experiences and was so glad that we took time out of our cruising to return to Mérida and take part in this unusual experience.