Have you heard of a cenote (say note ay)? These natural sinkholes, filled with fresh water are found in many areas of the Yucatan Peninsula. They are formed when the limestone bedrock collapses, exposing groundwater. Some are open or semi open and others are in caves. The word cenote is a Mayan word, meaning “well” as this was a water source for them.
For years I had seen pictures of the crystal clear water and wanted to visit and swim in one. This trip I was determined to make it happen. A friend gave me the contact information for a tour guide and I booked a private tour for my granddaughter Faith and I.
A few friends had visited one called Mucuyche (moo coo shay) and recommended it, so that’s what I requested. The morning of the tour our guide, Russel called to say the cruise ships were in port and he had moved our reservation back by two hours so it wouldn’t be as busy. We had the option of leaving later or making some other stops along the way. I chose the second and wrote about our stops in my last post.
Since we were still too early for our reservation, Russel offered to take us to a less crowded, family run cenote nearby while waited. This one was called Yaal Utzil.
We parked in front of a small open air restaurant and followed a dirt path down a slight incline. The open cenote had crystal clear, sparkling water and only had a few people swimming in it. When offered the opportunity to go in, I wasted no time!
The wooden stairs leading down to the water were narrow and steep. I was grateful to have a railing to hold onto. At the bottom I had step out onto a few large wet rocks and jump in. No chance for a gradual entry! Having a floatation belt on helped give me the necessary confidence to do this.
It felt incredible! I paddled around, observing the stone walls and vegetation. A few people climbed up the stairs to a rock platform about 10-12 feet above the water and jumped in. I turned to Faith and said, “I don’t think I could do that.” After watching a little more, I knew that I’d regret it if I left without attempting the jump. We both went to the platform. Faith jumped first. I went to the edge and with a 3, 2, 1 countdown made the jump. I was so proud of myself! Later, when I watched the video of my jump, I realized everyone in the water had stopped to watch me and a loud cheer went up when I resurfaced. What an amazing experience.
We climbed back out, dried off and made our way to the little restaurant, where our orders had already been placed. We had a traditional Yucatan dish called Panuchos. Panuchos are corn tortillas that have been spit open and stuffed with refried black beans and then deep fried until crispy. They are topped with pulled meat, pickled red onion, tomato, cucumber, avocado and/or other toppings. They are also delicious and perfect for a gluten-free diet.
After sitting in the sun to dry off a little, we got back in the car and drove to Hacienda Mucuyche.
We followed a tour guide through the remains of a 1700’s plantation and hacienda. After this, we had a few minutes to change before being led to the first of the cenotes. Unfortunately I couldn’t take my camera in so the only pictures are on their website. It’s worth checking out! https://www.cenoteshaciendamucuyche.com
The first cenote was semi-open and we walked down stone steps to enter. We were told not to touch the sides or the any of the formations. The tour guide was with us in the water and after giving us the history of this cenote, directed us through a tunnel-like opening and into a channel that had been blasted from the rock in order to connect to the next cenote.
The second one was in a cave. It was fascinating to see the stalactites and stalagmites and the columns formed when the two met. We could hear the drip, drip of the water from above and were told the calcium salts from these drips were what caused the formations hanging from the ceiling of the cave. ide spent quite some time explaining the process of the formations and giving history on the cenote. Unfortunately the group was large and neither Faith or I could get close enough to hear much of what was said.
This experience, which I thought would be the highlight of the day, turned out to be anticlimactic. It may not have felt that way if we had come here first, because the actual cenotes were spectacular. Faith and I both agreed the smaller, less commercialized area, where we could jump in and watch others do the same, was preferable. I was grateful to have been able to experience all of them.
Cenotes may have become one of my favourite things, and I know I’ll be booking more tours on my return to the Merida area.
