Going to a Cenote in Mexico

    Cenotes are beautiful pits or sinkholes that expose groundwater. Close to the end of my trip in Mexico, I had the opportunity to visit a cenote. Coming out of Uxmal with the intention of heading back to Cancun, a tiny village lies outside of Uxmal with a small but beautiful cenote. Well out of the main road, the path to the village is not tarred and jagged, with curves and sharp bends and shrubs brushing the sides of the car, till at last we reached the cenote. Almost cavelike in appearance, the cenote was not visible until I descended down a slippery stair case into the cave below. 

As I stepped down the stairs (that's me in polka dots), I heard flies whizzing past my ear, felt the hot, humid air getting stronger and the splash of water as people jumped into the cool cenote.

Within the cave, there were virtually no instructions about diving into a cenote, just a bright yellow rope to hang onto after the dive. Same rope will provide an anchor to head out of the water. At first, several people stood around watching, but before long, there were shouts, and rush of adrenaline as people jumped into the cenote.

Soon, there were cries of encouragement for me to jump as well, but I know my limitations. I'm an ok swimmer and a terrible diver and I certainly wasn't ready to try out my poor skills just yet. Nevertheless, it was very lovely to see the cenote, a naturally occurring beauty with a history vested in Mayan culture, sacrifices and practices.

Hard to imagine that few distance from where I stood a beautiful sinkhole (cenote) was providing fun and adventure and refreshing coolness to locals and people from all over the world.