I went to an incredible cenote yesterday with my wonderful friends (Skot, Mike, Florencia, Ana, Jorja, Yagi, and Yayo).  We made a day of it and brought a picnic lunch with lots to drink, chairs, cameras, and binoculars.  What is a cenote you ask?  "The natural wonders of the Yucatan Peninsula are countless, but some of the most unique to the area are the cenotes. Cenotes are created by an underground river system and are fresh water sink holes that the Maya considered to be sacred. In addition they were an incredibly important resource as a fresh water source, and the Mayans also believed they were the entrance to the underworld. Cenote, (say-NOH-tay) called dzonot (ZO-note) by the ancient Maya..." click here to read more.

Below are photos of our cenote.  The water is clear and as pure as huge bottle of Evian but with a jungle green tint.  We drove about 20 minutes out of town in to the jungle.  It was really cool and really out there.  When we arrived there was no one else around.   We had the cenote all to ourselves.  Then a couple of small Mexican families came for a nice way to cool off from the summer heat.  I trekked around the gardens with Skot looking at all the different butterflies and looking for jungle creatures.  Then it was time to hit the water.  I know cenote water is cool since I've swam in cenote rivers at the eco-parks.  So I just grabbed hold of the zip line and off I went hanging from a wire and dropped right into the refreshing and healing waters of the cenote.  Then I swam around and floated around looking at the birds and really cool dragon flies.  Then we sat around and talked while a tour group came by for about an hour.  Then we had our picnic meal and another drink.

Back to the zip line I went.  Off in to the water and across the cenote.  Anna and I climbed a tree and cliff to get to a cliff ledge on the other side of the cenote.  I would say it was about 30 to 40 feet up.  I wanted to jump.  The climb was harder than the jump.  It was not as easy to swim across a cenote, climb a cliff, walk a small trail and then have enough air to jump right away.  Or I'm just out of shape.    But anyway, I did it.  I jumped and it was a blast.  I had a wonderful time.

The Cenote in the jungle



Me going off the zip line


A cool butterfly


The gang