Cenotes

One of Yucatan’s most spectacular and stunning attractions is the thousands of cenotes that litter the landscape - formed by the geological structure of the area, they are freshwater pools with a huge range of idiosyncrasies that invite our hot, tired and dusty bodies to plunge in and refresh ourselves.

A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. This sometimes takes the form of big sinkholes in the ground, sometimes of large open pools and sometimes even in cave systems, which to dive instructors are a license to print money.

Our first encounter with these marvels was at Cenote Azul - we were cycling past at about 7.30am on a Sunday morning (as one does - a result of our desire to rise at stupid o’clock to beat the searing heat of the middle of the day). At first we were hesitant whether to stop - when, like a tortoise (moving into a new shell and shifting all its walking sticks and hare-related trophies), you are carrying your tent, your means of transport and all your gear, it is hard to trust a man you have only just met that it is safe to leave this all out of sight by the ticket office. However, we locked them up and took our key valuables (wallet, passport and chocolate) and had the enormous pleasure of finding the cenote completely deserted (see previous reference to ungodly hour on a Sunday morning). The water was absolutely crystal clear and took on a beautiful blue hue in several places; there were rocky overhangs with stalactites protruding downwards; there was a beautiful light show as the sunlight reflected off the water and danced on the overhanging rock. In short, it was stunning. We spent half an hour paddling, swimming, diving and watching brightly-coloured birds sweeping low over the water into their nests. And took loads of pictures to make sure we could Instagram them and make people at home jealous. Then we dried off, put our cycling gear back on and cycled on our merry way, before another soul had even turned up at the site - magic.

Cenote Azul

Our second cenote experience was a much more touristy affair - having been distracted by cycling and visiting a local Mayan ruin called Chichen Itza, we didn’t make it to Ik Kil until mid-afternoon, by which time the tourist buses were in full flow. Nevertheless, this was spectacular for an entirely different reason; whereas Cenote Azul was more of the open pool variety, Cenote Ik Kil is a huge sinkhole, where trees and plants have roots descending down through the void between the earth and the water 50m below. We had a brief swim here, marvelling at the view when you float on your back, surrounded by very tame catfish, gazing at the sky above; having not just jumped off our bikes, it didn’t have quite the same restorative effect but the visual impact more than made up for it.

Cenote Ik Kil

In spite of the thousands of unique cenotes across the area, somehow we conspired to visit two with the same name - fear of change perhaps? Cenote Azul the Second was a beautiful, large open sinkhole some ninety terrifying metres deep. We dived down about to about 50cm as we were feeling particularly brave. 

Cenote Azul The Second

As well as being tourist draws and elixir for cyclist, cenotes have historically been a key part of the Mayan culture. Yucatan has very few rivers and freshwater sources and so cenotes offered a life-giving supply of water to early civilisations. Lots of settlements were built around cenotes, much like towns are built around rivers in Europe. This meant that Mayans deified and worshipped them - in order to ensure they continued to provide, they were the regular site of human sacrifices. The Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza, out of bounds to layfolk like us, has produced several sets of human remains - as well as the more well known method of sacrifice (I won’t paint you a picture but watch Apocalypto to get an idea), Mayan elders used to tie up the hands and feet of the poor, helpless victim and push them off a platform 50m up to double backflip with a 360-side rotation and crash into the water, promptly drowning but ensuring the supply of, now slightly polluted, water would continue. I’m glad we didn’t cool off in that cenote..

The Sacred Cenote, Chichen Itza