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| Las Tres Chicas swimming in cenote |
Swimming in a cenote is a bit like being in
an Indiana Jones movie. Slippery stone stairs lead to a dark cavern filled with
crystal clear water.
The Tarzan-style vines, the roots of above ground plants, hang
from the ceiling of the cavern. The slow drip of minerals forms stalactites,
their whimsical shapes reaching for the water below. An occasional bat flitters
past in the dim light. Dozens of swallows nest in the underground crevices, zipping
underground via a hole in earth above. Exquisite and eerie.
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| Part of Ek Balam pyramid and surrounding structures |
Last week I posted a question on my Facebook
page, asking for recommendations for a tour company for a day-trip to the Ek
Balam pyramid and a swim in the cenotes. The response was immediate and varied.
Many recommended either William Gonzalez, or Patricio Astudillo.
We dithered, but in the end we went with William
because a number of our close friends had taken his tours and really enjoyed
the experience. In years past, when we owned a car, we frequently drove our
visitors to the pyramids, but currently our only form of transport is a golf
cart, and that just isn’t fast enough, nor legal, for a two-hour drive on a four-lane
highway. Two great-nieces Lauren, Ellen, plus their good friend Amber, who has
become a great-niece via friendship, and I decided to go. We left Lawrie and
Sparky at home to enjoy some peaceful guy
time.
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| Heading out on our adventure |
We caught the seven-thirty UltraMar passenger
boat from Isla Mujeres to Puerto Juarez on the mainland, and met up with Manuel
who was our tour guide for the day. Settled into a comfortable seven-passenger
van we headed towards Valladolid, and the less busy pyramid of Ek Balam. Lawrie
and I have enjoyed several visits to the large pyramid of Chichen Itza, but it
has become so crowded it is difficult to get good photographs without including
several hundred strangers grinning inanely at their selfie-sticks.
Ek Balam, the Black Jaguar, is located thirty-five
kilometers north-east of Chichen Itza, in the municipality of Temozón. The road
turns off the toll highway #180, a few kilometers from the City of Valladolid
in the direction of Tizimin. Tizimin is well-known for furniture handmade from
tropical wood.
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| Royal Palace at Ek Balam - 106 steps up, 106 steps down |
The road between Cancun and Valladolid is
straight, boring, and the flat vista is blocked by thick undergrowth. The
secondary road is more interesting but populated by hundreds of topes, speed bumps, in the numerous
villages increasing the drive to three hours instead of two. It’s a good time
to let someone else do the driving, so you can doze in the warm sunlight or
chat with your travel companions.
By ten in the morning we were at the pyramid.
The entrance fee is $193.00 pesos for foreigners, but lucky me, I have an INAPAM
card telling the world that I am old and a local. My entrance fee was $0 pesos.
You do have to produce proof of residency, such as an electrical bill or water
bill in your own name and proof of age, to obtain this Mexico senior’s card
from your municipality. For Lawrie and me, the savings are helpful.
Inside Ek Balam we hired a local guide to show us around. José was born in a nearby village, and his first language is Mayan, but he also speaks Spanish and English.
Inside Ek Balam we hired a local guide to show us around. José was born in a nearby village, and his first language is Mayan, but he also speaks Spanish and English.
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| Jose taking pics of my travel partners |
Our guide was well informed and interesting,
telling us the history of each structure and the meaning of the various glyphs.
I envied the ease with which José climbed the one-hundred and six stairs to the
top of the Royal Palace, and then nonchalantly strolled back to ground level
while everyone else baby-stepped their way down the steep pyramid.
It’s a combination of vertigo and the insecurity of flip-flops on narrow slanted steps that make the descent more challenging.
It’s a combination of vertigo and the insecurity of flip-flops on narrow slanted steps that make the descent more challenging.
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| The tourist photo! |
In the aquamarine water small black fish laze;
a type of catfish perhaps? Others nibble at our feet. They remind me of the fish
imported from Turkey, used for pedicures in some of the upscale Cancun hotels. Hopefully
no one would be foolish enough to populate the pristine Caribbean waters with another
imported species of fish, creating a local ecological problem like the venomous
Indo-Pacific Lion Fish.
The little fish didn’t bite, but it was an odd feeling
to have so many small mouths scouring my skin.
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| Wikipedia pic of doctorfish doing pedi |
As for the cenotes, the entrance fee for each
one is $59.00 pesos for visitors, and half of that for people with an INAPAM
card.
Some locations sell a two-day pass that cover all of the locations, but for us two in one afternoon was sufficient. We spent about an hour and a half lazing around in the water, before meeting up with our driver Manuel.
Some locations sell a two-day pass that cover all of the locations, but for us two in one afternoon was sufficient. We spent about an hour and a half lazing around in the water, before meeting up with our driver Manuel.
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| Restaurante el Atrio del Mayab |
Beautiful setting right off the square in centro, near the cathedral, and diagonally across from one of our favourite hotels in Valladolid, the El Mesón del Marqués. The food was delicious, the cerveza cold, and the service excellent.
On the drive home our group was strangely quiet as our heads lolled against the vehicle windows. Full of good food and feeling sleepy we hardly talked until we were at the UltraMar terminal headed back to Isla Mujeres.
Hasta Luego
Lynda
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