Progresso, Mexico: Mayapan and Cenote
Tommy in the cenote - no filter, just cool natural lighting
Progresso, Mexico: Mayapan and Cenote
Part of our August 2017 Cruise Adventure: New Orleans - Carnival Ship - Cozumel
WOW! What a day!
Temple Ruins
View from the top of the temple
Progresso pier is about 4 miles long to get from the ship to town. Pretty crazy! We met up with our guide, Guadalupe, from the Yacatan Cenote Eco-Adventuras. She was wonderful! While heading out for a private tour of the Mayan ruins of Mayapan, she handed out free water and coke (no, not the powder..... coca cola). At Mayapan, our Mayan guide gave us so much info about the history and culture in which we “played”. We climbed up the steep steps of the Mayan temple for some fantastic views of not only the ruins, but the area around. Absolutely beautiful! Most people will visit Chichen Itza, which is a larger ruin, but is usually crowded and restrictive. Mayapan had 1 other couple while we were there, and our tour guide told us to "go crazy", climb the ruins if we dared. They were very easy to climb even though the steps were only 5-6 inches for a foot hold, going down was another story. My son and son-in-law basically ran down, mom, my wife and my daughter sat down and did a step at a time, I walked down "normal". It is very hard to put the day’s experience into words, but I can say it was remarkable!
On top of spag….. wait, no Mayapan Temple
After experiencing the ruins, we made our way through a Mayan community to a cenote. These are basically caverns of crystal clear water and amazing! The cenote we visited was a walk of roughly 80ft down to the water and over 130 feet water depth from there. But just sticking your head under water with the snorkel goggles, you see the bottom! There were scuba divers playing in there when we arrived. Apparently, they connect to other cenotes, some accessible only by scuba. The way the light would shine in through the small opening in the earth and hit the water was magical! Jumping off the rock about 30 feet above the water into the surprisingly warmish water was a sight to see.
Sean on the rope swing in the cenote
After the refreshing swim at the cenote, we had a wonderful Mayan lunch prepared in a family’s home. A very friendly and warm welcoming family prepared a traditional lunch for us to enjoy. After eating, we were able to wander and explore their place, and they showed us how to make our own tortillas. We got to keep the tortillas we made and used them later on the boat with our dinner. Ours didn’t look as good…weird. Their dining room was their dining room/bedroom. One thing I love about traveling is seeing first hand how other cultures live. it makes you stop and think about all we take for granted in the U.S.
What culture outside of your own have you gotten to experience?
making tortilla shells, fresh!
