We drove west from Playa Del Carmen to Mérida on Tuesday and stayed in a wonderful AirBnB with a pool, three dogs, and a full kitchen. Our hosts David and Ann were great company and we enjoyed great conversations in and around their pool while listening to music and snacking. I did most of the snacking.
They’d rescued three local dogs of various backgrounds. Here’s Katie,
and Eddie,
and Henry (who fell asleep in Leena’s lap).
We headed to Mayan ruins in Uxmal on Wednesday. The initial pyramid is impressive and has a surprising acoustic twist. If you clap your hands in front of it, the echoed reply sounds like a bird whistle or a woodwind instrument note.
We walked around the side and Leena got this amazing shot. I mean seriously, how do you get the ray of sun right into the pyramid?
A court for the Mesoamerican ballgame.
You’re allowed to climb the second pyramid, 70 steep steps without a railing. The little guy in the picture is me. We were careful!
A rewarding view from the top back at the first pyramid.
Iguanas are everywhere in the Yucatán.
The Yucatán peninsula is mostly limestone, and one of the features of limestone areas is caves. Couple that with low elevation and groundwater and you get cenotes, natural sinkholes filled with water.
I went for a dive last week at Dos Ojos cenote. This was a cavern dive, which is essentially a limited cave dive. A cavern dive always has a natural source of light and is within 200 feet of an exit. We did two dives exploring different parts of the cenote that were each about 45 minutes long. It was a totally different experience from an open water dive in the ocean. If you’ve ever toured a cave, imagine doing that while floating weightless. Incredible.
After Uxmal, we visited Cenote Kankirixche (good luck with the pronunciation!) and had a lovely swim.
