Jamaica at the Ready

We managed to pack in a lot in 9 days, eating, swimming, and sweating in a tiny loop in the middle of the Yucatán peninsula.  There were so many best parts I couldn’t really pick one.

The cenotes keep me coming back to the Yucatán and this time I wanted to visit Cenote Zaci which is in the middle of Valladolid. It was closed for renovation so all we could do was snap a photo. I didn’t mind too much that it was closed because I’ve always to fight that a cenote in the middle of town would be like a drain and it kinda grossed me out. 

It’s always the food that keeps me dreaming of Mexico. 

This was pretty much me the whole time, with a taco in my hand and a glass of jamaica at the ready. 

We ate in so many cute restaurants that had an artsy vibe with a unique Mexican style.  We marveled over each plate that was brought to our table. Waiters and other diners were pretty entertained by our enthusiasm. Hey it’s not like we have high stress jobs and haven’t been anywhere in two years ….. and speaking of the unmentionable we didn’t really talk about school and the feeling that I work in an ER type of environment was so distant like it was another life. We decided the thing to do is leave on a trip asap after school gets out for the summer. Leaving immediately is very satisfying because it’s like screw it I’m out of here see y’all chumps later I’m going to stuff my face and languish in pools of blue gold and not give any of it a second thought. 

All of Mexico has COVID precautions like the States did in 2020. Mask wearing is required and many people wear them all the time even alone in their cars or riding a bike.  All the shops have dividers in the doorways for going in and out and it’s compulsory to get your temperature taken and a spritz of hand sanitizer. Some places had a set up, like this restaurant, in the doorway with a diy faucet and dish of powdered soap.  Every establishment is plastered with signs requiring social distancing, mask wearing, and hand washing. I don’t know if folks are just still committed to the good of the collective after two years of COVID rules or what but a lot of people are still taking things very seriously.  

Architecture, ruins, colors, simplicity, textures, kindness.  Final images from “my’ photographer, Vicki Spagnoli. 

Valladolid-Izamal-Hoctun-Homun 2022

Cenotes via Moto Taxi

Cenotes in Homun are incredible! 

We hired a taxi to get us from Izamal to Hoctun to Homun. It was worth the expense, otherwise we would have spent hours with collectivos, buses, and moto taxis.  I’ve wanted to take a side trip to the Hoctun cemetery for some time and I’m glad I could finally do it. Latin American cemeteries can be quite colorful but the one in Hoctun is known for its brilliance. 

We took photos for a half an hour and then made our way to Homun. We stayed at Hospedaje Papa Grande hosted by the ever helpful Ivan who made us coffee and arranged for a cenote guide. Morning coffee in the comically sparse but jumbled garden while we waited for Homun’s best cenote guide, Angel Tzab, who arrived promptly at 9:30. That tree in the middle of the courtyard is a champagne mango tree which thunderously dropped a mango to the ground every 15 minutes. 

We loaded up in his moto taxi supplied with tortas and lemon cookies.

For 250 pesos ($13) we would be driven through town and out into the countryside to visit several of the 30 identified family run cenotes in the area.  This is one of the best things I’ve ever done in vacation.

Our first stop was Cenote Bal Mil. It’s more of a cavern closed cenote with big stalagmites and stalactites but there’s an opening at the top that lets the light in. We were the only people there.

Next was Hool Kasom. Also a closed cenote that has a hole at the top. Again alone, the experience was incredible. Cross an opal with an aquamarine, turn them into cool liquid, pour it into a cave, add a dapple of sunlight, toss in a few swallows, sprinkle in purple flower petals and you might have something like what we experienced at this cenote.

It was hard to beat and we didn’t want to leave, but we motored to Cheel Pak.  This is a teeny cenote that is really deep. It’s little a jewel and it would have been amazing except there was a guy that’s talked non stop to his 3 companions all but ruining a perfectly good cenote.

No refunds! I guess when people see how small it is they might feel disappointed.  We adored it but we’re keen to leave because of that guy blabbering on disturbing the peace. Last stop tres ochos. Sublime gardens and when a beam of sunlight hits the water it’s as if a portal opens up. Cenotes are deep, like a 100 feet deep, you can’t see the bottom in these things.

A most epic four hours with Angel and the cenotes of Homun. Angel even helped us get back to Valladolid, as there is no bus from Homun. Angel took us to Tekat in his moto taxi, we had lunch together in Hocab at the only open  loncheria.

Angel is a real Renaissance Man- plays piano and guitar, writes music, teaches music online, speaks four languages, and is an expert guide. He will also take you to cenotes at night, light a bonfire, and play his guitar for you. Can you imagine how delightful that would be? Really he is an all around good guy and we throughly enjoyed our day together. He got us to Tehmak  where we friended each other on Facebook and waited in the zocalo for the next eastbound bus. We flagged one down and hopped on, enjoying another local route to Valladolid with a million stops.

All photo credits Vicki Spagnoli

Ode to Amarillo

Izamal

Photo Credits Vicki Spagnoli