Excerpt from my line a day journal: "Docked in Cozumel and ferried to Playa Del Carmen, Underground Mayan Cenote. Mayan authentic lunch with Rice water - not bad, spicy food. Beach for a little and back on the boat."
Today was our first excursion and we were pumped! We were up early and off the boat just before 7 am. We docked right in Cozumel and could walk right off the boat, but our excursion was on the mainland in Playa Del Carmen, so we took about a 35 minute ferry. We then met up with our group. We were going to the Underground Mayan Cenotes. For the first hour while we waited for our shuttle we did some window shopping. They have quite a modern shopping district with Old Navy and the Gap, and then other touristy shops.
On the dock in Cozumel. Below is our boat, The Liberty of the Seas.
At the beach in Playa Del Carmen. It was still early and not hot yet...I was waiting and wanting hot!
These are the cenotes we went in in Mexican's Yucatan Peninsula. "Cenote water is often very clear, as the water comes from rain water filtering slowly through the ground, and therefore contains very little suspended particulate matter. The groundwater flow rate within a cenote may be very slow. In many cases, cenotes are areas where sections of cave roof have collapsed revealing an underlying cave system, and the water flow rates may be much faster: up to 10 kilometers (6 mi) per day." (from Wikipedia)
They weren't exactly what I was expecting, but very cool. The water was not warm, but not cold. It was very dark and there were bats all above us.
Below is where the ceiling of the cave had completed collapsed and we could see up to the sky. Most of the cenotes we went in didn't have that.
Chris saved the day in our group. One of the ladies dropped her flashlight which was a rental, and Chris dove down about 10 feet (with his life jacket on) and retrieved it!
In some areas the roof got very low. You aren't supposed to touch any of the rock formations (caused my Calcium build up) above or below you. It got a little tricky at times!
This area had a calcium and mineral build up that is supposed to be a great exfoliate, but I had gotten a spray tan before we left, so I wasn't interested, haha!
The surprise of the day was we got an authentic meal included. We ate in one of the cenotes which provided a fun and authentic atmosphere and the food was very tasty.
After lunch we went on a short hike and then had to sit through a long presentation about Tequila where they had free samples, we opted out.
We got back to the beach and had about an hour before our ferry would leave. It was finally getting hot so we soaked in the sun and swam in the Ocean. A great end to our time in Playa Del Carmen.
We were back on the boat just before 5 pm. We showered and went for dinner and walked around the ship. I do not like the picture of me below at all, but it shows how windy it was! I think we went to a comedy show tonight, which was great and had us laughing all night.
Towel elephant! Next day, Grand Cayman!!
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