Journeys by Paul

Journeys by Paul

Mexico

Yucatan - March 2007

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Updated 4/03

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Diving at Hidden Worlds

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March 17. On my way to Tulum, I stopped in at Hidden Worlds Cenote for info on a possible cenote scuba dive, and they were just getting ready to do the second dive in the series, so off I went. After climbing down the tall, steep ladder into the cave, the dive master explained to me the difference between a cave dive and a cavern dive. In cavern diving, you go through underwater tunnels but are never more than 20 seconds from returning to a cavern with open air in it. In cave diving, you venture more than 20 seconds away from air pockets. We would be doing a cave dive. I asked him how far the underwater tunnels go without entering caverns. He just looked at me and said, "more than 20 seconds." Well, we went at least 10 minutes at a time through underwater tunnels winding around and over aquatic stalagmites and stalactites before entering large rooms, but it didn't really matter anyway, because when there finally was an overhead cavern, we never went up anyway. So the "Bat Cave" dive lasted about 40 minutes with an average depth of 45 feet. Here's a link that's got some above water pictures.
http://www.hiddenworlds.com.mx/B...AVE/ gallery.htm

You may be able to find some underwater pics if you search their site.

March 18. Valladolid - I'm taking a break from the sea. I drove an hour and a half inland from Tulum to hang out in the colonial (as in Spanish) town of Valladolid. It was once the heart of the last Mayan uprising in the late 1800s. It's original name was Zaci before the Spanish "colonized" it. http://www.tourbymexico.com/yuca...valla/ valla.htm
The town is pretty nice, with it's old cathedrals and main square where the people congregate in their Sunday clothes in the evening. And the blackbirds congregate there, too, and scream for an hour after sunset. They're so loud, the people have to almost shout to have conversations. I'm staying at the best hotel in town. I'm quite the spender. It's $37 a night with air conditioning, cable TV and a nice pool. I was paying $50 a night for a dump in Tulum. (But, of course, it was on the beach.) Here's the link to my current hotel - http://www.mariadelaluzhotel.com
There's supposedly a few monumental cavernous cenotes nearby, and I'm going to check out (and maybe snorkel) one of them tomorrow. The weather's good; 80s in the day, and cool 70s at night. I didn't think the Yucatan jungle would be so cool in the evening. But it is only March. Tonight's the first time I've put on a pair of jeans since I've been here. Mexicans wear pants in the cities, even during the hot midday. So I've got to show my respect. I still haven't worn anything on my feet but sandals since I've been in Mexico. I wasted space packing those socks.

Here's a link to some cenote info
http://www.yucatantoday.com/dest...eng- cenotes.htm

March 19. Afternoon. Valladolid. I exited my internet cafe yesterday evening to the sound of a 16-piece salsa band. Not just a marimba band, mind you, but a full band with an 8-piece brass section, 3 drummers, 2 keyboards and a few more. The locals were all dressed up and dancing in the square. The Mayans seemed to all be outside the dancing area just watching; but they were all dressed up, too, and enjoying themselves. I guess it's a Sunday night tradition. There are a ton of Mayans around here, and a lot of them look to be pure blood. They are very short and seem to be shy. It makes me think of Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto." I wonder what they would think if I yelled "run." It's interesting that the Mayans didn't sign a peace treaty with the Mexican government until 1936. In the late 1800s, after being slaughtered and sold into slavery, the Mayans revolted and had taken back all of Yucatan except Merida and Campeche. The Mexicans were holed up in those cities seeking help from Cuba and the U.S. but it didn't come. Just as the Mayans were about to complete the Yucatan takeover, early rains fell, and the Mayans dropped their weapons and returned to their fields for the planting season. Mexico finally got it's reinforcements, and commenced to slaughter and enslave the Mayans. The remaining Mayans took refuge along the Caribbean coast, where they remained a problem to the Mexican government until 1936. You can learn a lot from a guide book.
On a lighter cenote, I visited the nearby Dzitnup Cenote today. Here's a link. http://www.pbase.com/pyanez/imag.../image/ 57260317
You can click at the bottom of his page to see more pics.

March 20. Evening. After two nights in Valladolid, I'm back in Tulum. I was going to do a shallow reef dive to test out my right ear (which was blocked a little) but the visibility wasn't good enough (because of the strong wind) so we went to Tankah Cenote nearby. It was only 27 feet deep, and it was a beginner cenote, not like the one I did a few days ago. My ear worked fine (What!), so tomorrow I'm going back to Hidden Worlds where I dove the first cenote to do another one. I think the one I'm going to do next is a ´cavern´ dive, not a ´cave´ dive. I'll ask them what it takes to get officially certified for caves and caverns. Tulum´s beach accommodations are weird. You either pay $45 for a cabana on the beach with no shower or bathroom, or you pay $120 for one with a bathroom. The vast majority here opt for the cabanas without the bath, and the dive master talked me into doing it. (Like who do I think I am that I need my own bathroom?) It's a huge room with a double bed and a mosquito net. It's called a ´matrimonial´ bed, but I can't imagine a couple staying married if they have to share that hard bed with it's hanging mosquito net.

March 21. Xpu-Ha. Noon. On my way here, I did a cenote cavern dive at Dos Ojos this morning. Great. Now I'm holed up at a remote beach named Xpu-Ha (pronounced Esh poo ha), 5 km from the mega resort Puerto Aventuras where I'm using the internet, then heading back to my room on the beach. It's a great room - only 400 pesos (37 American dollars). Captain Putty, the no bathroom thing was only for one night. It wasn't so bad. What was worse was the humidity I woke up with in the morning after having a 16 knot ocean wind blow through my window all night. Tulum is a beautiful beach but I think the cabanas are overpriced, and the diving visibility on the reefs wasn't very good when I was there because of the winds and surf. I have a bathroom and shower in my room here in Xpu Ha, and the room is right on the beach. The beach is quite nice, white sand, turquoise water, fishing boats and all. See the pics. (Remember almost all my pictures are taken with a cheap 35 mm film camera, then transferred to CD.) I even strung up the new hammock that I bought in Valladolid on my porch. Right now I'm at that Mega Resort called Puerto Aventuras using an expensive internet. It's 5 bucks an hour. It's only one or two dollars an hour in all the other parts of Mexico I've been. Whatever. This Aventuras place is cool though. Look it up on the internet. Here's a link. .http://www.locogringo.com/puerto...erto-aventuras/ I'm going to walk around and check out the marina and condos while I'm waiting for my scuba trip to begin at 2 pm. Bye.

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Tulum Beach

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