From Caye Caulker we took a powerful speedboat back to the mainland, for the border crossing into Mexico.
It was a strange border experience. We got off the boat, went through a building with the usual passport and customs formalities, then we got back on the boat again. I guess we were in no-man’s land on the water for a while until we docked again to go through Mexican immigration.
We stayed that night in Playa del Carmen. The next day was the last of our G Adventures small group tour. It was a free day, but our brilliant guide had organised “Tati’s day of Fun”. We started with a trip to Tulum, a Mayan site on the coast, where we had been twice before, but the specialist guide gave us some new information. Tulum had the normal Mayan astronomical alignments for solstices, equinoxes, etc. It was also a lighthouse for Mayan boats. It has a spectacular coastal setting and is unique compared to the other Mayan sites you can easily visit.
The aperatures in the building were used to align the sun during solstices and equinoxes, and other astronomical situations.
Tati then took us to a couple of Cenotes. Cenotes are underground, freshwater sink holes. The Yucatan area and surroundings of Mexico is limestone created by a massive meteor strike 60 million years ago which killed off the dinosaurs because of the massive dust cloud that was released, blocking the sun. There are no rivers or surface water as the limestone is so permeable, but there are lots of underground wells and rivers.
The first was an open cenote.
Then Tati took us to an underground Cenote. There are however some holes allowing sunlight through. This one was really spectacular, and we swam around with snorkels. Many cenotes are connected by underground rivers and you can swim through with subaqua gear.
In the evening we went for dinner at another G Adventures Planeterra project. This one supports deprived kids. The founder is an inspirational guy and encourages local kids to get creative. Instead of graffiti, he coaches them to do proper street art.
