We’re fortunate enough to be joined by Iris’s parents, who have flown from Austria for the next leg of our journey around the Yucatan peninsula over the next couple of weeks. We’ve met up in the lovely town of Merida, which is the capital of the Yucatan province, and have been spending the last couple of days relaxing at the excellent Nomades hostal and exploring cenotes (sink holes) as well as some quite impressive ruins.
We’ve had the luxury of the use of a rental car, which has been a great hassle free way of getting to the various attractions. Well… to qualify that… navigation has sometimes been a challenge with the free, but unreliable Satnav (Navfree) telling one direction and no shortage of opinions for alternative directions. We’ve always got there though, albeit via the ‘scenic’ route at times.
Yesterday we went to the stunning Cenotes de Cuzama. Getting there was half the fun as access to the sink holes was via a kind of tram system with carriages being pulled by horses along rail lines. The Cenotes themselves were in quite a surreal setting with steams of light from the tiny openings and crystal clear water making for a fantastic atmosphere for swimming with the family.
Courtesy of Mima and Opa, we’ve been eating a notch or two above our normal budget, with some excellent meals enjoyed. On the way home from the restaurant yesterday, something very unexpected happened… something not seen for 2 & 1/2 months… rain! After the almost incomprehensibly good summer in Wellington, and another five weeks on the road without as much as a drop, the skies opened up with a vengeance, which I suspect will be the first of many times as we enter the rainy season for the remainder of our Central American travels.
Today after visiting the Dzibilchaltun ruins, which was mercifully adjoined by a cenote making for some great swimming in the striking heat, we decided to avoid the hottest time of day by spending it in an air conditioned cinema. We watched ‘Los Croods’, which was about the perfect family film to both improve Iris’s and my spanish, while being visually entertaining enough for the kiddies not to care that it wasn’t in english. If there were more movies with that balance, we’d definitely do it more often!
Gearing up at las Cenotes de Cuzama
The Cenote at the Dzibilchaltun ruins was just what was needed in the 30+ heat
