Overlanding the Yucatan Peninsula and cooling off in Cenotes
It was back in august '21 and after being granted a new six-month tourist card for Mexico we decided to explore the Yucatan peninsula, even though we knew it was going to be hot and humid. Our first stop; Isla Aguada in the state of Campeche. This spot here reminded us of Florida with its bath-like warm waters, bridges and dolphins.
We of course took the obligatory sunset tour on a lancha. This campsite was a great kickstart to our Yucatan adventure. It was here where we had also met Swiss travellers, Jürg and Irene. They were traveling in the opposite direction and therefore had a wealth of knowledge to share. With all the exciting hotspots noted down and many great conversations had in 'Schwitzerdütsch', it was time to say goodbye and hit the road again. We chose to check out Campeche's capital, Campeche. This colonial town took us by
surprise. It was a Saturday morning and the vibe was very laid back. We enjoyed strolling around all the colorful buildings that were standing within the fortress walls. After a photo session on the Campeche letters, we pigged out on some fish and seafood. We crossed into the state of Yucatan where it clearly rains a lot and the bushes grow, so much so that even the roads begin to disappear. We did cling to the coast and stopped in Celestun where we spent the next five days.
Celestun mainly lives off fishing but at this time of the year it was all about the pulpo. We enjoyed creating a number of octopus dishes with our new buddy, Jerry from New York. "Amazing!" "Do you want to do that again?" "You want a fight?" "That's so funny!" Celestun is also known for its flamingo colonies. Our host, Humberto gave us a ride on his motorbike to check out these 'pretty in pink' birds. Another wonderful sunset on the 'Gulf of Mexico', and with great company. Things started to get even more exciting as we entered the land of cenotes.
The Yucatan peninsula is full of them: six thousand in fact and we visited seven of them. These refreshing pools are the result of an asteroid that crashed into the Yucatan peninsula over 66 million years ago. This by the way was the same asteroid that was responsible for making the dinosaurs extinct. What an event! The groundwater in these cenotes was previously used by ancient Mayan people for water supplies and sometimes seen as sacred places to carry out their rituals, but nowadays they offer a much needed escape from the heat. The pools are a little on the cold side but do make up for it with
their sheer beauty. Some a diver's paradise with endless deep waters, and some full of stalactites and stalagmites. Then there are the open sink holes set amongst jungle monkey swinging trees. "That one we call the hide and seek cave- lots of stalagmites and things to hide around!" It was at one of these open cenotes where we met Giriam and Juanita. Running the parking lot where we camped for the night, this couple was more than hospitable. Upon our arrival they pulled up some chairs and were quick to offer us oranges and grapefruits fresh from the trees and of course a cerveza.
After a day in this town the villagers knew us by name and Zoe made friends too she was even invited for a ride on a motorbike. Giriam, Juanita and their friends run the parking lot of the cenote but also create and sell beautiful Mayan crafts. They shared some Mayan recipes with us and Richie showcased his grilling techniques.
We enjoyed a wonderful meal together, oh and a car ride to the next cenote. Who'd have ever thought we'd squeeze eight people into our cab! We were very honoured to get a taste of how they live. Their concrete home which is architecturally designed to keep them cool during the heat of the day had little more than a few hammocks to sleep in, but what more does one need in Yucatan? We are very pleased to have met these fantastic people. Thank you very much guys for so much fun! Until we 'meat' again. In Yucatan official campgrounds are a little hard to come by. The last couple of weeks have been spent overnighting in many cenote car parks so as you can imagine we were quite excited to find 'Xkopek' campsite located in the city of Vallodolid.
Fully equipped with a pool, hookup (necessary to run our aircon) and believe it or not an official center for beehives, this place was just what we needed to cool down and chill out for a few days. Nearby restaurant ‘Ix Cat Ik’ was also a visit worthwhile, where we indulged in traditional Mayan dishes. The culinary highlight though, came right after Valladolid when we were on our way to Las Coloradas to see more flamingos. We stopped in Temazon to eat the local specialty, 'Carne's Ahumadas' which is spicy smoked pork, and made ourselves some outstanding tacos. A must stop for carnivores if you're in the area.
We spent one night wild camping here checking out hundreds of flamingos and the purple waters, hence its name 'Las Coloradas', but with a billion sand flies, another hot and humid night, in fact the hottest and an ant infestation the following morning, we couldn't wait to get out of there. With 34 degrees and crazy humidity it was time for a beach vacation so we made a beeline to the Caribbean coast in the state of Quintana Roo, just south of Playa del Carmen. What a finale to our four-week trip around the Yucatan peninsula.
These waters were incredible, we had a lot of fun with @Dickerbrummer, a family from Germany and our German host Dirk. Until we 'meat' again!
2022-03-20 14:51
