Cenotes

Today we woke up early and toured the Cenotes! We boarded a Jungle Limosine...

...the likes of which...

...I've never seen before. Then, we drove deep, deep into the jungle.

We put on our harnesses...

...climbed a rickety tower...

...and rode a zip line down!

It was VERY fun!

The birds are beautiful here! This one is called a Clock bird because it swings its tail back and forth like a grandfather clock.

We weren't sure what to think about the next event. Zip lining down into a dark cave was a little scary!

But I gave it a go! After riding the zip line into the abyss of the cave for a couple hundred feet, we splashed into a pool of cool water. Apparently, Cenote is a term used to describe a system of underground caves that are filled with water.

After zip lining down into one cave...

...we rappelled down into another.

It was great fun!

It wasn't scary when the kids were doing it. But when it came to my turn, I had to stop and think about it for a minute to wrap my brain around it! :)

Once we all made it to the bottom, we went for a swim through the cave system! We put on life jackets and started swimming. Do you see the light just behind us and to the right? That's the entrance. Watch your head as you go through or you'll bonk it on a stalactite! We just kept going and going. The farther we went, the darker it got.

We stopped in a big cavern and used the two flashlights our group of 15 people had to watch the bats fly around. Talk about creepy! Andan asked me if those were blood sucking bats. I said "of course they are son. Just stay low in the water." Ha! How could I resist!

As we moved to the far side of the big cavern, we realized that we had to go through an entrance that was even tighter than the first. We almost had to go under water to fit (and it wasn't lit like this photo--it was pitch black!)! I started to feel a little Closter phobic! I told everyone to stop breathing so hard because I was afraid we were going to use up all the oxygen! "What if an earthquake hits right now?" Those were the thoughts going through my mind!

Then I realized that if I was feeling Closter phobic, Dad, who IS Closter phobic, must be REALLY scared! He was white as a ghost! The life preserver that he and mom were using for flotation purposes wouldn't fit in the narrow passage. The guide told them to leave it behind! That's how tight it was! I was surprised that he actually went through with it. Later, he said that the batteries in the flashlight he was holding were giving out and I found out that, for him, the only fear greater than entering that cave was the fear of being left behind all alone there...in the dark!

After we got to a certain point, the guide turned off his flashlight and told Dad to do the same. It was pitch black but after our eyes adjusted, we could actually see the outline of our legs in the soft glow of the water. The guide said that light rays from the cave entrance reflected in the water all the way to our location deep in the cave. It was so cool!

Finally, we got onto this bicycle-type contraption called a Sky Rider and started pedaling. We traversed the jungle from a tree-top perspective and then, after a while, the cable took us down through some Cenote caves. It was such a neat experience!

Kathy had a problem with her bike and was only able to go 20 feet before she had to return. As it turned out, she was the last in line. Andan, our 5 year old, went just before her. By the time she figured out that she was going to have to sit this one out, Andan was long gone. Kathy was worried he would have trouble so she asked the guide to get on a bike and go check on him.

The guide went about ¼ of the way but couldn’t see him so he returned. They figured everything was OK…but when we all got to the end, Andan never showed up! I started going back, walking through the floor of the jungle to find him. The guide jumped on a Sky Rider and went looking for him. And, Kathy panicked. It took us about 45 minutes to find him which felt like hours and hours. Fortunately, he was OK. He got stuck going up one of the inclines so he sat there all alone in the jungle till we found him. He was pretty sad…but he was very relieved to see us. Kathy was very relieved when we showed up with him. I think we just earned "The Worst Parents of the Year" award!