Cenote Jardin del Eden

Today I had not one but two conversations en español.  The first was with Carmelino who looks after our building.  I asked him for our spare key and also for details of the colour of the paint on our building and where I could buy it.  The second conversation was with Martha, our maid.  I asked her to lock the door when she left, to put the key under the door and also made arrangements for when she would next come to clean.  I was a little apprehensive but they both understood and likely appreciated the effort.  Martha is a cutie; she starts working as soon as she comes through the door and works like a whirlwind to make everything look perfect.  She obviously does not approve of the way I make our bed as it is always re-done when we get back!  Malcolm thinks I should take some lessons from her…. I think he should be grateful for what he’s got and to keep quiet…

The temperature had hit 30.9C by the time we left Martha so we took the opportunity to check out a local cenote.  Cenotes are limestone sinkholes with exposed rocky edges and are naturally filled with fresh water.  They are quite common on the Yucatan peninsula and their entrances are dotted along the highway on the opposite side leading away from the coastline.  We paid 50 pesos (~$4) each for an entry fee and found a beautiful and tranquil place to swim for the afternoon.  There were a number of palapas for shade and just a handful of people swimming when we arrived.  At one point only two of us were actually in the water swimming.  I am sure it helped that we did not go at the weekend when no doubt it would be busier with locals (everyone there today seemed to be tourists).  There were lots of very large iguanas running around the edges and the water was refreshingly cool without being too cold and crystal clear.  We figured that the water depth ranged between four and maybe 20 or 30 feet.  We got talking to a young guy who had visited a number of cenotes; he advised that each are quite unique and that there were some very good ones closer towards Tulum, so we may do that as a future day trip venue.  Tulum has some good Mayan ruins (which we have seen before) and is an easy drive from PA.

This evening we had a trip in to Playa; the cerveza level in the fridge was getting critically low so an excursion to Wal Mart was required (the local Chedraui does not stock the beer that we like).  Of the 14 items in our cart there were 5 six-packs and a bottle of wine!  Malcolm found his favourite beer Negro Mondelo and there were only 3 six-packs on the shelf, so we had to find them a safe home.  The total bill was <$60 with the most expensive item being a pair of swimming shoes for Malcolm at a cost of $12.

Just in case anyone is concerned, we have located the English-speaking Alcoholics Anonymous meeting place in Playa del Carmen…