Cenote

Cenotes

Swimming in the Cenote was awesome. After riding for an hour the water cooled us perfectly. To get from the road to the cave other tourists were hiring horse drawn rail cars. The small cars could hold 5 or 6 people at the most. We could see where everybody was headed, and after riding our motorcycles an hour we wanted to go all the way. The people running the rails told us it was impossible, they said our motorcycles would not be able to make it down the bumpy road.

So off we went down the rail. Riding down the track was intense and a few times we had to swerve onto the shoulder to let a horse and carriage by, but we did what the locals thought impossible. After parking right next to the opening of the cave we changed clothes and walked down the stairs at the entrance.

Mitch and I brought our snorkels and masks so we could do some exploring underwater. We would take turns hovering at the surface and watching the other dive. We couldn’t believe how deep we were getting. Going down it didn’t seem that far, but when I watched Mitch swim down to where I just was it looked incredibly deep. We guessed we were diving to about 30 feet.

If there had been food vendors at the Cenote I don’t think we would have ever left. Leaving the cool water to put on a riding jacket and helmet in the humid Yucatan was hard. The trick is to always be last. I talk like I’m in a hurry, “Hey Mitch, hurry up man I want to get on the road.” Then I drag my feet while he puts his dark leather jacket and helmet on. There is no prize for putting everything on first. The only time wearing protective gear is bearable is when you’re riding, if there is no wind in my helmet I may drown in my own sweat. When I get ready last I can jump on the bike and go, while Mitch is overheating waiting for me.

--Ryan