The Yucatán Peninsula: Land of many cenotes

What are you supposed to do when it’s too hot to walk around town, and even sitting in the shade doesn’t provide much relief from the heat? Most inhabitants of the Yucatán would tell you to take a dip in a nearby cenote. Cenotes are natural pools of fresh water that form when the bedrock of limestone collapses and the groundwater underneath becomes exposed. 

Cenote Zaci from a nearby restaurant

The water is usually cool and clear, and diameter and depth can be pretty varied. Because geologists have been interested in these formations for some time now, there is a basic categorization of four types of cenotes, depending on how exposed the water is and the general shape of the surrounding walls and depth of the water. 

Some stalactites hanging from the cenote's ceiling

So far we have visited three: Cenote Ik Kil is near the Mayan ruins of Chichen-Itza; Cenote Zaci is within the city of Valladolid; and Cenote Dzitnup is about five minutes away from Valladolid. Cenotes can also be found in a few other parts of Central America, the southwestern US, and even Australia and Canada, although they may be called sinkholes or something slightly different.       

In the Yucatán Peninsula, there are many cenotes, and some have been made more human-friendly than others, with the additions of artificial lights, ropes which cross through the water and connect one edge to another, stair railings, steps going in and out of the pool, and places from which people can jump.

View from the surface

Here's one way to take a break from treading water!

Humans aren’t the only beings swimming in cenotes though. If you look down into the cenote, you will likely see a bunch of black catfish, between one and seven inches long, near the surface. These and other fish are not harmful – they swim around people enjoying the fresh water and get out of the way when you enter their territory. 

Catfish friends

One of the bigger catfish in the cenote - check out his mustache!

Other critters include lizards like iguanas, geckos, and anoles; frogs; turtles; and bats and swallows flying near the ceiling of the cenote. According to some people we spoke with, the swallows are not native to Mexico, but rather they come to take advantage of the food and weather so they can reproduce, make nests, and raise their chicks.

Some of the pink lights at the underground Centote Dzitnup

All of the cenotes we have seen so far have a lot of plant life all around them. In some cases, there are vines hanging from a higher part of the cenote which almost reach the water’s surface. Despite all the amazing plant and animal biodiversity in the environment in and around cenotes, I never felt threatened. 

Visitors to Cenote Ik Kil, a popular cenote in the region

The most dangerous part of cenotes really stems from a person’s swimming ability–signs saying that visitors should swim at their own risk are common. If you feel compelled to jump (it’s really fun), it’s very important to jump away from the edges of the cenote, where there can be sharp rocks near the surface of the water. 

One of don Antonio's virgin cenotes     

Visiting the Yucatán would not be complete without visiting at least one cenote. Admission is usually fairly cheap (the cheapest was 15 pesos, and the most expensive was 70 pesos), and apart from being refreshing, the cenotes provide a good way to exercise. Treading water, swimming, and balancing on the ropes that lie in the water were just a few of the ways we entertained ourselves.

If you’re astute enough to notice that the style of this entry is slightly different from those that have come before, there’s a good reason for that! I’m Danny, a friend of Jenny’s and a graduate student in the same program (the University of Chicago’s Urban Teacher Education Program) she graduated from last year. After I observed and interviewed her for a teacher study project, she asked me to come along with her for part of her trip to Mexico to help with some documentation and other tasks.

As fun as cenotes are, the floor around the pool can be really slippery! (or slepering, depending on who you ask)