Road trip; Merida and cenotes!

As I only have less than 3 weeks left and therefrom only 1 in Cancun I am freaking out because of course I still have to see a thousand things here! We therefore decided to go on a road trip to Merida (a city in Yucatan around 4 hours from Cancun). However Yucatan is famous for its cenotes (sink holes/underwater rivers) so we decided to just look for a few and visit them. Which is harder than it sounds as there are thousands of cenotes and every 5 minutes there is a sign saying ‘Cenote blablabla’. However there was 1 cenote we were dying to visit; Ik Kil. I also think it is one of the most famous ones. Arriving there the entrance was around 5 euros. Walking towards the changing room you already came across the cenote. It was one round hole and when you looked down it was like an upside jungle with a clear dark blue/green water. You had these plants hanging down that looked like ropes and you could see people jumping off a platform. Before swimming in cenotes you always need to take a quick shower to get rid of any lotions/sunscreen that could harm the water. Walking down the stairs to the cenote you had various viewing points and it was breath taking. When we were down we knew the water was going to be cold so what better way to go in than jumping? Standing around 5 meters high I did not think it was that high. That was until I jumped and I think my heart stopped beating for a second. It was the scariest thing I had done in a while!! Thank god I did not drop my camera because who knows how deep these cenotes are… There was a little waterfall created by the rain earlier that rain and some elegant black fishes swimming around. It is really tiring swimming in a cenote because it is so deep and sometimes there is a current going to the sea so yeah you do not want to get sucked into one of those! After that we went to two other cenotes that were close by. “XKeken” and “Samula”. They were really touristy but I really liked them as well. They were very different than the cenotes I had visited before as they were all open. These two were literally caves under the ground with almost no natural light. Therefore they were even more freezing than the open was but the water was still as clear as ever! While swimming on my back I looked up and it was so interesting to see all the natural formations of the cave. We came across an older Dutch man and he joined us for a little while we walked to the other cenote. He told us how he was doing a 3 month biking trip from Cancun to Guatemala!!! Who else than a Dutch man to do that right? Amazing. I loved to see how a lot of people his age would say that because they are alone they are bored and wish they could travel etc. But he just does it, even though he is alone. I feel like I am going to be like that one day. Every trip will bring you good or bad things whether you are alone or not.

The other cenote was bigger and more open but still closed from above. We found some fish that they use for the fish spa’s so that was not a nice surprise when I felt all the yucky things on and around my feet. After that we went to Chichen Itza to see the night time light show! Just a tip if you go; you have to make a reservation before with your hotel or on the internet. It is free though. We luckily got in and they placed some seats in front of the big temple and projected these amazing figures and lights on the temple and told the story about Chichen Itza. After the show we still had a good hour and half to go in the car. When we finally arrived in Merida it was already like 10 at night. We went to the house of one of the guys who was driving with us and just had a mini house party and played pool.

The next day we decided to visit the city of Merida which was so cute and colourful! Well we only visited the main square…. But there was lots to see! In the middle there was a small park where little kids were running around with bubble blowers (and a few minutes later we as well…) and around the park it was packed with food stands! I decided I wanted an ice cream because I had not bought an ice cream from the street yet and they’re always the best! So as I ordered my chocolate chip ice cream I looked down at my wallet to count my money. As I did I looked from the corner of my eye how the guy was scooping the ice cream on my cone and then he pulled a bloody piece of hair out of it!! And it wasn’t small it was a proper long hair that was so long and wrapped in my ice cream it even pulled out a few chocolate chips. I was so in shock I acted like I did not see it while my three friends screamed of laughter and walked away to hide it. I paid and tried to smile as I turned around and cried in disgust hahaha. I threw it away as they all made fun of me. Oh my god so gross! Well we continued walking and saw a small art street with some cool things. However we still had a 4 hour drive home on the most boring road ever. Just 3 hours of a 1 way road between the jungle. We were so bored on the way home and we felt trapped so we decided to put on some loud music and sing along. Quite fun in the end!

Yesterday I had my last day of classes! I didn’t realise until everything was over! We only have 2 exams left now next week and that’s it! I can’t believe how quickly everything has gone. I still remember everything looked so new and I had no idea where I was and what I was doing most of the time and now Cancun is my new home. The transport, the roads, the names, the people, the weather. I am so used to my tropical chill life here. However I am also excited to see my friends back in Holland though. I have so many things to look forward to that I don’t know whether to be sad or happy! I am just grateful for this opportunity. I have definitely learned to appreciate and learn things here. Just like in New Zealand. Traveling is just the perfect way, for me at least, to discover what is really necessary to make you happy. Also it is not healthy to keep comparing things on how it is in one place and how it is in another. I noticed that a lot of people do that and I actually don’t feel the necessity to do that anymore. Things are just different and that doesn’t mean they are right or wrong. Maybe yes they can be done more efficiently but that is why we travel. To see things and to remember them so if we ever end up in a situation we know what we want. Tonight I will go to a Jazz festival in Playa del Carmen. It’s an annual event by the beach I think so I am excited to see that! And hopefully tomorrow I will go to one of the most beautiful islands of the Yucatan peninsula according to a lot of people; Holbox!