« More photos... | Main | A Day of Complete Frustration »
January 28, 2007
Didiere, Carla, and Los 3 Cenotes
Let me just say that yesterday was truly a great day. I woke up early in the morning (at 6!) to walk to the Centro where I met Didiere and Carla, two kids from my Antropología Mexicana class as well as some other Butler students. Didiere brought some Mexican music for me to listen to, as he promised… Carla and I discussed the project that we were assigned to work on together in the upcoming weeks for our class… We waited for a bit in the Centro for other Mexicanos and then we all made our way downtown to catch a shuttle to the Tres Cenotes.
Las bellezas naturales del estado de Yucatán son innumerables, y entre las más importantes están los cenotes y las grutas. The bus ride to the cenotes was a bit long; we passed through two major pueblos: Chuncanan and finally Cuzama. As we rode through the pueblos, I took a good look out the window – stray dogs; children running barefoot, wild in the streets; garbage on the side of the rode; tall, old iglesias with windows shattered but lines of people; naranja and limón trees and of course, Coca-Cola signs everywhere.
When we got to the cenotes, I didn’t know what to expect—we had went to one last week near Chichen Itza that seemed very confined, but our senora told me that every one is really, really different. And she was right.
El municipio de Cuzama es cada día más popular por sus cenotes, la forma de visitarlos y el espeleobuceo. El recorrido a traves de los distintos cenotes se realiza en un “truck” jalado por caballos a través de 7 km en caminos llenos de naturaleza agregando un increíble sabor de aventura. Los cenotes principales de esta zona son: Cheletun (piedra recostada), Chansinic’che (árbol con hormigas pequenas), y Bolonchoojol (nueve goteras). We split up into 4 wagons and made our way to the cenotes.
I think I’ll remember two things, honestly, about my experience yesterday:
First of all, it’s hard to even describe the cenotes without seeing them in person. They’re beautiful, natural structures. I realized today that you can have a lot of fun without paying a lot of money & that there is certainly much to be seen in this world beyond the realm of home. Mexicans far and wide come to the cenotes just for fun and it certainly is a priceless adventure.
Secondly, I think I’ll remember the overwhelming kindness of the Mexican students here at the UADY. They certainly didn’t have to invite me or the two other Butler students, but they did. And it was a great bonding experience. We talked about life in Mexico, life in the US, movies and books, food and school drama. It’s funny how a student is a student no matter what country you live in or what language you speak.
But anyway, they were so helpful and so generous through the whole trip—they brought food for us to eat in the shuttle; the packed a picnic lunch; and they handled the truck guides for us so there would be no hassles or worries.
While Mexico certainly might not be a rich country, there’s certainly something to be said about the way in which relationships and friendships are formed.
It kind of makes you wonder what’s really important in life…
Posted by jlsumich at January 28, 2007 11:36 AM