I forgot to mention the great time I had at Misol Ha waterfall last month. We spent a while jumping off of the rocks and into the waterfall. When you jump under the water it hits you in the back really hard and accelerates you towards the pool below fairly rapidly. That was lots of fun. Then we went into the cave next to the waterfall. After about 50 meters the cave turned and there was a little waterfall inside. I climbed up the waterfall and went as far back as I could. Then I jumped off of the little 2 meter waterfall in the cave.
Since my last update, I left Merida and went to Holca. There we camped in a really bad campground. To flush the toilets you had to pour a bucket of water into it. Then the toiled drained out a pipe that emptied through the back wall and onto the ground. The reason I took my group here was for the underground cenote. We climbed down a bunch of stairs to a 120 meter long fresh water underground swimming hole. There were bats flying around and it was pretty special. Then we came back upstairs and beat up a pinata for somebody's birthday.
The next day we went to Chichen Itza, which my passengers have renamed Itza Chicken. We walked around the ruins and watched one of the big bus tourists pass out from the heat and fall over. The ambulance carried him off and we continued the tour. After that excitement we went to Isla Mujeres, a sort of low key backpackers Cancun.
From Isla Mujeres we took a boat trip to Isla Contoy, a nature preserve. On the way we stopped to snorkel and saw a 2 meter shark. Then we relaxed on the island and barbecued the fish we caught on the way. That night we camped on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean.
After a stop at Wal-Mart to load up on American type things, we continued down the Caribbean coast to Punta Bete for a few nights of beach camping. Unfortunately, with the strong, steady wind, much of the beach blew into the tents.
I went back to Dos Ojos, the cavern I usually snorkel in. Now the owner is offering beginning scuba courses in the cave. I got to do a scuba dive in a cavern. It was amazing. I really really want to get scuba certified so I can cave dive. After the dive, I snorkeled around the cavern for a while and saw some big shrimp.
Then we went to Playa del Carmen for dinner. The next day we hung out at the snorkel haven of Xel-Ha. I explored it a bit more than I ever had before. I found a good 12 meter cliff to jump off of and a cave to swim into. I also found a rope to swing off of. It was too short so I climbed the tree it was tied to and jumped off that into the water. Then we went to the ruins of Tulum and played in the big waves.
After a few hours drive, we arrived at Cenote Azul. I perfected my technique of running really fast and jumping off of the high platform and landing on the other side of the rope that keeps people out of the people falling area.
The next day we drove all day through the jungle to get back to Palenque. We spent the night, and at 5 am we left to drive through 5 military check points to the Guatemalan border. We hired a boat and cruised down the really big river for an hour. Then we got back out on the Mexican side and explored the ruins of Yaxchilan. You can only get there by boat or plane and we were the only people there to look at the ruins and howler monkeys.
On our return trip to Palenque, we passed a road construction area. The flag man had no flag and I felt that was dangerous. I just happened to have a spare orange safety vest. I gave it to him, but he was too embarrassed to wear it. Oh well, I tried.
The next day we went to Agua Azul. I spent a few hours jumping off of waterfalls and swimming under them before we continued over the mountains to Rancho Esmeralda. Glen and Ellen's macadamia farm is one of my favorite places in Mexico.
We explored the tunnels of the ruins of Tonina and then took a horseback ride. We went over the mountains, around the ruins and down to the river. I jumped off of the tree into the water and then we went back to the ranch for one of their always excellent meals.
Now I am back in S.C. d l C. and this concludes my latest update of things in Mexico that I have climbed up and jumped off of.
No comments:
Post a Comment