Happiest of happy new year’s wishes to everyone reading this blog! 2014 was a difficult year, and I can’t say I’m sad to see the back of it. Here’s hoping that 2015 brings joy, happiness and good fortune to all.
Down for the count
This morning, I woke up rested and refreshed, and excited for a day of activities and for New Year’s Eve. But, the best laid plans of mice and men (and tourists) can all get waylaid by a bout of food poisoning.
The good news was, I wasn’t afflicted this time. The bad news was, seven of the others were down for the count. I greeted some very sick, green and miserable people at breakfasttime. The best we could figure was it was something they ate at the fire show dinner in Palenque — the people who ate chicken or meat seemed to be sick, and those of us who didn’t were fine. I couldn’t help have some sympathy pangs considering I knew how they felt.
I ditched our breakfast plans, headed around the corner for the nearest Oxxo, and picked up some water, rehydration drinks and soda crackers for a few people. Pay it forward and all that.
Swimming in caves
There were quite a few options of things to do for our day in Merida. A few people went to the Mayan ruins of Uxmal, but I was feeling a bit ruined for ruins, and opted instead to go swimming in some caves. Yes, really. Cenotes are natural swimming holes formed in underground limestone caves. The fresh water in them gets naturally filtered by the earth, so it’s clear and blue. There are hundreds or even thousands of them in the Yucatan, some very large and some no bigger than a bathtub. The most famous among them get very crowded, especially in high season. So instead, our local guide Ricardo took nine of us to Homun, a small town where local people with cenotes on their property charge a small fee to access them.
We set out around ten, walked through town to the colectivo (shared taxi) station, and got a taxivan for about an hour to Homun. From there, we rode on the back of motorbike taxis, three or four to a taxi, to visit the cenotes. The motorbike taxis were a bit like the rickshaws in southeast Asia, except that they felt more solid and they were good fun on the paved roads. On the rocky dirt roads to the cenotes, they were a bit less fun — bumpy and dusty — and we kept passing locals who looked at us like we were crazy tourists. Oh, and some cows, of course.
Swimming in cenotes is possibly the coolest thing I’ve seen on this trip so far. And that’s saying a lot considering some of the things I’ve done. The first cenote was a large aqua blue swimming hole at the bottom of a cave, which looked small from the outside but expanded into a huge area from the inside. We had the place entirely to ourselves for most of the time we were there. The water was warm and clear, and we had good fun jumping off the rocks and exploring the cave in the water.
The second cenote was similar to the first, a bit smaller but with a giant rope to swing and jump into the water. It was a bit more crowded but still only had a few people.
Then we went to the third cenote, of which I unfortunately have no photos because it would have been impossible to bring a camera down. To access it, we left all our stuff up top and descended through narrow tunnels and passageways, climbing over rocks and through watery passageways, lit only by a waterproof flashlight held by the local guide. We had to be really careful not to cut our feet on the rocks, but swimming there was really awesome.
After three cenotes, we were tired and hungry, so we had a small lunch in a local restaurant. Then we got another colectivo back to Merida, arriving back at the hotel around 6pm. On the way back, we stopped at the market and bought a pinata for tonight. It was a bit expensive but it was in the shape of a unicorn, so we kinda had to.
Countdown to 2015
Mexican New Year’s Eve involves a number of local traditions. The aforementioned pinatas, of course, and firecrackers, which can be freely purchased almost anywhere. In addition, Ricardo filled us in on those weird looking dummy dolls that we’d been seeing outside houses everywhere. Apparently there’s a Yucatan tradition to burn a dummy that represents the old year of 2014, in order to banish the negative and get a fresh start. Despite the fact that it pollutes like crazy, it’s kind of a nice tradition: I can think of some stuff about 2014 that I’d like to banish forever.
Our group plan had been to go out for dinner to the same place as last night, and then to a club with salsa dancing and an open bar. However, the fact that half the group was still sick threw a bit of a wrench into the plans. Those of us who went to the cenotes weren’t hungry for dinner after our late lunch, and some of the others weren’t going to be drinking any alcohol.
Ultimately, we ended up hanging around the hotel and bashing open our pinata around 10:30 on the roof by the pool. Then, a few people who were still feeling particularly ill went to sleep, and the rest of us went to the salsa club as planned.
It was a very strange place, way out in the suburbs in a shopping mall. They had a live salsa and meringue band, but even though we arrived after 11, for the first half hour we were there, practically nobody was dancing. There was an open bar if you paid for it, but also an option for a lower cover charge for the people who weren’t drinking due to still feeling sick. Right before midnight, however, things picked up, with the countdown and then some cheesy dance music that everyone could get into. Then the band came back with more latin music, but by then the place had livened up and we all gave it a try, even me. I have two left feet when it comes to salsa, still, but after a couple of tequila shots I seriously didn’t care.
We spent the next couple of hours partying and welcoming the new year. By that point, I was pretty tired. A few of the others had already headed back, and when I was ready to leave, there weren’t any taxis to be found. Then, Pradeep, Tatiana, Courtney and Nate all decided to leave, too. So there were five of us. No worries: We all piled into a cab together, Courtney stretched out in the backseat across three laps, and we headed back to the hotel to crash.
So, all in all, not the best New Year’s I’ve ever spent, but far from the worst. Good music, good bunch of people, and heck, we can create a party anywhere.
Feliz Año Nuevo, everyone!