Ruins and Cenotes

Today was action packed! Emily has wanted to see a sunrise since we arrived but I have been too nervous to awaken the Crak'n in the early hours despite some spectacular vistas. But this morning I braved it using one of my more adorable moves. All 200++ lbs of me rolled on top of her and, just like Elsa from Frozen throw my arms apart I exclaimed, "the sky's awake so I'm awake! Wanna go see the sunrise?" She giggled tiredly then ambled out of our fairy-tail white curtained bed and followed me to the beach. The sky was interesting, everywhere was clear except where the sunrise was going to happen. Firefly I front of us was an isolated thunderstorm no more that 0.5 miles in diameter  and sure enough at 6am just as the sun began to rise a torrential downpour engulfed us.  Warm rain instantly soaked us and we sought shelter under a nearby bamboo but, laughing. Emily, in her wet puppy dog face stared at me and smoothly asked, "'wanna see a sunrise?' or get soaked?!" It was still a sight to behold, radiant colors mischievous cloud formations and a relentless ocean. 

We set out towards Chitsa Nisa and the famous Mayan temple. The bus ride was long and we chatted away while practicing Spades (Emily is getting better everyday). When we arrived it was a smorgasbord of venders but the ruins we impressive. The central Mayan temple was HUGE.

It towered over us like an ancient alien skyscraper. I got goosebumps when I imagined explores stumbling upon this place in the midst of the jungle. We explored around for several hours taking in the massive and ancient stone structures, rows and rows of weather worn columns that looked straight out of Tomb Raiders. There were enormous iguanas sunbathing and people watching. We were a bit enamored with the local artisans for sale a made a few purchases.
With the sun having waged war on our bleached hospitalized skin we opted to trek towards It Kil, Mexico's famous Cenote. A cenote is a natural pit, or sinkhole, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath. This was one of the images that drew us to the part of the world and it did not disappoint. As we approached this massive hole in the ground surrounded by thick luscious jungle we could here the echoing of hidden cascading water from the roots of the surrounding trees.  Once we reached the edge we peered down into the murky green water 90 feet below. Quickly we stripped down to our suits and followed the manmade cave to the waters below. Emily and I each started this adventure by diving from the highest perch into the cool water and floating on our backs to taken the pure splendor.

 I wish I was a better writer but I cannot adequately describe how incredible this place was in words. The edges of this underground cavern were lined with rope so you could sit in the water and take in the massive tree roots stretching down towards the aged below with mini-waterfalls draining from the soaked jungle up above. Occasionally the sun would brake through the clouds illuminating the cavern enough that you could see all the fish swimming with you. We were dumbstruck. Finally we pulled ourselves away after a few for cliff dives and had a booze riddled dinner laughing about our adventures and the tenacity of the venders near the ruins.  

The bus ride back was filled with sleep and a never ending thunderstorm. When we arrived tired but happy late into the night Emily was surprised by a romantic candlelit bottle of champaign waiting for her with rose peddles sprinkled throughout the room. We smiled, kissed, drank, and let the night slip away into pure bliss.