Vallodolid and the Cenotes

Cenotes! What a cool phenomenon.

For those not familiar with cenotes, they're essentially underground caves/sinkholes that have been formed by the collapse of limestone exposing the groundwater below. Our stopover in Vallodolid was literally planned just to see these as there are many surrounding the town. Upon our arrival we noticed there was one actually in the centre of town just 500m from where we were staying so we chucked the togs on and meandered down the road. What literally just looks like a small mound of dirt to the average passerby then turned into a staircase down into a little slice of paradise that is Cenote Zaci. This one was half open air and half covered, with a good 20m between the roof and the pool below. Really hard to capture in a photo but great for a wee dip!

The following day we hired a couple of rickety bikes from our hostel and biked about 5 or 6km out of town to some other cenotes. Unfortunately these ones were somewhat more commercialised with a full complex of restaurants and stalls selling the usual tourist crap so we paid a bit more to get into them. Thankfully the actual cenotes themselves were still really worth visiting. They were a lot more underground and undercover than Cenote Zaci and the humidity levels were at an all time high, the only light let in by a small hole in the roof and the assistance of some artificial lighting. All these cenotes have pretty clear water as you can see an abundance of black fish similar to catfish swimming around and other smaller fish nibbling at your feet, which feels horrific by the way. I can't believe people actually pay to have fish do that with their feet in a tank. Yuck!

Our hostel in Vallodolid had an awesome outdoor area and communal kitchen so we cooked up a couple of cheap meals with the help of a big supermarket nearby. The hostel happened to be situated on a sort of courtyard/square with a local church which was the host of many festivities over the weekend we were there. This was part of the annual 12 day Candelaria Fiesta where they celebrate the Virgin de la Candelaria (the virgin of the candle). At all hours of the day there were church services, singing and dancing. The locals were all dressed up in their traditional clothing as well, white dresses with colourful embroidered flowers and flowers in their hair for the ladies and white shirts, trousers and cowboy hats for the men. We definitely had a good people-watching spot for a couple of days but not a lot of sleep, the Mexicans really know how to do a fiesta! (Unfortunately these are also some of the photos lost due to SD card issues)

Next up, it's time for some vitamin sea. Isla Holbox, we are coming for you!Read more