800AD Coba and the Ice-Age Underwater Chamber

Every once in a while I get disappointed by the places I most look forward to and end up enjoying the best of my travels by stumbling onto places I never planned for let alone, knew existed! Today was one of those as I survived distressing tourist-infested Coba and stumbled onto a best-kept secret ice-age underwater chamber cenote Aktun-Ha — a.k.a. the Carwash!

Surviving Coba

It only took me 5-10 mins to get ready, but so much for planning the itinerary for us to be in Coba by 8AM. By the time we finished desayuno, it was already 9.15 am AND we found out Coba was an hour ahead (time difference). It was 11 am by the time we got our tickets and started exploring.

We were caught in another maelstrom of tourists. Busloads! I wasn’t happy, tried not to get cranky for my companion’s benefit. It was close to two kilometers walk to the highest point, the main temple of Coba. The jungle was lusher than Ek Balam and the temperature cooler, under the trees that is. By the time we started climbing, the sun seared our skin! This temple was much steeper, but at least there was a rope to hang onto on the way to the top. No rails on the sides, of course, it made me wonder if there had been falls or accidents. Dismissed the thought quickly. At the top, the view was just as breathtaking as being at the top of the Ek Balam Acropolis. 360 degrees of lush jungle across the horizon.

Amazing! This place was constructed around 800-1100 AD. There were three dogs napping at the top, and I wondered — who let the dogs out?? Hah! Seriously, I would have loved to see those dogs climbing their way to the top. I couldn’t help think how magical it would have been if we were there at 8 AM with nobody else around, or at least shared the moment with only a handful of other travelers. Too many tourists just grated away the magic and mysticism of places like this. I couldn’t wait to get going once we’re done with the view. Coming down the steep steps was a challenge that I took off my sandals. Yup, barefoot all the way down! The Cowboy and I decided to go, and didn’t bother exploring another cluster of structures or ruins in the massive archaeological site. I’ve had enough! Meantime, he had got to go and relieve Montezuma’s Revenge as he called the runs. Happens to white people when they visit Mexico or Latin American countries especially for the first time.

We checked out the lake we passed by on the way to the site, didn’t see any crocodilos as per the warning sign. We were meant to go check out more cenotes nearby but decided to forego that. I was so sure there would have been gazillion tourists again and I won’t have been able to get myself to swim, sharing sweat and piss and God knows what else!

We estimated we’d be in Tulum for an hour. And probably reach Puerto Aventuras around 3PM.

Artesania and Ceramics

Things don’ always turn out as planned especially when better things present themselves — happens a lot travelling. On the way to Tulum, we passed by a few Artesania stores and stalls. We stopped by a ceramic artesania. It didn’t take us that long but we walked out with goodies! Needed a soap dish, a fruit bowl and a decent soap bottle. My eyes scanned the hundreds of colorful ceramics. I quickly gravitated to a soap dish with sunflower decor, a multi-colored soap bottle and a slightly square concave fruit bowl. The moment I saw it, I just fell in love with it. The Cowboy bought me a cute tequila set — I typically don’t drink. (Occasionally, I make an exception with Tequila and vodka — about the only drinks I learned how to drink!) He reckoned I deserve a nice drinking set, and I loved what he picked. These ceramics were works of art — they loosened up the Scrooge in me! It was a dangerous place to hang out, I could have spent more… but we had to go!

The Carwash aka Aktun-ha Cenote Ice-Age Ancestral Chambers

We were supposed to be only 20 mins away from Tulum and another 40 mins to Puerto Aventuras. We noticed, signs after signs of cenotes… I finally told The Cowboy to stop and check one called Za-cil Ha. He missed the turn on the right where it was, and instead stopped on the next one few meters further down the road. A ubiquitous sign said “Cenote Aktun Ha Carwash”. I thought, they wash the car in the cenote??? How does that work???

I later realized the Carwash cenote was a monicker for Actun Ha. I asked The Cowboy to let me out quickly to check the cenote while he waited in the car. It was only 10 meters or so from the road, and I immediately saw the clear water. It’s not as submerged like the other ones we saw. The surface was only a meter or less from the ground.

I loved the intimate feel of the place! I noticed water bubbles piercing the crystal clear water, then it dawned on me, there were scuba divers at the bottom. It was one of those cenotes that must lead to an underwater cave! Serendipitously, we stumbled upon a famous cenote for underwater cave divers!

Saw a sign on the side of the cenote, it says “The Cenote Aktun-ha, also known as Carwash, gives access to a system of flooded caves with almost 3 km extension. Inside these caves is located “The Ancestor Chamber” which contains a series of bonfires that dates from 10,000 years before present.The existence of these bonfires located at 27 meters deep, does propose a human occupancy of the cave at the end of the ice age, before the last increase in the sea level, when the caves were still dry.”

Wow! I never thought our historic encounter would not only bring us back to pre-colonial, or pre-historic times, brought us all the way back to pre-Ice Age!!! It’s a shame I don’t like diving anymore — I lost my PADI diver certification a long time ago!

We went back to check Zacil-ha to check if it’s better, and thought, nah!

We returned quickly to Carwash and took a dip. There was an elevated platform where we each took turns jumping from. It’s the best way to get into the water! I do have a little fear of heights, mainly only when I know I’m gonna jump or I’m totally exposed (like climbing the pyramids with no safety railings or bungy jumping). Last jump: The Cowboy and I did it together, then we played towing the line balancing ourselves on the rope in the water. I think all the public cenotes have them for safety. The water was so clear you can see through to the bottom. Oh, and of course, not many tourists. There were a few serious divers, you can tell from their gears. I would rather be with hot bad-ass adventurers than sight-seeing tourists, anytime!!!