Chichen Itza to Xpu-ha

We enjoyed the exact same, nice breakfast of coffee, juice, bread, fruit and eggs we had 4 years ago at Hotel Dolores before heading across the street to Cenote Ik Kil. While we ate, I processed a tenants application while Eric followed up on emails and such. Its always such a great feeling to work while on vacation for me; it always makes the job much more tolerable being able to look at (insert beautiful scenery here) while processing office work. We wanted to go for a swim in the cenote and take some neat pictures before check out time which was 11, and then hit the road for Playa Del Carmen today. We changed our minds about going to Cancun and decided in camping the rest of the trip since we had such a great night in Isla Aguada.

Cenote Ik Kil was literally right across the street from our hotel. Yes, we planned it this way, but I appreciated our convenient location as we just walked across the street in our bathing suits and towels instead of having to carry around all of our motorcycle luggage with us. We paid about 4 USD to get in, including a nice discount we got by purchasing tickets at our hotel rather than at the gate of the cenote. This would be my first time swimming in a cenote, so I was really looking forward to it. Little did I know Eric had no intention of swimming in it at all. In Chichen Itza a few years back, we learned that some cenotes were used as a hole of death as Mayans would throw people into them for improper behavior or sorts. Other stories I've heard and read are that cenotes were considered spiritual wells by the Mayans and were believed to be a portal to speak with the Gods. Today, people still believe that these cenotes are very spiritual and when swimming in them you can feel a special aura that is apparent and fascinating. Eric, on the other hand, finds them to be creepy, with their seemingly bottomless pits and hanging vines and how “you just have no idea what is in there”. I was bound to see what this cenote stuff was all about.

 Eric thinks if there are fish in here, there must be other, bigger things swimming around in here as well.

 

I didn't feel anything different or spiritual about being in the cenote, but maybe I wasnt looking for it. Maybe I was distracted by Eric's fear of the water, or the kids playing nearby. Who knows. Though, I'm glad we got there when we did. We heard the best time to get to the cenotes were before the tour buses since they are just packed after that, which would make for terrible pictures. When we arrived, we shared the cenote with two other families only. Afterwards, we went for a swim in the cenote pool at our hotel. Out hotel has two pools, one chlorinated and one natural pool. This pool is supposedly a natural formation using rocks and water from its own cenote. The pool has no chemicals or salt water in it, and never needs to be cleaned of algae or other bacteria. You are supposed to be able to feel a spiritual aura in this pool as well, but we didnt. Surprisingly, Eric got in this one.

After a nice swim, we packed and hit the road. It would only take a few hours to get to PDC, and we took our time along the way. There drive was a bit dull to be honest, with long flat roads and no views aside from trees lining the highways, but it was a fast drive and not too hot. We read the night before about a campground called Xpu-ha that was supposed to be one of the only remaining primitive camp spots in the PDC area. While at one time there were quite a few, PDC is far too built up for campgrounds now and its beaches are lined with resorts now instead. We found Xpu-ha on a forum accidentally when researching another campground in the area, so we werent sure if it even existed since it didnt have its own web site, but we found the campground no problem. We pulled down its nice, rocky but not too sandy road, and met Jose at the gate who promised a good spot for the night, bathroom facilities and wifi. I asked if we could see the campground first so we took a short stroll, but were sold by the view right over the small hill to the beach..

 Camp spot before the tent went up

 Alluring view that pulled us in..

 View for the bike

 Bathroom and shower facilities, could be a little better but the campground makes up for its condition

 

We spent the rest of the day lounging around the beach, drove to the grocery store to get a dinner of chicken and bread, made friends with a dog named Goofy, and called it an early night. What a great day on a great beach. We felt lucky to have discovered such a semi-private, beautiful beach not yet touched by ridiculously large resorts and the crowds that come with them.

 Dinner by our tent..

 Cool, extremely expensive bar in front of our campground