Peninsule du Yucatan – Izamal – Cenotes

Yucatan Peninsula - Izamal - Cenotes

July 4, 2021

Mexico

IZAMAL

TRANSPORTS

Mérida - Izamal 1h en voiture de location avec la compagnie National (pas chère et sérieuse).
Possible de le faire en bus 1h40 pour 45 pesos.

The main places are:

Izamal

Izamal, which means “dew coming down from the sky”, is a charming little colonial town in the state of Yucatan in Mexico. It is located 72 km east of Merida.

It is known as the "yellow city" because most of the houses in this colonial town are covered with an ocher-colored paint, identical to the one which covers the walls of Convent Saint Anthony of PaduaIt is also nicknamed "the city of hills", in reference to what were believed to be small hills, and which turned out to be Mayan pyramids.

Two huge pre-Columbian structures are still clearly visible in Izamal: the first is a large pyramid dedicated to the Mayan Sun God, Kinch Kak Mo and the second important structure is a group called "acropolis" or Popol Chac

She was for a long time a pilgrimage site for the Mayans and a important city from 9^th to 11th^th century.

The Convent of San Antony of Padua is the big reason to come here. It has the largest enclosed courtyard in America, and the second largest in the world, after St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.

Why is Izamal yellow?

It is often said that Izamal was painted yellow for the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1993, referring to the colors of the Vatican.

But other versions are circulating:

To find a solution to mosquito epidemics, the inhabitants would have painted the walls yellow in order to scare them away with the reflection of the light and by coating the bases with the lime. Seeing that the technique worked for the convent and the municipal palace, it gradually spread to other buildings.
Yellow is simply reference tocorn which was considered sacred to the mayans.
In 1850, when the henequen trade was in decline, Izamal would have liked to standardize in order to revitalize the city.

There were probably several reasons and especially several stages of painting, but it was in 2002 that the government decided that the official colors of Izamal would henceforth be the yellow and white..

Assessment

An amazing city where life is good. It was the first time I saw a city painted in one color. It is really worth visiting: half a day is enough. We continued with cenotes. Our choice fell on Cuzama.

Before moving on to the Cuzama cenotes, a little aside on Coca Cola in Mexico. And here is great truck! Rather beautiful, isn't it !? The driver laughed when he saw me taking a picture of him. I think they look good. And that's the only cool thing I'll tell you about this company. Personally, I don't like the taste so luckily I never drink it. Well, know that Coca Cola literally colonized this country.

Mexicans drink more than 480 cans per person per year, which represents 25 kilos of sugar (more than the Americans!). A real drug for a thirsty people. The firm privatized sources that belonged to indigenous communities, entire aquifers thanks to the complicity of the government of Vicente Fox (2000-2006) who was the former president… of Coca Cola Mexico. Among the water concessions acquired (more than 27) by Coca, eight allow it to throw industrial waste into public waters. To give an idea, a single factory can use more than 100 million liters of water per year, i.e. the consumption of more than 200 000 families… In a country that lacks drinking water. Thanks to a foundation, Coca went into the countryside, funding schools, giving scholarships to students, placing its logo everywhere, sometimes translated into Mayan. “Why drink water when you can afford drinks that give you more energy? Added to this is the fact that Coca Cola has placed its price below to that of water. And yes, a bottle of Coke costs less than a bottle of water here.. Results ? An outbreak of obesity with 70% of Mexicans considered fat, 7.5 million diabetics (leading cause of death in the country). The FAO is alarmed: obesity is higher in Mexico than in the United States. The worst thing is that in Chiapas, the drink entered Native American culture in the space of 40 years. The natives regard the drink as sacred and use it in their traditional ceremonies. A shame!

CUZAMA CENOTES

TRANSPORTS

Mérida - Cuzama 1h en voiture. Possible de le faire en collectivo.

A cenote is a natural pit or sinkhole resulting from the collapse of the limestone bedrock that exposes the groundwater below.

The Cuzama cenotes (Chelentún, Chak-Zinik and Bolom-Chojol) belong to the semi-open category. As you advance on the path you will therefore first see a simple hole in the ground. Their depth is between 15 and 20 meters deep.

The visit of the 3 cenotes is done through a 9km journey that can be traveled by truck (small cart pulled by a mule). I will qualify this getaway somewhat exotic, bumpy not to say folkloric ahaha. We were literally assailed by an army of horseflies determined to make their meal. Luckily, they preferred Estelle ahaha.

Encounter

And here comes our dream team: Jules and Jeremy. The two old friends spend a month's vacation together in Mexico. Jules, Franco Mexican, Uber driver, knows the area of Merida well having lived there for some time with his father. Jeremy, professional player, champion of the game Smash Bros, has been learning Japanese for several years. The duo is quite astonishing. They have just finished visiting the cenotes when they meet us.

Meeting that will begin with an exchange of crappy plans ahaha.

Estelle opens the ball by offering to bring them back to Merida with our rental car. At the time, I am surprised because I know that we have to return the car at the airport, not exactly in Merida. But I don't say anything. So we return the car. Guys stay cool. We order an Uber to finish the trip but voila, no Uber accepts 4 people. Jules devotes himself and decides to finish his journey by bus. Conclusion, they will take twice as long to return with us than if they had taken their collectivo as planned at the start 🤣 and in addition separated.

The same evening, our two friends not resentful at all spin us to a Mexican restaurant. When arriving, it turns out that they are just for take away. Jules decides to take the taco order on his own and suggests going to a friend's house, supposedly nearby, which is not the case in the end. Suddenly, need an Uber but here it is, same problem. We fall back on a tuk tuk which accepts to take all 4 of us. Finally, we will all starve because the 500 g of meat planned by Jules will really not do the job! 😂

Assessment

Very beautiful cenotes. Surprising this deep atmosphere, this lukewarm and crystalline water for bathing; it's another world. The weather will have been gray all afternoon, so, it was impossible to take beautiful pictures. For once, I had to include photos that are not mine. Sorry !

With Estelle, we think we have toured Merida and its surroundings. We want to get back on the road. Mexicans warmly recommended Bacalar: the 7-colored lagoon. Last evening with our 2 friends and we jump the next day in a bus direction Bacalar.