Cancun, Mexico: Day Trip to Chichen Itza and Cenote.

Being able to speak Spanish was a plus in my trip to Mexico. It made everything easier. The locals treated me like I was one of them. After a wild couple of days in the beautiful Hotel Zone of Cancun (Zona Hotelera), I did my first excursion. At first, I was a little scared because I booked my trip from a drunk man in downtown. He didn’t look professional whatsoever. The day of the trip, I was surprised; the drunk man put on a VIP tour.

The tour representative picked me up early at the hotel. The tour guy, Rodrigo, made the three-hour ride feel shorter. Through the ride, the tour guy taught us about the Maya’s culture. The first stop was in a small Mayan village in the state of Yucatan. There, we were received by the Chaman, and they showed the different activities that they were doing in the community. In a typical Mexican restaurant, there was a dance group. After the restaurant, we head to Chichen Itza.

After an hour ride from the restaurant, we got to the Chichen Itza complex. The temperature was hot and humid. Also, thousands of people were there. However, everything was worth it. The main building, the pyramid known as El Catillo or Temple to Kukulcan, was simply incredible. I was impressed to see the fantastic condition those buildings are in. I must warn you that there are plenty of vendors that sometimes are a little annoying, but if you want to get a souvenir for a good price, that is the place to buy it. After a couple of hours of visiting Chichen, we were driven to a Cenote o Xenote. A cenote is a pit of fresh water that was used by the Mayans to make sacrifices. Xcajum was the cenote that they took us to. It was super impressive to see such a big hole in the ground. Before entering the cenote, we had to take a bath to get rid of the chemicals on the skin. Then we jumped in the hole; that was the most refreshing water that I ever swam. After an hour, we were asked to get out because it was getting late, and we had a long way back.