Rio Secreto Tour. A River With A Secret.

One of the many things I wanted to do on my recent trip to Mexico was to swim in fresh water caves and cenotes. I knew of one company, Rio Secreto, that was known for their awesome tours of an underwater river. It was something new and something that probably wouldn't even be allowed to run in the United States. So I had to do it.

The tour started out with a 20 min bumpy and deathly hot van ride into the jungle. Once at the destination, you had to shower to rinse off any chemicals and oils that may damage the delicate cave once inside. Then we were suited up with water shoes, wetsuite, life vest, helmet and head lamp. Before the tour had started they asked if anyone was claustrophobic. I didn't realize what that meant exactly till I was fully in my wetsuite, life jacket and helmet and walking for 10 minutes through the hot jungle sweating my balls off and not able to take a deep breath for the life of me. My boobs and butt weren't even able to breathe! Now if you know me, I'm a creature of comfort to the 10th degree! This whole situation so far spelt trouble......and that I could never be a scuba diver.

Halfway through the jungle walk we stopped to get a blessing from a Mayan priest. It's Mayan tradition to ask permission before entering the cave, a cave that holds a portion of Mexico's drinking water. Imagine the importance of not upsetting mother earth. He chanted his prayers at the alter and then drifted the holy smoke on all of us with a feather. We were free to go in. I hate to use the word surreal but I think the word is fitting for what I'm about to experience.

Finally the entrance to the cave was in sight and all I wanted was in and to not think about my tight body hugging suite. The one big rule for all those on the tour was to NOT touch a single thing. But what they didn't tell you was how impossible that was. The floors were uneven and the only light you had was a tiny lamp on your helmet to see. So of course, on entering the cave we all touched the walls in order to not kill ourselves. And then inside I had one of those "I'm falling and I can't get up" moments and my legs got all kinds of limestone scratched. But it was just a scratch and I took it as a nice little souvenir to take home.

Besides the extremely funny gay guy in our group that thought his wet suite made him look fat, the best part of the whole tour was swimming in the clear blue freezing water and just bobbing up and down like ducks in life vests in it's depths. The cave was beautiful and we were miles underground swimming in it. The whole southern peninsula of Mexico is one giant layer of limestone and when it rains, the thin soil soaks it up and then lets it trickle into the caves below making for a symphony underground of water droplets. After years of this, stalactites and stalagmites are created and the water drops look like diamonds on the surface. When we were there it hadn't rained for a while so the water was lower and it was much quieter. We all sat in a semi circle, turned off our headlamps and sat in the most defining silence I've ever heard.

And of course, a tour in Mexico wouldn't be a tour in Mexico without a shot of tequila to warm us all up at the end. The tour lived up to it's name. Do I dare say surreal? Yes, I think I can.

(Photos 2 & 3 from Rio Secreto Facebook)

Christmas At Tulum- Part 1

What better way to spend Christmas day then at one of the best beaches in Mexico. First thing we did, jumped on a boat to snorkel in front of the Tulum ruins. Snorkeling has quickly became J and I's favorite past-time.

Tips for Snorkeling at Tulum:

1. Bring your own gear if at all possible. The boat captions that take you out on their boats are not at all professional and only have a "take what fits and works" selection of snorkel gear on their boat. Plus, it could be your excuse to bargain and pay less.

2. Go on a day that isn't cloudy. Cloudy days make for cloudy water. Also bring a solution to apply to your mask so that it won't fog up and add to the mess.

3. Go ahead and bring the alcohol! Like I said, these boat caption are not professional and I'm sure will say "hell yeah" if you give them a taste of that sweet nectar.

4. Have a swim buddy. It's very easy to get disoriented as you're busy having that starring contest with that odd creature below the surface.

5. If you find yourself not seeing a whole lot of sea life in an area, go to a totally different area. Don't feel like you have to stay where you were dropped off. Tulum did have some less populated areas but other areas were awesome and included fish and coral of all shapes, colors and sizes. Just keep an eye out for other boats on the move.

6. Price wise - don't buy tickets at the entrance of Tulum. The person there will say a snorkel trip costs 600 pesos (approx $46) and if you are Mexican, 300 pesos. Instead, if you are comfortable, go straight to the snorkeling booth on the beach and make them a deal. We have gotten as low as 150 - 100 pesos ($11/$7)! Thats what I call a deal for a 2 hour trip.

Other snorkel trips: Belize, Las Marietas Islands 1, Las Marietas Islands 2, 

The Serpent

I'm fascinated with Mayan, Aztec, and Inca history. So I'm always excited to learn the little secrets here and there about their awesomely creative, detailed, smart thinking. Here is something I just learned. This image was just taken at the spring equinox in front of the Kukulkan Pyramid (or "El Castillo") in Chichen Itza, Mexico, Saturday, March 21, 2009. If you look closely you can see that this Mayan pyramid was built so that the shadows of a corner of the pyramid would fall on a stairway and create the image of an illuminated serpent (see the left staircase). I may just be a dork but I think thats super cool.

Found via The Big Picture.

They Cry For Peace

Guatemala is a land of great wonder and mystery. Beauty and joy are found around every corner. But if you listen and look closely it is also a land of acute distress, suffering, and pain. Guatemala is a country coming down from a 36 year long civil war and the wounds have left their scars. This was my third visit to the country. I had heard the stories before and this trip wasn’t any different.

While in the capital we visited a small project and a young girl told us a story that was soon broken up by tears. The tears were painful and pierced your heart. A few years before, she had been kidnapped while taking a shower right outside her house. The police didn’t bother to do their job and left the father and uncle in search for her. Kidnappings happen for two reasons - for ransom or for abuse, and the family wasn’t one to bug for a ransom. Shortly after, I stood aside and spoke with our leader (that lives there in Guatemala) and he told me how drug trafficking and gang violence is on the rise in the city (because of Mexico and Columbia). He believes that in just a short couple of years the violence will rise sky high once again. It was a comment you didn’t want to hear, but it also didn’t come as a surprise.


With our two police officers in tow for security (for the entire trip), we headed off to the area of Solola. Later I found myself no longer among palm trees, tropical flowers and sugar cane fields. Instead we were up in the clouds surrounded by the dense forest area of Corazon del Bosque. I jumped off the bus and viewed the crowd of a couple hundred that I was about to dive into head first. I took a deep breath, went in and was mobbed by 20 plus kisses of innocent children and nothing is better than that.

While there the massive crowd gathered in a circle around us, knelt, raised their hands to the sky then cupped them around their faces. Then in their Mayan language they fervently prayed for us. It was a prayer so devout it made us sponsors from CFCA feel uneasy. We felt as if we weren’t worthy and didn’t deserve such gratitude. We had come with CFCA to see our sponsored children and yet they still thanked us because we had come in place of all the sponsors that couldn’t be there. They are a grateful people by nature and I felt blessed to have such a prayer bestowed on me.


The celebration continued. Children danced, sang, and handed out mounds of fruit. And again the painful sound of children's tears rang in your ears. They sang of pain and blood shed. They cry for peace. The Mayan people are constantly persecuted in their own country. A friend of mine even told me he can’t even wear his Mayan bag to school in the city because of the persecution. I didn’t understand and probably never will. Unfortunately, the answers to solve the worlds hatred will most likely never be there. But the best thing I can do is to just walk along side the people and listen. Not in front or in back.....but beside. And that is my plan.